The Ultimate Brownies
Decadent Chocolate Brownies. Did the title pull you in? We try to keep a balance here in the Test Kitchen bringing you recipes that work for busy weeknights that suit the entire family’s nutritional needs while also recognizing that sometimes you want a recipe for a classic that used to be part of your repertoire pre-FODMAP.
Brownies Are Like Family
Brownies have always been a standard for us being part of bake sales and parties for every decade of our lives and we weren’t going to go brownie-less at this stage of the game! Enter this recipe for Decadent Chocolate Brownies – carefully developed with TASTE and FODMAPs in mind in our very own kitchen.
These rich, dark, moist brownies earn their “decadent” title with a good dose of butter and three kinds of chocolate – yet, if you stick to the recommended serving size you will be within the Monash University low FODMAP guidelines.
Even for during Elimination!
Besides, these are so rich you will be totally and completely satisfied and sated with just one.
Nuts or No Nuts? Problem Solved!
A note on nuts. For some folks a chocolate brownie isn’t a brownie without nuts. We feel you. We have built a nut option into this recipe so that you can end up with some recipes with nuts and some without. Genius if we say so ourselves.
Check it out below.
If you are a brownie and bar fan and want to see a fabulous low FODMAP collection all in one place, check out our article 11 Brownies, Bars and Blondies for Gift Giving! Mix and Match! Gluten Free & Low FODMAP.
Decadent Chocolate Brownies
These brownies work within a low FODMAP diet if you pay attention to the servings size.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes 40 brownies; serving size 1 brownie
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (73 g) plus 1 tablespoon low FODMAP all-purpose gluten free flour, such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, choose gluten-free if following a gluten-free diet
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 226 g) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 8 ounces (225 g) dark chocolate, finely chopped, preferably 50% to 60% cacao mass
- 3 ounces (85 g) unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup (198 g) plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 6 ounces (170 g) dark chocolate morsels, standard sized or mini, divided
- 2/3 cup (75 g) lightly toasted pecan or walnut halves, finely chopped, optional
Preparation:
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Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 13 by 9-inch (33 cm by 23 cm) baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil then coat with nonstick spray; set aside.
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Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
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Melt butter, 8 ounces of chopped dark chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water or in a microwaveable bowl. Stir until smooth and combined; cool to lukewarm.
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In a large bowl, gently whisk together the sugar, eggs, vanilla and coffee. Gently whisk the lukewarm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture then fold in the dry mixture just until a few floury streaks remain. Fold in about three-quarters of the chocolate chips.
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Scrape batter into prepared pan. If you want to make half of your brownies with nuts, scatter the nuts over half of the batter as shown. Use a small offset spatula to press them down into the batter a little bit. Sprinkle the reserved chips over the other half of the brownies, or over the entire top if not using nuts.
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Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, rotating pan front to back once during baking, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Do not over bake. Cool on rack. Cut into an 8 by 5 grid (40 bars). These brownies are best eaten within 3 days. Store in airtight container at room temperature in single layers separated by parchment paper or foil. May be frozen up to 1 month, double wrapped in plastic and then foil.
Notes:
Tips
- When you are cutting the brownies, try to make sure the border between the chips and nuts is clearly defined so that the brownies with no nuts truly have no nuts. That said, if someone is allergic we suggest explaining how the brownies were baked and let them decide whether to indulge.
- We like to freeze these brownies in large pieces, which we then cut into small squares after defrosting. Segment the brownies in the pan into 2 to 4 large pieces, place them on pieces of cardboard for support, double wrap in plastic wrap, then slip into a heavy zip-top bag. Freeze up to 1 month. Defrost in refrigerator overnight.
- As with most brownie recipes, do not over-bake. If you test with a toothpick and it comes out clean, you have baked them too long. The residual heat of the pan after it is removed from the oven continues to “bake” them somewhat. If you over-baked them by mistake, try to cool them as quickly as possible by plunging the bottom of the pan into a shallow bowl of ice water. If you still haven’t saved them, use them as the base of an ice cream sundae with lactose-free vanilla ice cream and either our Hot Fudge Sauce or Salted Caramel Sauce.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
Sorry but if someone has a nut allergy just the fact that you used them in your baked goods means they can’t have the item. Simply putting them on “on one side” doesn’t make it safe any more than removing the croutons from the top of a salad now makes it “gluten free.”
Hi Susan, we are talking about nuts from a FODMAP perspective and there is no issue with cross-contamination. Same for croutons actually! If you are served a salad that has croutons on them, and you do not want the croutons, or the red onion, you can just remove them and still enjoy a low FODMAP meal. Hope this clarifies things.
Persons with celiac cannot eat foods that were cross contaminated with gluten.
That is correct. For FODMAPers, this is not an issue. If you are celiac, of course proceed as directed by your medical team and to your needs.
I don’t see where to add in the instant coffee?
Thanks!
Hi Kristal! Thank you for noticing the editorial omission. All fixed now. Also, we are slowly going over all of our recipes and adding nutritional content. While I was editing this recipe I attended to that as well. So there is new info!
I’m confused by the two lots of measurements for butter, sugar and flour. I’m accustomed to this if a base and filling is being made but not if it’s all meant to go in together (particularly when both weight and size measurements are being used). Is there a total for each? PS: I noticed you are in Australia. Our tablespoons are NOT Australian tablespoons, FYI.
Hi Cat, if you want to measure by volume, use those measurements. If you want to measure by weight, use those numbers. Do not combine and pick and choose within the same recipe. Stick with one approach. This article on measuring might help, too.
I just wanted to share, I made this for my 8 year old daughter who is Low Fodmap. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips for everything because I didn’t have the two other types of chocolate on hand. She’s not a fan of coffee so I didn’t put the espresso powder in, instead added in 1tsp of cinnamon.
It turned out SO GOOD!!! We will definitely be making this again. The only bummer is how small the safe serving size is haha.
Fantastic tweak! So glad it worked for you:) And for her. What a great Mom helping her navigate…we know this is hard and especially for kids. I want to point out two things. First of all, your serving size, or hers, might be larger! You can read THIS article on Serving Sizes. Also, FYI we are bringing on a pediatric RD, Julia Celestini, and will be bringing more child-focused content to the site soon.
I made a few tweaks – I cut the recipe in half since I cook for one, skipped the coffee, substituted unsweetened chocolate for cocoa powder and coconut oil, and used 1/4 cup of regular chocolate chips since I didn’t have any dark chocolate morsels. The flavor is a little different than what I’m used to but not bad, especially considering all the changes haha. I would try this recipe again! Since it was a smaller batch I used a square baking dish (honestly not sure if it was 8″x8″ or 9″x9″) and baked it for 15 minutes, spun it around, and baked for 8 more minutes and it turned out fine.
Thank you for letting us know! Of course I assume you know that when you alter a recipe that you have to keep an eye on FODMAP changes – in addition to whether a dish works in terms of taste and texture. Serving sizes can even change. So glad this worked for you; Your tweaks might help others!