Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Brownie Recipe

I have an allergy to wheat, not a severe one, I don’t get hives or go into anaphylactic shock, it just makes life unpleasant for about 24 hours.  Because of this, I searched high and low for good wheat-free recipes.  I found some that I liked, but most of the recipes that I now use are of my own invention.  Many of them we like just as much as their wheat counterparts.  There were very few that we like MORE than their wheat counterparts.  This recipe for brownies fits in the latter category.  We liked them so much (as did the neighborhood kids) that we decided to no longer make wheat brownies.

It is important to note that you do not need to use “sweet rice flour” for this recipe to work out well.  Plain “rice flour” works almost as well, but REQUIRES the guar gum for texture.  With the “sweet rice flour”, guar gum is not required for texture, they are equivalent to wheat brownies without it, but I add the guar gum to my sweet rice recipe in order to improve the texture even further.  That is, in my opinion, the secret to “better than wheat” brownies.

(BETTER THAN WHEAT) BROWNIES

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¾ cup unsweetened cocoa (we prefer Hershey’s Special Dark) 
2 sticks butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sweet rice flour

½ teaspoon guar gum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9-inch glass baking pan.  I prefer to grease my pan with butter.  I have not yet tried this recipe with a foil or metal pan,

Microwave together the cocoa and butter on high setting 2 minutes (if straight out of the fridge), microwave times may vary. Stir in the sugar and blend well. Stir in eggs, flour, and guar gum. Spread this mixture in the greased pan.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until toothpick has grainy fudge bits but is not clean, like with a cake. Be careful not to over bake.

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