It’s easy to associate Southern hospitality with some of the sugariest, richest foods around. But we love that Bird Bakery is fitting all that charm into a sweet treat that’s gluten-free and packed with nutrition. Elizabeth Chambers Hammer’s gluten-free brownies are next level and we’re sharing the recipe! Bookmark this for the next girl’s night in and you won’t regret it.
Elizabeth and her husband, Armie Hammer, founded Bird Bakery a few years back to share the family recipes all their friends were swooning over. Also chief correspondent for the Human Rights Foundation, Elizabeth has made the time to dial in on some of the best cupcakes in Texas – Bird’s award-winning flavors (that can be ordered gluten-free too.) Here’s Elizabeth…
After so many of our bakery customers asked for more gluten-free options, we searched and found a local flour-blend that is gluten-free and truly fantastic. We now make gluten-free versions of every single one of our cupcakes with Auntie’s flour made right here locally and they taste almost exactly like the original recipes. After our cupcakes were so well received, I started playing around with some of our brownie recipes too. Our regular Walnut Brownie is very gooey and fudgy, so with this one, I wanted to create a brownie that was a bit more cakey in consistency and texture. When it comes to brownies, there are two camps: fudgy or cakey. I think we represent both exceptionally well. People are always amazed with this particular brownie because it’s light and very moist, yet full of flavor. You would never know that almond flour is used in place of all-purpose flour, and with all of the other wonderful ingredients you won’t miss the gluten a bit!
Bird Bakery’s Gluten-Free Brownies
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
1 1/2cups granulated white sugar
1 2/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1/2 cups almond flour
8 eggs, yolk and white separated
1 1/4 Tbsp baking powder
For garnish:
powdered sugar or chocolate ganache
1 sliced, blanched almond
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300° with rack in center position. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate and then remove from heat. In a large bowl, cream together butter and half of the sugar, slowly adding in the egg yolks. Once well incorporated, add flour and baking powder.
Place remaining sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium speed – about 4 minutes – until stiff peaks form.
Slowly add the melted chocolate to the large bowl. Fold in the egg-white mixture until all of the ingredients are well incorporated then pour batter into pan.
Bake for 60 minutes at 300 degrees. Rotate halfway through, bringing temperature down to 275 degrees. Bake until center is firm, being careful not to crisp the edges.
Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift brownies out of pan and let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
Drizzle with chocolate ganache or dust with powdered sugar and garnish with one blanched, sliced almond.
Enjoy!
