My background is in psychology. When I first went to college, I knew two things: a) I loved to read and write, and b) being an English major isn't necessarily the fast-track to a lucrative career. So I had this vague notion that I would become a teacher or something. Then I took a Psych 101 class, and I. Was. Hooked. I immediately realized that these psychological theories were doorways to people, both as real individuals and as fictional characters. Freud, Erikson, Skinner, Rogers--they all had their perspectives on how human beings worked, and they were all valid (just as there's no one way to cook with chocolate, there is no one way to comprehend the human mind). It was a turning point in my life, and definitely a turning point in my development as a writer.
This week I'm back in beautiful Seattle, soaking in the evergreen majesty and re-connecting with old friends and acquaintance, many of whom work in mental health. I was ecstatic to see them, and they seemed equally enthusiastic to see me...which may have been augmented by the fact that I brought brownies. I brought them because, well, obviously I love to cook. Also, there's a gentleman among their number with a heart the size of Texas and a stomach to match, and I don't dare appear before him without food. But the main reason I came armed with chocolaty goodness was because a woman very dear to me is retiring soon, and I shan't be able to attend her party. She's gluten-sensitive, so I decided to bust out the best gluten-free brownie recipe I know, which generally astonishes people because it actually looks, tastes, and has the texture of a really good brownie. It's technically a "Paleo" brownie, which means I can more easily pretend it's a health food.* The original recipe by Easy Peasy was given to me by a friend, and makes an 8 x 8 pan. When I started doubling this recipe for a 9 x 13 pan, I made a couple small changes, which I've outlined below.
Z.D.'s Double Batch Easy Peasy 98% Paleo Brownies
2 Cups pure maple syrup
1 & 1/2 Cups baking cocoa
2 Cups natural almond butter (no, you don't have to stir it, because it gets mixed into the batter!)
1 & 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder (only 1/4 teaspoon if you want dense, fudgy brownies)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (adds a little something-something)
2 large eggs
1/3 Cup bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped fine (yes, this will have a bit of dairy, which technically ruins the "paleo" aspect, but I think the milkier chocolate accents the brownie flavor better)
Grease for your pan (such as coconut oil, shortening, or butter)
NOTE: if you like chocolate and almonds, you can use chunky almond butter, reduce the vanilla to 1 Tablespoon, add 3/4 teaspoon of almond extract, and sprinkle the top with thinly sliced almonds for the last fifteen minutes of baking for pretty, fragrantly nutty brownies.
- Preheat the oven to 325º F if you're using a metal pan, or 335º F if you're using a glass pan. Grease the pan, and set aside.
- In a med-large saucepan over low heat, warm the maple syrup. Using a whisk, stir in the cocoa powder (this is going to take a little while, and if you're too vigorous you will create a faintly bitter cocoa dust cloud in your kitchen, so be zen about it). As soon as mixture is smooth, remove from the heat.
- Whisk in all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips. The nice thing about brownies is there's never a fear of over-mixing the batter, so go ahead and beat that stuff as smooth as you like (good arm exercise)!
- Pour batter into prepared pan, scraping in every last bit of nummy batter. Sprinkle chopped chocolate over the top (you can use chocolate chips if you really must). Pop that beauty into the oven and bake for an hour, then test with a toothpick: you should have a few moist crumbs, but no liquid batter clinging to the toothpick. I've noticed this recipe is very oven sensitive, sometimes it bakes perfectly in an hour, other times it may need as much as fifteen minutes more. If you keep a pizza stone in your oven at all times to help regulate the temperature, an hour is almost guaranteed.
- Let cool in pan on a rack for at least thirty minutes. Honestly, if you let them cool for a couple hours, they will be infinitely easier to cut, but some of us like brownies warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream on top.
*It also offers excellent anthropological insight, as our cave-dwelling ancestors are generally portrayed as gruff, dirty, and clad in rough animal hides, when obviously they were wearing polka-dot aprons and having bake sales to fund the non-profit sabertooth tiger petting zoo.
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