Brownies

Michael Eisenwasser

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A fudgy cocoa-based brownie with a gluten-free flour blend and an optional handful of dark chocolate chips.

Prep 15 min

Cook 30 min

Serves 16

Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (natural or Dutch-processed)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 3/4 cup (105 g) gluten-free flour blend
• 1/2 cup (85 g) dark chocolate chips, optional (at least 60% cacao, no inulin or polyols)

Makes 16 brownies in an 8-inch square pan. One serving is 1 brownie.

Instructions

Mix the Batter

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides for lifting.
2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, then remove from the heat.
3. Whisk in both sugars, the cocoa powder, and the salt until smooth and glossy. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes so it doesn't cook the eggs.
4. Whisk in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, beating hard for about 30 seconds after each egg. This is what gives brownies a shiny crackle top.
5. Add the flour blend and stir with a spatula until no streaks remain. Fold in the chocolate chips if using.

Bake

1. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
2. Bake on the middle rack for 28 to 32 minutes. A toothpick in the center should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. The edges will pull slightly from the sides.
3. Cool in the pan on a rack for at least 1 hour before lifting out and cutting into a 4x4 grid. Fudgy brownies cut much cleaner once fully cool, and chilling for 30 minutes in the fridge makes the cleanest lines.

Tips & Substitutions

• Pick a safe chocolate chip. Enjoy Life, Pascha 70% or 85%, and Guittard Extra Dark have no inulin or polyols. Most standard semi-sweet chips (Ghirardelli, Nestlé Toll House Dark) are fine at 1/2 cup across 16 brownies too. Always check the label for inulin, chicory root fiber, and sugar alcohols before buying.
• Skip any "sugar-free" or keto chip. Lily's, ChocZero, and most keto chocolates sweeten with xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol, or add inulin and chicory root fiber. Those are high-FODMAP and can put a single brownie over the limit.
• Dairy-free version. A 1:1 vegan butter stick (Miyoko's, Earth Balance soy-free) works with no other changes. Refined coconut oil also works but makes the crumb slightly softer.
• Cocoa powder type. Natural and Dutch-processed are both low-FODMAP at 8 g per serve (roughly 1 heaped tablespoon, depending on the brand). The recipe's 60 g of cocoa across 16 brownies is about 3.75 g per brownie, well below the serve.
• Cut bigger squares at your own risk. The Monash serves here assume you cut the pan into 16 pieces. A 9-piece cut roughly doubles the cocoa and chocolate per brownie, which may be too much dark chocolate for some people.
• If chocolate bothers your IBS, skip the chips and use 2/3 cup cocoa powder only. Cocoa is more forgiving than chocolate chunks.

Why This Works

Cocoa instead of melted chocolate. Cocoa powder is low-FODMAP at 8 g per serve. Using cocoa for most of the chocolate flavor keeps the per-brownie amount easy to portion, even if you add chips.

Dark chocolate chips at a safe serve. Monash tests dark chocolate as low-FODMAP at 30 g per serve. Half a cup of chips split across 16 brownies is about 5 g per brownie, which leaves plenty of room.

Butter math. Butter is low-FODMAP at 1 tablespoon per serve because it's almost pure fat. Half a cup across 16 brownies is roughly 1/2 tablespoon per brownie, with room to eat two.

GF flour blend holds the structure. The gluten-free flour blend already includes xanthan gum, so no extra binder is needed. Rice and starch keep the crumb tender without wheat's fructans.

Storage

Store cooled brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. For longer storage, wrap individual brownies in plastic, then freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes, or microwave from frozen for 20 seconds for a warm fudgy center.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.