Fudgy vegan brownies
This is a surprisingly simple recipe for vegan brownies. I’ve made this recipe a number of times, and it always turns out incredible: chewy interior, crackly top, crisp edges. No one ever suspects they’re missing any ingredient; I only get compliments for this dessert!
America’s Test Kitchen is known for their science-based recipes, which I love. This recipe is from their “Vegan for Everybody” cookbook, which I highly recommend. (Pro tip: borrowing cookbooks from the library before you decide to buy is an excellent idea!) and I’ve made small adaptations to make it a bit more approachable for our allergy families.
Don’t forget about the [long] cooling step
One important note about these brownies: the cooling step is actually really important! Notice in steps 5 and 6 that it calls for a total of 3 hours of cooling (2 for cooling in the pan, 1 for cooling out after you’ve removed the brownies from the pan). I’ve fudged it a little and done 1:30 for the first step and 30 for the second step. Still, the textures won’t be right unless you follow the cooling directions, in general.
Will this work with gluten-free flour?
I get asked this a lot, and unfortunately my answer is that I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flour, so my answer is a very unsatisfying I don’t know. But if you do try it, please leave a comment to let us know how it went and what you advise!
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Fudgy vegan brownies, adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s Vegan for Everybody
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp table salt
1 cup boiling water
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine (sweetened is also okay!)
3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
2-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
Adjust oven rack to the lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Make a foil sling for a 13x9-inch baking pan: the first sheet should be 13 inches long, and the second sheet should be 9 inches long. Lay sheets of foil in the pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over the edges of the pan. Push the foil into corners and up the sides of the pan, smoothing the foil flush to the pan. Grease the foil.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
In a separate, large bowl, whisk together boiling water, chopped unsweetened chocolate and cocoa until well combined and chocolate is melted. Whisk in sugar, oil and vanilla.
Using a rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture until combined; fold in the chocolate chips.
Scrape the batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted halfway between the edge and the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, 30-35 min. Let brownies cool in the pan on a wire rack for 2 hours.
Using the foil overhang, lift the brownies out from the pan. Return brownies to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve.
