Flourless Brownies (Gluten-free, and oh-so-good!)

One of my new favorite cookbooks is The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. I've written about it a number of times, and every time someone asks me for a good cookbook to go along with their Instant Pot, I recommend it.

Yeah, I really like that book. A lot. Hint: Make the cheesecake!

So when I heard that those same authors had written a cookbook called Turbo Blender Dessert Revolution specifically for high-powered blenders (like the Vitamix or Blendtec) I knew I had to have it. I was so excited, I pre-ordered it. I seldom do that.

As I browsed through the book, there were a ton of recipes I wanted to make. I had all the ingredients for the very first recipe in the book - vanilla pudding - so I was in the kitchen immediately, blending and "cooking" pudding in my blender.

I was yapping on Facebook about the book, and Mark Scarbrough replied to my post:

Well, shoot, if a book author tells you that you have to make a recipe, there's probably some kind of law that says you have to, right? Or maybe just a Facebook obligation.

I had used up all the eggs on the pudding, so I had to wait until I bought more, but it wasn't long before I was in the kitchen, blending the batter for the brownies.

There is no flour in this recipe, and no leavening. And no, it's not cooked in the blender. You do the mixing, then you put it in a pan and bake it.

While there are some recipes that are 100 percent prepared in the blender, there are a lot of them where you also use another appliance, like an ice cream maker or an oven.

But the blender isn't just taking the place of a hand mixer. It is used for purposes besides simple mixing. For example, there are recipes where you grind flour and then mix ingredients for something you're going to bake.

If you have one of those high-powered blenders, this book will for sure get you using it for more than smoothies and blended cocktails. Make the brownies. Trust me.

Gluten-Free Brownies
Adapted from Turbo Blender Dessert Revolution
By Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

The book notes that they almost didn't want to label these as gluten-free, since they wanted "everyone to make them." Well, okay, they got me to make them. And I see what they mean. They're gluten free, but you'd never know it. They're just yum.

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
10 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or semisweet chocolate broken into squares or roughly chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used black cocoa)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I omitted this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (I used walnuts.)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center. Butter a nonstick 8-inch square baking pan (I used baking spray), then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (I made a sling rather than just covering the bottom) and then butter the parchment (again, I used spray).

Put the butter and chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 10-second bursts, stirring each time, until about 3/4 of the chocolate is melted. Then remove the bowl from the microwave and stir until smooth. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes. This is a good time to do all the measuring of the rest of the ingredients.

Put the sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the blender container. (They refer to it as the large canister. Mine came with one blender container; there may be other blenders that come with different sized containers.)

Blend at the highest speed until the mixture is smooth and airy, about one minute. Add the chocolate mixture, cover, and blend at high speed for 20 seconds, until smooth.

Add the cornstarch, cocoa powder, cinnamon (I didn't use it) and salt. Scrape down the inside of the container. Cover and blend at low speed, stopping the machine often to scrape down the container to make sure it's all mixing evenly. This should take about 30 seconds of blending for it to be evenly blended and smooth.

Remove the blender container from the machine and add the nuts. Stir to combine.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 35 minutes.

Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, then turn out the brownies, remove the parchment paper from the bottom, and flip it right-side-up again on the rack or a cutting board. Let it cool completely before cutting.

Oh, and just for the heck of it, here's some pudding for you. Sorry for the not-great photo. I hadn't planned on using it once I made the brownies, and this disappeared too fast for me to grab another photo. Oopsie!

The pudding had an interesting texture. A little airy from the bubbles added from the blending. Really good!

Black Walnut Extract

Black walnuts are hard to open, expensive, and they have a relatively short shelf life. When I bought a whole lot of black walnuts for an article I was working on a while back, I made a few recipes with the nuts, but then ... I was done.

I had eaten enough black-walnut-flavored baked goods, and I was ready to move on.

I could have frozen the rest of them, of course, but sometimes things that go into the freezer disappear. The big things, sure I know they're there. But a little bag of walnuts could vanish.

So ... I decided to make an extract.

Or it could be a liqueur. It's good for baking or for use in cocktails. Wherever you want to add that black walnut flavor..

Black Walnut Extract

2 cups chopped black walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
Vodka, as needed

Put the walnuts and sugar into a quart jar. Add vodka to fill the jar up to the neck. I used Smirnoff Honey because it's what I had and I figured the honey flavor would be compatible. A plain vodka would be jut as good.

Put the lid on the jar and shake until sugar is dissolved, Or, you know, shake it occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. You don't need to shake like crazy to get it all dissolved right away.

Stash the jar in your pantry or another out-of-the-way spot and let it sit for at least a month. Or more.

Strain the walnuts from the liquid. You can use the walnuts in baking, if you like, but keep in mind that they've absorbed quite a bit of alcohol and they're pretty potent.

Strain the liquid again through several layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter for a completely clear liquid. Transfer to a bottle or jar for storage.

Super-Fudgy Walnut, Caramel, and Marshmallow Brownies #SweetenTheSeason

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SweetenTheSeason #CollectiveBias

When I got an opportunity to do a post that involved baking with chocolate and other goodies ... well, how could I say no? I love baking, and chocolate is so ... chocolate. I mean, what more can I say? I decided to make brownies. But not any brownies. These have caramel bits and walnuts inside, and a puffy-gooey colorful splash of marshmallow on top.

At first, I wanted to use the marshmallows inside the brownies, to get the colors to show inside, but that didn't work as expected. The brownies were delicious, but the marshmallows melted and the colors mostly disappeared. So then I decided to top the brownies with the marshmallows, so you could see them.

See what torture I go through for you? Brownies had to be consumed. Okay, and I gave some away, too. But still.

I picked up my goodies at the local Walmart where a "Bake Center" display was conveniently positioned in the middle of the big aisle in the grocery area. Like a beacon of ... baking to come. I swear, I always gawk at the stuff in the baking displays, even if I'm not shopping for baking stuff. Do you do that too? I just have to stop and browse. Have to.

I had a whole list of products I could choose to use, and I was supposed to pick at least three for my actual recipe. I narrowed it down to some Baker's chocolate bars (I stocked up on white, semi-sweet, and unsweetened chocolate bars, because I use them all the time) and then I added Kraft caramel bits, because I thought they would be fun, and then I hunted down the Jet-Puffed Candy Corn marshmallows because I thought they'd be pretty.

While candy corn is probably most associated with Halloween, the colors of the marshmallows were very fall-like and just as appropriate for all the days leading up to Thanksgiving. And, hey, why not have some brownies for Thanksgiving dessert, too?

I kind of love this recipe. It's simple to put together and it freezes well, so you can make extra and have them on hand if someone drops by for coffee or if you need an emergency dessert. And while these look like something that came from a fancy bakery, they're budget friendly, so you can make them often!

Did I mention they're very dense and very fudge-like? I prefer to eat them just a little bit chilled. But that's just me. They'd probably be amazing if they were just a little warm, and then topped with ice cream. Or at room temperature. Yeah, they're that good.

Since they're so rich and luxurious, a little goes a long way. I suggest cutting them in smaller pieces rather than ginormous ones, like you'd do for a cake - at least 16 pieces - or even more. I cut my second batch into 36 pieces, each about 1 3/4-inch square. Possibly too small for dessert, but perfect for a little snack.

To make removing the brownies from the pan a little easier, I suggest lining your baking pan with parchment.

Super-Fudgy Walnut, Caramel, and Marshmallow Brownies
Makes 1 9-inch square pan, 16 or more pieces

1 4-ounce bar Baker's semi-sweet chocolate
1 4-ounce bar Baker's unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks butter
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup Kraft caramel bits (or more, to taste)
1 cup Jet-Puffed Candy Corn marshmallows (or more, to taste)
1/2 bar (2 ounces) Baker's white chocolate, chopped (optional)

Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler on the stove, or in the microwave in a microwave-safe container (I used a measuring cup) in 30-second increments, stirring in between heating, until the chocolate and butter are fully melted. Stir until they're combined.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.

Add the melted chocolate to the dry mixture and beat well.

Add the eggs and beat until combined. Add the walnuts and stir until the walnuts are evenly distributed throughout the chocolate mixture. Note: you could add the caramel bits along with the walnuts, but I found that it was easier to make sure they were evenly distributed when I layered them in the center. But it works either way.

Put about half of the mixture in the pan and press it evenly into the pan. It is very thick. Don't worry about that.

Sprinkle the caramel bits evenly on top of the chocolate. You can add more, if you like.

Add the rest of the chocolate mixture to the pan and press it evenly on top of the caramel bits.

Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until the edges of the brownies are fully set and the center has just a tiny bit of jiggle to it. It shouldn't be sloppy, but it's fine if it moves a bit.

Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the top with the marshmallows. You don't need to measure exactly - just scatter on as many as you like. Keep in mind that they'll flatten and spread out as they melt.

Scatter the chopped white chocolate on top, if you're using it.

Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the marshmallows have softened and melted. Mmmm.

Because of the fudgy nature of these brownies, you won't be able to test them with a toothpick, as you would for a cake, but they should be set in the center (no more jiggle) when they're done and the edges will be slightly crisp.

Let the pan cool completely on a rack before removing the brownies. I suggest refrigerating them before slicing, for neater looking cuts.

You can make these brownies well in advance and freeze them. Remove them from the freezer and let them rest a for a while at room temperature, so they can soften enough for slicing.

The marshmallows and caramel bits also make nice snacks all on their own, so it would be perfectly fine to scatter some on the plate with the brownies or have them sitting in bowls on your dessert bar.

Note: If you can't find the candy corn marshmallows, you can use regular mini marshmallows or any seasonal or colored mini marshmallows that you like.

For more info on the products I used (YUM!), more recipes, and a COUPON for Kraft products at Walmart, check it out!

Salted brown sugar caramel walnut ice cream

What else can be said? It's ice cream. It's salted caramel. It's got brown sugar. It's got walnuts.

It's really, really, really, really good. I mean ... really.

Sure, you sort of have to make caramel first, but that's not really a big deal. I mean, that's just melted sugar and stuff.

And it doesn't have to be a perfect caramel. You're not serving it as a caramel, so the thickness isn't an issue.

As long as it melts and you don't burn it, you're good to go.

Well, except that the title is a little long. Let's just call it Caramel Walnut Ice Cream and let everyone oooh and aaaaah when they try it. We'll keep that brown sugar and salt to ourselves, shall we?

Caramel Walnut Ice Cream

1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Combine the sugar and butter in  a heavy-bottomed pot. I like to use a saucier, but a saucepan is fine. Heat on medium until the sugar melts. It's better to heat this slowly rather than heat it quickly and have the butter scorch or the sugar burn.

Add the heavy cream. It will bubble and perhaps spatter. The sugar mixture might harden. No worries. Just keep cooking and stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Turn the heat off and add the milk and then stir in the vanilla.

Transfer the mixture to a storage container and refrigerate until completely chilled. I usually make this the day before I want to churn it.

When the mixture has chilled, churn it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the salt and walnuts at the very end of cooking, or add them as you're transferring the ice cream to a storage container. The point is to not let the salt melt and distribute through the mixture - you want it to encounter your taste buds in little "pops" of salt.

Freeze until firm.

Walnut-Apricot Bread

People often ask me how I come up with the unusual flavors in some of my breads. Sometimes I'm trying to create a particular flavor profile, and sometimes it's a matter of being creative with what I have on hand. In this case, someone had given me a bag of raw walnuts and seeing them on the kitchen counter got me thinking about ways to use them up.

Bread was the obvious answer, but what sort of bread? I wasn't in the mood for sweet, sticky, chunky, nutty rolls. When I thought about the flavor of walnuts, I decided they would add an interesting flavor component to a loaf of bread without overwhelming it. Since I didn't want obvious hunks of walnut, I decided to grind them to a paste.

Rather than adding sugar, I decided that a natural sweetness would be nice. I had Turkish apricots left over from something else, and the combination sounded appealing to me. I used exactly 14 dried apricots, because that's what I on hand had at the time. As with the walnuts, I decided that I wanted them incorporated into the dough as completely as possible, so they went into the food processor with the walnuts.

The resulting bread has a beautiful mahogany crust, and a subtle walnut flavor. It's not sweet at all; perfectly appropriate plain, with a little butter, or for a sandwich. I think it's particularly tasty with cream cheese, and it would make a great base for an appetizer with cream cheese and thin slices of cucumber.








Walnut-Apricot Bread

1 cup lukewarm water

2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) yeast

2 1/2 cups bread flour, divided

1 cup raw walnuts

14 dried pitted apricots (I used Turkish)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, and one cup of the bread flour.

Put the walnuts, apricots and olive oil into your food processor, blender, or other capable device, and process it until it is a mostly smooth homogeneous mixture. This should make about a cup, but a little more or less is fine.

By the time the walnut mixture is smooth, the flour mixture should be bubbly.

To that, add the rest of the bread flour and the salt, and knead with the dough hook until it begins to come together.

Add the walnut mixture, including all the liquid that may be separating from the walnuts. Knead until the mixture has incorporated fully into the dough and it starts becoming smooth. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes before continuing.

After the rest, continue kneading with the dough hook until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic. Remove the bowl from the mixer, form the dough into a ball. It shouldn't be sticky at all at this point. Put the dough ball back into he mixer bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rest until doubled in size, about an hour and a half.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take the dough out of the bowl, knead it briefly, and form into a tight ball. Place it, seam-side down, on the baking sheet. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and set it aside to rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

When the dough has doubled, slash the top. Be decorative if you want, or just slash an "X" in the top or make parallel lines or a square - whatever you prefer.

To recreate the slashes I made, first make the large X in the top of the bread going almost to the base of the dough, then make short slashes in-between the long ones. Use small, sharp scissors to make tiny snips around the short slashes.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Check the dough after 15 minutes, and rotate the pan if it's rising or browning unevenly. If it seems to be browning too fast, turn the oven temperature down to 325.  

 

The crust will be a deep brown, and the bread should sound hollow when tapped.

This recipe also appeared on Serious Eats.