I love a chocolate brownie, and my friend Marie eats chocolate chips for breakfast, so when she first served a conventional version of this fall take on brownies, I was surprised, but immediately hooked!  An added bonus to making them is that I get to use one of my favorite kitchen tools: an apple peeling “gizmo.”  I bought five one December and boxed each with apples, cinnamon, and caramel sauce as “family” Christmas presents for my parents and each of my siblings.  The verdict: excellent gift – one of the best! Here’s our GF version of Marie’s dessert.

Marie’s Apple Brownies (made gluten free)

350 F Oven, 9 x 13 inch pan, greased and (GF) floured

INGREDIENTS

 4 medium apples, peeled and diced (using the “gizmo” is easy and extremely satisfying!) The apples should be flavorful and fairly tart – Macoun work well

8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

16 oz. (2 cups) light brown sugar (white is fine, but I prefer the extra flavor.)

2 large eggs, room temperature

12 oz. GF Flour Mix (2 cups)

1 oz. coconut flour (nice flavor and texture, has some fiber.)

2 oz. chestnut flour

1 Teaspoon baking powder

1 Teaspoon baking soda

1 Teaspoon xantham gum

1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly grated is nice!)

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional.)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream the butter using a Kitchen Aid style mixer.
2. Add the brown sugar, mixing at medium speed until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing at medium speed until well blended.
4. In a medium bowl combine the dry ingredients using a whisk.
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter and sugar mixture at low speed, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as necessary.
6. Fold in the nuts using the spatula.
7. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake with the rack centered in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until slightly firm and lightly browned.  Add an extra 5 minutes if you think it’ll help; you’ll want these to be fully cooked.
9. Cool and cut into squares, or serve warm out of the pan with vanilla, burnt sugar or rum raisin ice cream.  A little warm caramel sauce never hurts. Ricchuiti’s in San Francisco makes a delicious one. Run, don’t walk, to the San Francisco Ferry Building/Farmer’s Market to get some if you’re ever there, or order it online. Rumor has it the Recchiuti family is opening a restaurant….  Hope so!

Note: you can substitute 3 ounces of Sweet Rice or Sorghum flour for the chestnut/coconut flour mix, or use 3 ounces of chestnut or coconut.  Garbanzo been flour is even an option, although I find the taste too strong for most baked goods. This is where your creativity comes in!

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