Happy Friday! A weekend that begins with brownies is a great thing. And if you’re looking for a gluten free brownie recipe, look no further. Ground almonds make these the fudgiest, most delicious flourless brownies ever. With tons of melty chocolate chips, these rich, gooey brownies are utterly addictive.

Years ago, I’d made a skillet brownie from The Kitchn and wanted to redo the photos and the recipe as regular brownies baked in a square pan. Unlike my go-to recipe, this one doesn’t use any melted chocolate and relies entirely on chocolate chips for every gooey bite. The fudginess and aaaall of that amazing flavour comes from the almonds.

I made these with a reduced quantity of sugar, lesser chocolate chips and more almonds for a slightly thicker batter. I found that the first time I made them, the batter was very runny and as a result, while mixing it, air bubbles are inevitable. This leads to a not-very-smooth top which is fine, the flavour isn’t affected, but I found a slightly thicker batter helped. Having said that, the crust on these brownies isn’t paper thin (that comes from the higher amount of sugar and beating it with eggs, which is what I usually do). But it is crispy and flaky and delicious in its own way! And despite the lesser sugar and chocolate, these are still very sweet, but not cloyingly so.

I also increased the baking time and temperature to make sure they were fully cooked, and as they cool, they firm up further so it’s important to resist cutting them while they’re warm. Also, if you do end up doing that, and decide to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s not the worst idea, just saying.

Make a batch today and let me know how you like these!

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Fudgy Almond Brownies (Gluten Free)

Fudgy flourless brownies with ground almonds and chocolate chips

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 45

Makes: 9 large or 16 small brownies

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Ingredients

115 gms butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted (20 gms)
3/4 cup caster sugar (140 gms)
1/2 tsp salt if using unsalted butter
2 eggs, at room temperature (see notes)
1 and 1/2 tsps vanilla extract
3/4 cup ground almonds (75 gms)
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (130 gms)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick baking paper, covering all four sides. I usually line two parallel sides, but this batter is thin and can seep underneath the paper and end up sticking to the pan, so it's best to line it entirely.
In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter. Stir in the cocoa and then the sugar and salt. Use a balloon whisk (it breaks up lumps easily) to whisk it together.
Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Add the ground almonds and gently stir the batter together. Some air bubbles will appear, don't worry about it.
Stir in the chocolate chips, then pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean and the brownies are no longer too soft in the center.
Lift the brownies out using the paper and let them cool and firm up further on a wire rack. Then slice and dig in! Because these are quite gooey, I prefer to store them in the fridge in warm weather, for about ten days. Otherwise, they can be stored at room temperature in cooler weather for 3 to 4 days. Happy baking!

Notes

*I used about 1/2 cup blanched sliced almonds to make the ground almonds. You can use almonds with the skin on as well. Homemade almond flour always has a coarser texture compared to store-bought almond flour, but either will work.

*If you prefer thicker brownies, bake them in a rectangular pan, about 8x4 inches. Alternately, double the recipe for a square pan and increase the baking time as needed.

*Adapted from The Kitchn

*Eggs are needed in this recipe for structure in the absence of any gluten from all-purpose flour. However, here is my popular, classic eggless brownie recipe.

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