dairy free brownies

Name: Vegan Classic Brownies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped (NOT chocolate chips); 1/4 cup plant-based butter; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup warm water; 6 Tbsp corn starch; 1 cup granulated sugar (can be raw, white, brown, or coconut); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa; 1 cup + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

Vegan Classic Brownies

July 1, 2020 by Rachael Ng 16 Comments

A vegan version of my favorite brownies! These Vegan Classic Brownies are delicious, chewy, and complete with a delicate, crackly top. I promise you won’t miss the eggs or dairy in this easy recipe!

Vegan Classic Brownies

You all have been asking me for vegan brownies for months now, and I’m so excited to finally have this recipe for you! After lots of trial and error, I’ve landed on a mix of simple ingredients so you can make Vegan Classic Brownies at home when the chocolate craving hits.

I’m going to go ahead and put it out there that I don’t recommend any substitutes for this recipe. Trust me. I tried this recipe with flaxseed meal, aquafaba, egg replacers, chocolate chips, and many different amounts of flour and cocoa powder. I think it wasn’t until my 9th test that I finally figured out the perfect formula of ingredients.

Most importantly, you must use chopped chocolate for this recipe. Chocolate chips will not work. If you’ve made my brownie recipes before, this will seem odd given that I always use chocolate chips to achieve beautiful brownies. But this recipe is different. The eggs have been replaced with corn starch and water, and there is a lot more flour! And you have to use chopped chocolate. Or your brownie batter will boil and bubble, refuse to set, and be a gritty brownie mess! So trust me, and use your favorite vegan chocolate bars!

The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

Solid chocolate bar(s) – I like to use the $5 dark chocolate Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe’s. If that’s not an option, feel free to use your favorite vegan chocolate bars! (I’ve also made these brownies with the Moser-Roth chocolate bars from Aldi)
Plant-based butter – I’ve had success using both Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and Country Crock Plant Butter sticks
Olive oil
Vanilla extract
Corn starch + water – the magic binder for these vegan brownies!! I’m not sure if arrowroot or tapioca starch will work, so I can only recommend corn starch
Sugar – feel free to use your favorite granulated sugar. I like to use a 50:50 mix of coconut and raw or regular cane sugar
Salt
Baking powder – this will add lift to the brownies since there are no whipped eggs to provide lift
Dutch-process cocoa powder – this cocoa powder has a darker color and deeper flavor than natural cocoa powder. The Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa is now 100% Dutched and the easiest to find in US grocery stores
All-purpose flour

Yield: 16 Small Brownies

Vegan Classic Brownies

Delicious and chewy Classic Brownies made vegan! I promise you won't miss the eggs or dairy in this easy brownie recipe!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients

8oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped (NOT chocolate chips)
1/4 cup plant-based butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup warm water
6 Tbsp corn starch
1 cup granulated sugar (can be raw, white, brown, or coconut)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 cup + 2 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8" baking dish with non-stick spray and parchment paper. I like to cut one long, thin strip of parchment paper to cover the bottom + two sides of the dish. Then fold the excess over the two edges and trim with scissors, keeping about a 1/2" of excess paper.
In a microwaveable bowl, add the chopped chocolate, plant butter, and olive oil. Heat in 15-30 second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is all melted and smooth; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the warm water and corn starch. Use a firm spoon to mix the two until they reach a thin, uniform consistency - it's normal for it to be goopy and thick at first.
Add the corn starch mix to a large bowl, along with the sugar. Mix for about 30 seconds. Then stir in the vanilla extract. Add the melted chocolate and mix until totally combined.
Stir in the salt and baking powder. Then sift in the cocoa powder and flour. Use a large spoon or spatula to mix the ingredients all together, until no flour pockets remain. The batter will be more like a sticky cookie dough. It will be a lot thicker than traditional brownie batter.
Spoon the batter into your prepared baking dish. Use your fingers to gently spread, press, and smooth the batter into the dish, making an even layer of batter.
Bake the brownies at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the center looks firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few big crumbs.
Allow brownies to cool completely before lifting them up and out of the baking dish with the parchment paper "tabs". Slice the brownies into 9 or 16 equal pieces.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Notes

After multiple tests for this recipe, I recommend you only follow this recipe as written
You must use chopped chocolate bars and NOT chocolate chips. When this same recipe was made with chocolate chips, the batter boiled in the oven and never set
I like to use the Pound Plus chocolate bars from Trader Joe's here in the US. Both of their "dark chocolate" bars are free of dairy

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 193Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 113mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 1g

calculated nutrition information may not always be accurate

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Classic Weeknight Brownies (DF)

January 14, 2020 by Rachael Ng 4 Comments

So I decided to take my favorite brownie recipe (which happens to be gluten-free) and make classic, gluten-full, fudgy brownies! For the folks looking for a simple brownie with ordinary ingredients, these brownies are for you. Made with regular cane sugars, eggs, all-purpose flour, and good ole chocolate chips, these brownies are as classic as they come. I, of course, used vegan butter for my brownies, but regular butter would work wonderfully, too!

For these brownies, you’ll melt the chocolate and fats together, whip up the eggs and sugars so they’re nice and thick, and then combine ingredients to form a batter. I only recommend using chocolate chips for this recipe as I could not achieve the same crackly top results with chopped chocolate – still unsure of the science behind this, but chocolate chips yield a crackly top every time! It’s also important to whisk your eggs and sugars until the mixture becomes thick, fluffy, and light in color – this is the traditional way to add “lift” to brownies without using any leavening agents (like baking soda, etc). The end result is a perfectly sweetened, fudgy brownie with a lovely crackly top.

Yield: 24 Brownies

Classic Weeknight Brownies

Classic, crackly-top fudgy brownies made with familiar ingredients from your pantry! The perfect brownies to bake for friends and family!

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips
1/2 cup plant-based butter (or solid coconut oil)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 heaping tsp instant coffee granules (optional)
4 large eggs, room temp
1 cup white granulated sugar (or coconut sugar)
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process)
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9x13" baking dish with non-stick spray and parchment paper. I like to cut my parchment paper into two pieces that will criss-cross along the bottom of the dish and then go up the sides. Trim parchment paper at the top edge of the dish.
Using a microwave, or the double boiler method, melt together the chocolate chips, vegan butter, olive oil, and instant coffee. If microwaving, cook the ingredients in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each one. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the room temperature eggs and sugars. Whisk on medium-high speed until mixture becomes thick, light in color, and somewhat fluffy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Add the melted chocolate mixture to your eggs and sugars, gently folding in the chocolate until totally combined - this takes a bit of patience.
Finally, sift the salt, cocoa powder, and flour into the bowl of batter. Use a large spatula or spoon to mix until no flour/cocoa pockets remain. Pour batter into your prepared baking dish. If your batter has a lot of air in it, there may be lots of bubbles coming to the surface. Feel free to tap your baking dish on the counter and/or use a toothpick to pop some of the bubbles before baking.
Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out with a few crumbs. I like to test my brownies using a toothpick toward the outer edge; that way, I can ensure I don't over-bake the brownies and the middle, along with the outer pieces, will still be fudgy.
Allow brownies to totally cool in the baking dish - for quicker cooling, placing the dish on top of a cooling rack. Run a butter knife along the corners of the brownies, and then use the parchment paper tabs to life the whole brownie up and out of the dish. Carefully slice into 24 pieces, wiping your knife clean between each slice to ensure clean cuts.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature, in a single layer or with parchment paper between layers (to keep the delicate, crackly top in tact).

Notes

Chocolate chips are necessary for the delicate, crackly top in this recipe

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

August 19, 2019 by Rachael Ng 2 Comments

Fudgy and rich Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies topped with a sweet dark chocolate icing! These decadent squares are loaded with chocolate and the zucchini is undetectable!

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Zucchini has to be one of my favorite add-ins to baked goods. Muffins, bread, and even cake can all be deliciously made with heaps of good-for-you zucchini! A green veggie in my desserts? Yep! Because who doesn’t want to feel a little bit better when indulging in something ooey gooey and ultra chocolatey?

These brownies are so decadent and fudgy, and with a thin layer of sweet dark chocolate frosting, you won’t be able to pass them up. And once you get the brownie-making method down, this recipe is really quite easy. The chocolate can be melted in the microwave, and if you have a stand mixer, the eggs and sugar can be left for a few minutes to whip while you shred your zucchini. Throw some extra chocolate chips into the batter for an irresistible triple chocolate brownie!

Some of the Ingredients You’ll Need + Substitutions:

Chocolate chips are melted and added to the batter for a seriously fudgy brownie. I recommend semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Dutch process cocoa powder is darker in color and richer in flavor. Since there are no leavening agents in this recipe (baking soda, etc) you can also use regular cocoa powder in its place – your brownies just won’t be dark chocolate.
Eggs whip up with the sugar to create a fluffy batter which gives the brownies lift, negating the need for baking soda or powder. I haven’t tested this recipe with any egg alternatives.
Coconut sugar is an unrefined, low GI sugar. It tastes less sweet than white sugar, and makes for a great, better-for-you alternative. Feel free to use your favorite cane sugar instead – unrefined, white, or brown (lightly packed).
Arrowroot starch thickens the brownie batter and helps bind the brownies together. You can use cornstarch in its place.

More Zucchini Recipes:

Spiced Zucchini Cake

Healthier Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Gluten-Free Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Yield: 9-16 Brownies

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Ultra fudgy brownies made with shredded zucchini and dark, Dutch-process cocoa powder. These chocolate-frosted squares are grain-free + dairy-free and totally irresistible!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

Brownies

1 cup + 1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, divided
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 cup coconut sugar or cane sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 cup arrowroot starch (or cornstarch)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup finely shredded zucchini, excess juice squeezed out (see Note 1)

Frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 Tbsp plant-based butter (or refined coconut oil), melted
2 Tbsp plant-based milk

Instructions

Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8" pan or baking dish with non-stick spray and parchment paper - I like to cut my parchment paper into two long pieces, criss-crossing them in the middle.
Melt together 1 cup of the chocolate chips with the plant-based butter/oil in the microwave or using the double boiler method; stir and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the eggs and coconut sugar. Whisk on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes fluffy and light brown in color, adding the vanilla extract along the way.
Gently fold the melted chocolate into the whisked egg mixture. Fold in the cocoa powder, arrowroot starch, and salt. Stir in the shredded zucchini and 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (optional) until combined.
Bake brownies at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until the center looks set. Allow brownies to cool for 10 minutes before making your frosting. In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, coconut oil or butter, and plant-based milk. Microwave the frosting until warm to the touch. Pour over warm brownies, tilting the pan until frosting is evenly distributed.
Allow brownies to totally cool before slicing and serving. For clean cuts, use the excess parchment paper to remove the entire brownie square. Slice into 16 brownies, wiping your knife clean between each slice. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.