Dripping with rich chocolate flavor, my favorite Go-To Peanut Butter Brownies are vegan, gluten-free and made with oat flour, peanut butter, cacao, walnuts, maple syrup and brown sugar.
Like many of you, I’m sure, I have a binder stuffed full of old recipes. Some are tried-and-true, while others fall into the “never got around to it” category. Some are printed and covered with scribbled notes. Others are handwritten on an interesting assortment of scratch paper. While sifting through the binder recently I came across my old favorite vegan brownie recipe. It dates back to our time in Wisconsin, which is where we lived when we went vegan. I remember being on a brownie kick for a while, making these anytime a party or potluck invitation popped up. Though I don’t recall exactly (and can’t find any clues in the trusty binder), I suspect the original inspiration for these came from one of Angela Liddon’s brownie recipes on Oh She Glows. I was a regular visitor to her amazing blog back in the day! In fact, I know the desire to start my own blog certainly came from being helped so much by blogs like hers.
Each time I made these brownies, I kept refining the recipe until it was the perfect blend of simple yet delicious. As time passed and we moved several times, the binder got packed away, habits changed, and apparently I found new go-to dessert recipes.
Well, I’m happy to report that my favorite gluten-free peanut butter brownies and I have been reunited! I’ve made them twice recently and love them as much as ever. They’re super easy and contain no fussy ingredients. Just straightforward, rich, peanut buttery, chocolate brownies.
And as far as interesting scratch paper goes, this one is pretty good. It came from a Pravachol-branded note pad. Ha! Oh, the irony of a vegan recipe written on an ad for a cholesterol-lowering drug. Check this out…
“Rare cases of rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria have been reported.”
A Few More Details About These Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Brownies
Yikes. Anyway, back to these cholesterol-free brownies that get their fat content mainly from peanut butter and walnuts, instead of the butter and eggs you find in traditional brownies.
Requiring just eleven ingredients, you might even have everything on hand to make these right now. And really, you don’t even need the walnuts if you want to call it a “10 ingredients or less” recipe. I mean, they are filled with peanut butter, so some might call the walnuts unnecessary. But I like to include them for that extra bit of crunch and, well, because they’re pretty. Plus, walnuts contain antioxidants and the Omega-3 fatty acid ALA, alpha-linolenic acid, which actually decreases your risk of dying from heart disease. Bonus!
Another substitution you can make that would amp up the flavor even more is to add one or two tablespoons of brewed coffee in place of the same amount of milk. A touch of coffee always works wonders in chocolate desserts.
One more thing I really love about these brownies is that even though they’re on the healthier side, as far as brownies go, you still get the contrasting textures EVERYONE loves. You know, the crunchier pieces around the edges of the pan, the slightly crispy, flaky top, with rich and soft insides. So. So. Good.
I hope you’ll give my Go-To Peanut Butter Brownies a try, and leave a comment below or tag @myquietkitchen on instagram to let me know. Happy baking!
If you’re into chocolate, you might also like these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles and this super easy Chocolate Chia Tart with Hazelnut Crust!
Go-To Peanut Butter Brownies
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 3/4 cup peanut butter, natural, salted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)
- 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp rolled oats OR 1 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda *If using Dutch process cocoa (below), sub baking powder. Dutch process isn't acidic enough to react with baking soda.
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder or traditional cocoa powder *If using Dutch process cocoa, sub baking powder for the baking soda listed above.
Additions:
- 1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line an 8 inch x 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- If starting with rolled oats, pulse oats in a food processor until a coarse flour consistency is reached. Add remaining dry ingredients and pulse to combine. Move to a bowl. If you already have oat flour, add it to a medium-sized bowl with the other dry ingredients. Whisk to combine.
- Add all wet ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and pulse the food processor until everything is combined. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Spread batter into the lined pan. Bake 28-32 minutes, inserting a toothpick (or knife or chopstick) into the center to test for doneness.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan 10-15 minutes. Lifting by the parchment edges, move brownies to a cutting board. Allow to cool completely (if possible) before cutting into 16 squares.
Nutrition
Susan spalding
September 6, 2018 at 7:17 pmCAN’T wait to try this and more, Great blog.
Lori
September 7, 2018 at 1:31 pmThank you, Susan! 🙂
Julie
April 1, 2019 at 5:25 amLori, how can you say your peanut butter brownie is gluten-free, when oats are one of the grains (wheat, barley, oats and rye) a coeliac has to avoid, due to its gluten?
Lori
April 1, 2019 at 8:24 amHi Julie, with the use of certified gluten-free oats (manufactured to avoid cross contamination) this recipe is gluten-free. Thankfully labeling has gotten much better and GF oats are fairly easy to find. My understanding is that most people with celiac disease can safely eat GF oats. A small percentage can’t but it’s due to a different protein called avenin. Of course, it’s up to the individual to know whether gluten-free oats are safe for them to eat.
Julie
April 1, 2019 at 8:57 amI live in Australia and have no knowledge of this information.