Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain-Free}

Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain-Free}

Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain-Free}

Coconut flour is really high in fiber (because that’s pretty much all that it is) with some protein and good fats in there to boot. It does have a coconutty aroma but the flavour is easily masked when baked with ingredients like chocolate…for example…

So if it’s such a cool ingredient, then why is this one of the first times I’ve mentioned it on here?

Well, the frustrating thing is that coconut flour is a pain in the arse to develop recipes with. It absorbs crazy amounts of liquid and has no real binding quality so usually requires a LOT of eggs to go with it. I’m not a fan of overly eggy textured desserts (i.e. souffles or custard-like things) so I haven’t used it much in the past.

When I was looking through my friend Josh’s new book The Slim Palate Cookbook (full disclosure, that’s an affiliate link), I noticed he’d used coconut flour in a brownie recipe. I had a bag of coconut flour in the cupboard (and, at £6 a bag, I was like ‘yeah okay lets do this, use up some coconut flour!!’) so decided to give the recipe a go as it looked normal for egg quantities and the picture was making me pretty hungry.

Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain-Free}

Holy crap they’re good. They’re not as dense as traditional brownies, I think due to the use of coconut flour and small amount of baking soda, and have about half of the amount of sugar. Of course I went all classic food blogger and browned the butter before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. I amped up the chocolate flavour too, by sneaking some extra cocoa powder into the batter 😉

If you don’t have coconut flour/can’t  get it/ don’t want to spend £££ on a bag for one recipe (I wouldn’t blame you) then you can sub in almond flour (see the recipe notes) which also has a healthy fats, protein and fiber. Win win. We all get filling brownies. Hooray!

Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain-Free}

Notes

– I’ve heard that different brands of coconut flours can bake up slightly differently; I used the Tiana brand of coconut flour and it worked really well!

– If you don’t have/can’t get coconut flour, replace with 2/3 cup (75 g) almond flour or ground almonds

– The recipe is adapted from Joshua’s recipe for Paleo Brownies from his book The Slim Palate Cookbook

Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain Free}

No ratings yet
Print Pin

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (8 tbsp /110 g) unsalted butter
  • 3 oz (85 g) unsweetened baking chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) coconut flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • optional: 3 tbsp chopped walnuts , (or other nuts)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C). Grease an 8-inch square cake pan with butter. Line the greased pan with a piece of baking paper.
  • Place the butter into a medium pot and melt over a medium heat. Continue to heat the butter until it foams up and smells nutty then remove from the heat. Add the chocolate to the pot and stir until all the chocolate has melted and mixed in. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the walnuts) to the pot and stir together until well combined.
  • Pour the mixture into the lined pan, sprinkle on the chopped walnuts (if using) and bake for 15-20 minutes – it will look set and dry on top but the middle should still be soft. Leave to cool before slicing into 16 squares.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it went! Mention @izyhossack or tag #topwithcinnamon!

98 thoughts on “Flourless Browned Butter Brownies {Gluten-Free + Grain-Free}”

  1. oh I LOVE Josh’s blog! and this looks so delicious! I’ll end up using the almond flour ’cause I can only find the coconut flour online aaaaaaand… well, it’s pretty pricey so.. anyways, very nice recipe 😉

    • Thanks Cheri! It does have a coconutty flavour but the chocolate masks it so the brownies don’t actually taste of coconut at all!

  2. I have a bag of coconut flour sitting in my pantry as well! I’m scared of it, lol! These look SO yummy. I love it when dessert has some healthy benefits!

  3. Okay, so obviously your photos are always gorgeous, but these are especially breathtaking. I absolutely love them (and the brownies)!!!

  4. I thought I was the only one that ate a bunch of food when I was stressed out! When finals come up, I have difficulty staying away from the kitchen. Who am I kidding? I have trouble staying away from the kitchen always!
    These brownies are going to make it even harder. Thanks a lot Izy!

  5. These look fabulous!

    So, I’m the opposite. When I’m stressed, I forget to eat. I eat to celebrate happy things! Yay! life is great! Eat a brownie! Life is short, order 2 desserts! But hey, whatever works 🙂

    • Thanks! If I’m working I can forget to eat too but then as soon as I’m near any food I’m like I will never stop eating ever. Until I get super full and have to leave. Duh of course celebration food happens too 😉

  6. I have been looking for an awesome GF brownie recipe! Last time I made mine with beans and it was more fudge like than brownie like!

  7. I’ve just recently switched to coconut flour from wheat flour, and I know what you mean about needing more liquid. Besides eggs, you could also use almond milk or maybe even coconut milk? A fantastic website that promotes gluten-free, low-carb, high-fat foods is Maria Mind Body and Health, you should check it out for more coconut flour recipes. It is expensive (I have Tiana too), but it goes a lot further than wheat flour or almond flour (aka ground almonds).

    where do you get your unsweetened baking chocolate?

    • Thanks for the tip about using the milks! and for the tip about the blog, I’ll have a look.
      I know exactly what you’re talking about – this recipe only used 1/4 cup of coconut flour! I just know it can be annoying for people to buy a whole bag of coconut flour and then only use it in one recipe, rather than almond flour which is much easier to find and very versatile 🙂

      I bring it back from America, but if I don’t have any then the Lindt 90% stuff is the easiest to find.

  8. Wow, these really look fantastic. I absolutely adore brownies – and I love your take on making them a bit more substantial. I too struggle with the notion that one standard sugar-laden brownie is never enough. Or two, or three…

    Can’t wait to try your version! I love the flavors you used. Do you think I could grind up coconut flakes and use them in place of the coconut flour?

    • Thanks Lisa. Tell me about it, brownies are definitely a weakness of mine!

      That’s a really good question – I have in the past tried making my own ‘coconut flour’ by grinding up the pulp I had leftover from making coconut milk. But I found that it’s not the same thing, it doesn’t absorb the moisture in the same way and has properties more like ground almonds. So you might be able to grind up the coconut flakes and use that like almond flour (2/3 cup) as I’ve advised in the notes…

      Let me know if/what you try!

    • ahahah, well I don’t know if I can get away with calling them healthy..but they’re certainly better for you than regular brownies!

  9. I’m a stress eater too. Or at least that’s my excuse. I sometimes make brownies using aduki beans, coconut oil, dates, cocoa and agave nectar – -h, and coconut cream too. They’re pretty good for fending off the cravings. I’ve never tried coconut flour before, though, so very excited to try these. And the browned butter – lovely touch 🙂

    • I just went and stalked your recipe archives to find that brownie recipe 😉 I may have to try it out!
      Thanks Skye

  10. Stopped by because I saw this gorgeous photo on Pinterest, but I must say, I do the exact same thing during exams (unfortunately, my first is tomorrow…ah!). This time I’ve been eating a chocolate biscotti recipe I’ve been working on. I think I would devour all of these brownies right now if they were on my counter!

    • Good luck with your exams! Mm biscotti are really good snacking material, perfect with coffee 😉
      Thanks Louisa

  11. Izy you are the bestest of the best!!! My (several) bags of coconut flour have been withering away…hooray for filling brownies!! Speaking of being full and loving flax, have you ever tried the flax focaccia that’s been floating the interwebs? (It’s all flax, eggs and olive oil pretty much.) I made it again recently and holy cow, I was so full after a few pieces. It’s kind of crumbly and obviously not a brownie, but I love it 🙂

    PS. Congrats again on your nomination and you have my vote!!

    • hahaa I KNEW I couldn’t be the only one in this situation.
      I haven’t!! I remember seeing the recipe floating around as you said, but I didn’t know if it would be good. Sounds like something I’d love too 🙂

      Thanks Erika! <3

  12. This recipe looks amazing. I have a question regarding the honey – do you happen to know of a low carb substitute? These are almost perfect to make for my husband, who is low carb (would use almond flour), but I don’t know of any artificial sweeteners that would work the same.

    Thanks in advance for your time!

    • Thanks Roxanne.
      In the book, Josh suggests using 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk plus 1/2 tsp of liquid stevia. I haven’t tried this out personally, but sounds like it’d be fine.

  13. Hey Izy 🙂

    Just wanted to ask – I’ve got a bag of desiccated coconut. Would blending that into a finer flour work in the same way or does it have to be ‘juiced out’ of all it’s milky goodness before it works as a flour?

    xx

    • Hi Marissa!

      I had someone ask a similar question so I’m pretty much copy + pasting my response from above, here haha.

      I have in the past tried making my own ‘coconut flour’ by grinding the pulp I had leftover from making coconut milk. But I found that it’s not the same thing, it doesn’t absorb the moisture in the same way and has properties more like ground almonds. So you might be able to just grind up the coconut and use that like almond flour (2/3 cup) as I’ve advised in the notes

      Hope that helps!

  14. thanks for introducing josh’s blog and also this new brownie recipe. i have never worked with coconut flour but almond flour, yes i have it and im gonna make this soon.

    • Coconut flour is super weird. It’s kind of exciting but stressful to come up with recipes to use it in!
      Great, hope you enjoy them!

  15. Oh my goodness, that is totally me. Binge eating chocolate chips (straight-up) and lots and lots of tea. That’s currently my diet. Chocolate chips and tea. Don’t look at my instagram! Haha. Coconut flour is a tricksy little thing. These are awesome looking…I might have to make…except vegan, cus, you know. 😉

    • hahaha I can’t be left alone near a bag of chocolate chips or there will be none left in about 5 minutes! Let me know if you manage to veganize them and I’ll add a note to the recipe 🙂

  16. Um, I am the WORST stress eater! Candy is my ultimate weakness when things are rough. Sour candy, specifically. Don’t ask.

    Definitely have to try these brownies!!

    • Whenever I’m in the US I buy those sour patch watermelon candies. I usually can’t stand watermelon anything but THOSE CANDIES are just too good. I can imagine stress eating them to the max if I could get them here.

  17. hi if I use all purpose gluten free flour what is the measurement? thanks 🙂 lovely recipe btw 🙂

    • Hi Cherie, You should be able to use 1/2 cup (65 g) of all purpose gluten-free flour in place of the coconut flour.
      Thanks!

  18. Hi Izy! I just made these and THEY. ARE. FABULOUS. I am so stinkin’ happy right now. I also used extra dark cocoa powder, halved the honey with maple syrup, and sprinkled white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and walnuts.. 🙂 🙂 BEAUTIFUL!!

  19. We at OliveandPearls.com have been trying to incorporate coconut flour into our baking too! Its usually done in combination with a few other gluten-free varieties. Love the idea of using them in brownies… I bet it would even be great featured centrally with the whole shebang: coconu oil, sugar, flour, and flakes !!

  20. I really love this idea of making the brownies a little healthier (and tastier) by adding coconut flour. These look so dense and fudgy and I love your photos, too!

  21. Haha, I am also a stress eater. I’d stress eat the whole batch of these brownies if I made them!

  22. Thanks for posting this brownie recipe! My dinner guests all agreed that they were the best brownies ever, never mind that they were gluten-free. Substitution note: I didn’t have quite enough honey on hand, so I filled up the rest of the measuring cup with maple syrup, , maybe an ounce or so. It worked fine. I loved the texture and richness of this treat! Yummm!

  23. these brownies look so so so indulgent! and your photography is stunning 🙂
    i was just wondering about the method; when you add all the ingredients to the butter and chocolate in the pot, is the element still on?
    thanks 🙂

    • thanks Michelle! Take the butter + chocolate off of the heat once melted, then stir the other ingredients in 🙂

  24. Ohhh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness. I can’t wait to try these out. I have a bit of leftover coconut flour from when I was experimenting with coconut flour pancakes.

  25. Thanks so much, I am taking a break from flour (genuine sad face) and have been needing some info on coconut flour substitution – thanks. I’ll make these for the kid’s lunch box treats for next week.

  26. Hi, I just saw these, and I’ve got to admit; they look delicious!
    My mum can’t eat gluten and her birthday is coming up on Tuesday, I was wondering the coconut flour is it, can I use gluten free flour instead? My mum gets it from the pharmacy, and I’ve always wanted to use it.
    How much would I need, flour wise?
    By the way, could I make a non gluten free recipe by adding normal flour instead of the coconut flour?
    Can’t wait to try these!
    Lauren x

    • I’m pretty sure you can replace the coconut flour with 1/2 cup (125 g) of regular flour or gluten-free flour, and they’ll be fine!

  27. The look so good Izy! I’ve been wanting to make these for along time. One question though: how many people does this recipe serve? 🙂

  28. To improve the texture of the brownies freeze them, they don’t really freeze but develop a chewy texture more like a real brownie. Eat them right out of the freezer.

  29. If I’m low carb, what would you recommend for replacing the honey ?? It seems the liquid/syrup is needed for the recipe. Thanks !!

  30. looks yummy. thank you! i am wondering if you can mix a bit of coconut flour and a bit of almond flour and if so what proportion would you recommend?
    thanks again!
    elizabeth

  31. just made these…. AMAZING !!! i doubled the cooking chocolate so i could eat it as i went haha. one of the best recipes i have found 🙂

  32. Always hesitant to try coconut flour brownies as they take up so much liquid but these just look mouth watering!

Comments are closed.