Pecan Brown Butter Brownies {Gluten Free}

Thanksgiving is sneaking up on me. I thought, mistakenly, that there was another week before Thanksgiving week... there isn't. All of a sudden we're rapidly approaching a VACATION! HALLELUJAH. I have no real reason to feel this way, but I'm totally ready for a break. I'm excited to go home (!!) and see my family (!!!) and spend time cooking without needing to style and photograph it. Whew.

All of that, though, means that I'll be working hard this week to not leave you guys alone! I don't want to go radio-silent because I wasn't prepared! Don't worry — I have plenty of things to keep you entertained.

This week also means catching up on sleep (our weekend at the cabin was NOT kind to my sleep needs), using my yoga pass as much as possible before it expires, and getting ready for a weekend of cyclocross racing on the best coast (west coast!). Busy? Busy. Excited? Yes.

These brownies are adapted from, once again, the Annual Food & Wine Cookbook from 2013. I wasn't kidding when I said I was cooking through it a bit! They're originally hazelnut brownies, but Derek insists he doesn't like hazelnuts (I'm dubious), and since I aim to please: pecans it is! Luckily I have all sorts of nuts on hand these days, leftover from cookbook recipes!

I was part of the way through this recipe when (I shouldn't admit this) I noticed it didn't call for flour. I wasn't expecting that, and apparently didn't read through the recipe fully before starting (BAD!). It turned out to be an extremely easy gluten-free recipe! No weird ingredients, no strange flavors: easy, gluten-free brownies! I was nervous, watching them bake, that I'd done something wrong. They looked like they might turn out being really dry and crumbly. Fortunately, you can't judge a book by it's cover! They were SUPER moist, dense, fudgey — exactly how I like them! Lesson learned: don't be deceived by how it looks!

Pecan Brown Butter Brownies {Gluten Free}

• Author: adapted from Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2013
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 oz pecans
• ⅔ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
• ½ Tbsp instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a 8x8" baking pan with tin foil and butter.
2. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes, until they smell nutty. Remove from the oven and transfer to a food processor.
3. Add the cocoa, salt, and ¼ cup of the sugar. Pulse until finely ground.
4. In a large saucepan, cook the butter over moderately high heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Once it foams, whisk continually until the butter is golden-brown and smells nutty. Pour into a separate dish with the baking chocolate. Let sit for a few minutes, then add the coffee and stir until completely smooth.
5. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs with the remaining sugar until tripled in volume — about 5 minutes. Fold in the chocolate mixture, then the chocolate-pecan mixture. When fully combined, pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out of the middle with just a few moist crumbs. Let cool completely before cutting.

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