Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Brownies

There is NO compromise on flavor and taste when it comes to these gluten free brownies! Crackly top? Check. Chewy on the outside, yet soft on the inside? Done. Bites that are packed with chocolate flavor, and just the right amount of shredded coconut? You bet.

I am so excited to share today’s post with you, not just because it’s a drool-worthy recipe, but because it’s a guest post from my friend Jess! She is a Virginia Blogger and social media consultant for small businesses. I absolutely love her blog and her approach to a healthy lifestyle so I asked her if she’d be willing to share a recipe with my readers! I’m so excited for you to try this brownie recipe!

Coconut products have been all the rage lately. Growing up, I remember that coconuts came in three forms: fresh, shredded, and as canned coconut milk. Welcome to 2018, where we can hydrate with coconut water, make a delicious snack with coconut flour, and then bake something sweet with coconut SUGAR.

Coconut sugar is an alternative to regular refined sugar. It’s made from the sap of cut flower buds of the coconut palm, and has been utilized in regions around Southeast Asia for thousands of years. When I traveled to Thailand, I got to see local women making coconut sugar at one of the markets!

While thinking of a recipe to make for you all, I knew I wanted to incorporate two things: simplicity (in regards to ingredients) and a unique ingredient (i.e. coconut sugar). With our busy lives and growing to-do lists, we can always benefit from making an easy recipe with simple ingredients, right?

While coconut sugar is “still” sugar, there can be trace amounts of benefits to cooking with coconut sugar as opposed to table sugar. Coconut sugar ranks 35 on the glycemic index, whereas regular sugar ranks between 60 and 75. A lower glycemic index could mean less chances of blood sugar spiking (less “crash” afterward), which impacts insulin levels. Does that mean you should consume massive amounts of coconut sugar because it’s “healthier” than regular sugar? Not necessarily, but it’s nice to know that we can make small changes without sacrificing taste and flavor.

Yes, you read that correctly. There is NO compromise on flavor and taste when it comes to these gluten free brownies! If taste-testing could be arranged over the internet, you’d be able to see, feel, and taste how similar this gluten free brownie is to a regular version. Crackly top? Check. Chewy on the outside, yet soft on the inside? Done. Bites that are packed with chocolate flavor, and just the right amount of shredded coconut? You bet.

A dessert recipe that qualifies as “easy and simple” means that one bowl is used, and I can mix it by hand. After melting the chocolate chips in the microwave, all it takes is mixing the remaining ingredients together with a rubber spatula, pouring the batter into a square pan, and smelling the magic that unfolds in your oven.

It takes a lot of self-control to wait until these brownies cool before slicing, but I did it. Aren’t you proud? For you, the blogging community? Anything. Even waiting to nosh on a couple of these, especially since no one wants to see messy, oops-sliced-them-too-soon pictures of brownies!

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This post was originally published in April 2018. Updated September 2018.

Have you tried coconut sugar?