Quinoa Brownies

Gluten Free Quinoa Brownies

A friend of mine gave me this very interesting looking recipe (thanks Steph). She got it from a friend of hers so I'm not exactly sure where it originated. It's genius really. No flour, starch or meal of any kind. Just cooked quinoa! It seems too easy, I know, but it tastes soooo good and it gets health points for using whole grains with plenty of fibre and protein (we can ignore the 6 Tbsp of butter for now). I am wondering how the same recipe would work if I used brown rice in place of quinoa. It would definitely be cheaper. I'll give it a try and report back.
(Reporting Back: not as great as I had hoped. The brown rice didn't blend as well so there were obvious chunks of rice in it. still tasted great, but the texture was off)

quinoa in blender

I did so much baking before Christmas that I was kind of getting sick of it. Now that most of the residual Christmas treats have been gobbled up, I'm starting to get back into experimental baking. I have decided that working (part time as an educational assistant) is just not worth the chest pain and exhaustion for now, so I am going to look for something I can do from home. So far, no luck.
When I do have some energy, I will use it too cook, clean and bake! (my husband doesn't complain)

I'm also trying to make my food a bit healthier (it is January, after all)... stuff like sneaking quinoa into a brownie, tossing ground flax in my muffins, making oatmeal cookies, and adding a little less sugar (I really can't afford the fancy agave syrup that healthier individuals might substitute). It's kind of a relief after the butter laced shortbread and fudgy, sweet indulgences of the holidays. You can only keep that up for so long!

So for us, it's lots of veggies, whole grains, and quinoa brownies!

(makes one square 8x8 baking pan)
Ingredients

1 cup Cooked Quinoa
3-5 Tbsp Milk (start with 3 but add more if the mixture is too thick for the blender. I used 5)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
6 Tbsp Melted Butter or Margarine (or canola oil)
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Directions

Line an 8x8 square baking dish with wax paper (or just grease the dish).
Blend cooked quinoa, milk, eggs, vanilla and butter in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.
In a bowl, mix sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add dry mixture to the blender and blend until well mixed. (add the extra milk here if needed)
Scrape batter into prepared dish.
Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool. Cut into 9 pieces.
Top with icing, melted chocolate or whipped cream. Or just eat as is!

put wet ingredients in a blender

blend until smooth and creamy

mix dry ingredients separately and add to blender

blend well (add more milk if too thick)

pour into prepared pan

bake at 350 for 35-45 mins

cool, cut and serve

I think these could make some pretty sweet cupcakes too. They have a cake-like texture. I'll put that on my mental "to try" list along with these delicious looking oreo cookies from Gluten Free Gobsmacked!
http://glutenfree.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/gluten-free-homemade-oreos/