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These two bite brownies are a cross between a rich chocolate cake and a brownie, and gone in just two bites! They're your new go-to GF brownie recipe.
What sort of gluten free brownies are these?
I used to pine for that deep plastic tub of two-bite brownies that you could find at Whole Foods. Do you know the one? Before going gluten free, I never ever left that store without at least one tub of them.
I wasn't sure if they were brownies or rich cupcakes, but I didn't care. They were perfect in every way: size, taste, and texture. We were eating gluten free in my house for nearly 10 years before I developed this recipe for two bite gluten free brownies.
These are not classic chewy gluten free brownies we've made before, and they're not extra fudgy flourless brownies. If you try to bake a traditional brownie in the wells of a miniature muffin tin, no matter how fudgy, it will burn. Ask me how I know that!
Better than a brownie mix
Whether you're gluten free or not, most likely your history of making brownies involved a brownie mix of some sort. But we can do so much better than that.
I'm always happy to when food manufacturers make things available gluten free that they've always made available in conventional form. I'm thrilled that tons of companies make packaged gluten free bread and gluten free pasta.
And much as I used to love the brownies that are made with a regular boxed mix, I have never tried a boxed mix of gluten free brownies that were even deserving of the name. They're often gritty, rarely chocolatey enough and just don't taste, well, like brownies at all.
Since there's no melted chocolate in the batter for this recipe, you could easily combine all the dry ingredients (including the sugars) into a mix. Store it in a sealed container in a cool, dry pantry, then just add the wet ingredients (melted butter, yogurt, eggs and vanilla) and bake.
Now, everyone knows how much I bake, so I'm often asked to make brownies for a gathering. Since they come in all shapes, sizes, textures and tastes, I'll ask what kind of brownies. When no one can choose whether they want cakey brownies, fudgy brownies, blonde brownies or peanut butter brownies, I usually make these two bite brownies.
These might look kind of like chocolate muffins. But I promise they're so much more. If you're still interested in the boxed mixed type of brownies, I do have a recipe for chewy gluten free brownies that even have that crackly top.
A word about miniature muffin tins
I've found over the years that not all miniature muffin tins are created equal. Many of them have very shallow wells, which means they'll never produce a beautiful shaped baked good. You want sloped (not entirely vertical) sides and a relatively deep well.
After trying so many brands, the only one I reach for consistently is USA Pans. I have a mini muffin pan made by USA Pans, but it isn't the one that Amazon.com carries. USA Pans also makes pans for Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma, so you might find it there as well.
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy-free
Part of the reason that I wanted to create a video for this post and republish it was because I was determined to make it dairy free. And I succeeded!
I used vegan butter (I've made the recipe using both Melt brand vegan butter and Miyoko's Kitchen cultured vegan butter (now available at my local Trader Joe's!)) in place of the butter. In place of the yogurt, I used plain So Delicious brand yogurt. Both substitutes worked great, but to get the proper thick, glossy consistency in the batter, I had to add 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water.
Egg free
I haven't made this recipe egg-free, but you could try replacing the 2 eggs with 2 “chia eggs.” To make a “chia egg,” just combine 1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water and allow it to sit. It should gel as it stands.
Sugar free
There are two types of granulated sugars in this recipe: granulated and light brown. They can't be replaced with liquid sugars, but you should be able to replace each with its own specific sugar-free substitute.
I've generally had success with Swerve brand. Keep in mind that sugar substitutes tend to be drying, so you'll likely need to add some lukewarm water to the batter to create the proper consistency. Take a close look at the video to see the type of batter you need to achieve.
Two Bite Brownies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum, (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ½ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, (I prefer Dutch-processed, but natural works as well)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 (100 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease a 24-cup miniature muffin pan and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt and baking soda, and whisk to combine well.
- Break up any lumps in the brown sugar, and create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Into the well, place the melted butter, yogurt, eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine. The batter will be thick and glossy.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 24 prepared muffin cups.
- Shake the muffin tin back and forth vigorously until the batter in each cup is smooth and even on top.
- Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until puffed and round, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 12 minutes).
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you use a regular size muffin pan
A standard 12-cup muffin tin should work fine, Lynette. You’ll have to bake them a bit longer, but I’m honestly not sure if I’ve ever made them that way so I can’t be entirely sure how much longer.
Can you add nuts to this RX?
I think if you chop them relatively finely and don’t use too many, adding nuts should be okay, Tim. The mini muffins are on the larger side, though, so I’m not 100% sure if it would upset the balance of the recipe.
I’m curious if you must cook them in muffin pans? Could you bake in a small baking pan? I’m in the process of moving and have already packed all my muffin pans.
Yes, this recipe is made for a muffin tin. Try one of my other gluten free brownie recipes for baking in a pan!
Nicole, I am allergic to chocolate as well as gluten and dairy. Can I use carob powder instead of cocoa powder? Also, do you have any blonde brownie recipes?
I have a blondie version of this recipe, actually, Cherie! Here it is.
By “all purpose flour” do you mean plain flour and not self raising?
And is “baking soda” bicarbonate of soda and not baking powder?
The American names for things can be confusing! Sorry for being a pest!
Hi, Elizabeth, All purpose flour is what you call plain flour. Baking soda is bicarbonate of soda. Hope that helps!
Hi Nicole, have you any idea how many carbs there are in one of these please? They do look delicious ?!
Hi, Doreen, I don’t provide nutritional information for the most part. Feel free to plug the ingredients into your favorite online calculator. My favorite one is Cronometer.
Is this recipe good for pan brownies? If not which of your recipes would you recommend?
Thank you,
Lisa
Hi, Lisa, no this recipe isn’t suitable for a single pan, like traditional brownies. Have a look around my gluten free brownies index for something that looks good to you!
P.S. My go-to is usually either the flourless brownies or the Little Debbie copycat cosmic brownies. :)
These are happening, tonight. Once dinner’s done in the oven, these will take up residence. We Canadians are actually able to buy a GF version of two-bite brownies in a large chain grocery store, but the price tag?!?! Only – and I do mean ONLY – when I’m the first to get to them on the 50% off bakery rack. And even then, I think of all the other things I can get with my $2.50 (that will last longer than a day!) I can bet all the ingredients here are way less than $2.50, and I’ll end up with more than a glorified dozen. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
i love these.
i am going to try giving you a bit of a challenge here, seeing as how you are in the experimental mood!
could you give us some recipes for those mini cake machines, mine will do 7 mini cakes (gift) and would save putting big oven on, tins, and all the rest!
now that would be fantastic, any chance or have you run away screaming? i have, and come to you!
I’m not sure what a mini cake machine is, shakti! Sorry!
I made the batter exactly as directed, only I didn’t get a smooth, glossy batter… I got a lump at the bottom of my bowl. I added more yogurt and even a little milk to smooth it out. Fingers crossed that they come out OK, they’re baking right now (they smell delicious regardless LOL). Any ideas on what might have caused my dough to come out so dry? I measured everything by grams as indicated.
I’d take a look at the flour that you used, Valerie. My guess is that is the problem. That, or your ingredients weren’t at the right temperature. If fat is cold, it will not incorporate into the batter.
That could be. I use a different flour blend than you do, though I weighed it out and had exactly 140g… but with different flours, there are different absorption rates. I’ll try again with Better Batter (or your copycat recipe). I know I let the cold ingredients come to room temperature before beginning, so it’s most likely the flour. Thanks!