I’ve always had a thing for brownies, and not just any brownies. They had to be chocolatey, the chocolatier the better. And not too sweet either. Of course they had to be sweet, being dessert, but there is something about a too-sweet cookie or pastry that, while addictively making me eat on, makes my tummy hurt.

So as I did with the chocolate chip cookies, I have always reduced the sugar in baking. My favorite brownie recipe is the one from James Beard’s American Cookery, which calls for 4 full ounces of unsweetened chocolate. None of this wimpy 1-1/2 ounces of chocolate, no siree!

After a first gluten-free casein-free recipe of mouth-melting chocolate chip cookies, I figured it was time for brownies. I substituted 2/3 cup white rice flour + 1/3 cup sweet rice flour + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum for the cup of flour called for, and 1/2 cup coconut oil for the butter. The finished product firmed up a little more than regular chewy-type brownies, but oh! it was good and chocolatey.

It is much better to eat a little something intense and satisfying than a whole, whole lot of something that is soul-suckingly unsatisfying. I don’t believe in substitute food. I make food that may be different, but is just as good as things I can’t have. Try it!