You know the saying “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? Well, this is my version of that. I accidentally bought hazelnuts instead of pistachios on my last grocery trip. Add that to the jar of chocolate hazelnut spread sitting in my cabinet, begging to be eaten and voila gluten free hazelnut brownies. These brownies are fudgy and filled with crunchy roasted hazelnuts, plus a swirl of dairy free chocolate hazelnut spread. Can you say drool??
What ingredients go into gluten free hazelnut brownies?
Flour – for almost all of my recipes, I use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Blend. I have found it to be the most versatile gluten free flour. It works particularly well in cakes and muffins. You can use your own favorite flour blend but keep in mind this recipe was developed with BRM, so your final product may be slightly different.  I always recommend weighing your flour for best results.
Cocoa Powder – make sure you’re using a natural, gluten free cocoa powder. I typically use Hershey’s Brand, although there are others available which will work just as well.
Butter – I used vegan butter in this recipe, but oil would work just as well. You can substitute any type of light flavored cooking oil.
Brown Sugar – Brown sugar helps keep the brownies fudgy with a little extra moisture.
Eggs – Eggs are crucial to this recipe. They hold everything together. I haven’t tried it with egg replacers, but I expect it would not work well due to the large number of eggs used.
Vanilla – Just a hint of vanilla to sweeten the flavor.
Hazelnuts – The star of the recipe. Make sure to toast them beforehand and remove the skins. If you need more instruction on how to do that, check out my recipe for hazelnut stuffed chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate Hazelnut Spread – Because I am also dairy free, I typically use Rigoni di Asiago dairy free hazelnut spread. Justin’s also makes a version which has a blend of Almonds and Hazelnuts. If you’re not dairy free, you can stick to Nutella.
That’s it!
How many brownies will this make?
This recipe is baked in an 8×8 inch brownie pan. I wouldn’t suggest using a 9×9 pan, because the brownies will be too thin. I cut my brownies into 2×2 inch squares, so this recipe makes 16 brownies.
How long does it take to bake hazelnut brownies?
I prefer my brownies to be fudgy, not gooey, so I baked these about 30 minutes. You want a toothpick inserted to come out with a few moist crumbs. If you want until the toothpick is clean, the brownies will be too dry.
If you prefer gooey brownies, underbake them a bit. I would cut 2-3 minutes off the baking time for gooey brownies.
If you love hazelnuts, check out these other great recipes!
Gluten Free Stuffed Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten Free Dairy Free Hazelnut Tiramisu Cake
Gluten Free Hazelnut Honey Muffins & A Trip to Killer Bees Honey Apiary
Gluten Free Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Gluten Free Hazelnut Brownies
Ingredients
- ¾ C Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend I use Bob's Red Mill
- â…“ C Natural Cocoa Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ C Vegan Butter melted
- â…” C Light Brown Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 1 C Chocolate Hazelnut Spread divided
- ¾ C Hazelnuts toasted, chopped & divided
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Add your hazelnuts to a baking sheet. Toast them in the oven for 7 minutes, being careful not to burn them. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool, pour all hazelnuts into a clean dishtowel. Rub the hazelnuts around inside the dish towel to remove the skins. Roughly chop and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar and 3/4 C of the chocolate hazelnut spread. Mix together until well combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds between each addition.
- Add the vanilla. Scrape down your bowl.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined.
- Add 1/2 C of the chopped hazelnuts to your batter. Fold together with a spatula.
- Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
- Pour your brownie batter into the pan, making sure to spread it evenly across the pan.
- Dollop the remaining 1/4 C of chocolate hazelnut spread on top of the brownies with a teaspoon. Once you have all the dollops, run a knife through the batter to make a swirl.
- Sprinkle the remaining chopped hazelnuts on top of the brownies.
- Bake for 30 minutes in preheated oven (27-28 minutes if you want them to be gooey).
- Remove from oven and cool for 1 hour before cutting.