I’ve been making these Rocky Road Brownies for almost a year now and my kids have been begging me to post the recipe to the blog. I had never quite gotten around to but I can’t think of a better time to do it than during our first time participating in the Virtual Vegan Potluck! We are so excited to be here. Be sure to check out all the great recipes from our fellow bloggers by linking forwards and backwards through the posts using the buttons at the bottom of my post.
These vegan, oil-free and gluten-free Rocky Road Brownies are hands-down my kids’ most favorite dessert. Is that grammatically correct? I don’t care, that is the sentiment I am trying to convey. My kids, as most kids seem to be, are very particular about their desserts, and yet they are also fickle. What they like one month can change the very next month or heck, five minutes later. Yet these have persisted as their “favorite” dessert over everything else; even to the point where both boys told a table full of people at a recent family dinner that Mommy’s Rocky Road Brownies were their favorite dessert (without ANY solicitation from anyone). <Insert Mommy happy dance here> These have also been requested for every future birthday cake. Yes, they want these, not an actual birthday cake. So there’s that.
We eat pretty cleanly by sticking to a whole foods, plant-based diet with no added oils but, gosh darn it, sometimes you just need a treat. And a treat these are, even without any added oils. Or animal products. Or gluten. Sometimes a moist, fudgy whole foods treat is just what the doctor ordered.
These are best right out of the oven after they’ve cooled for a bit (please don’t burn your tongue on a hot marshmallow) but they also fare very well after being refrigerated in an airtight container for a few days and then heated in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, or until your desired level of chocolaty meltiness.
Time Saving Tip:
These apple sauce containers that my kids snack on are exactly 1/3 cup (the amount needed for this recipe). I got tired of opening a giant bottle of organic applesauce from Costco, using it once or twice and having it spoil because I didn’t use it fast enough.
Why You Should Make These Rocky Road Brownies:
If you aren’t gluten-free, don’t let these ingredients scare you off. Using multiple flours used to frighten me before I had to stop eating wheat and gluten. Reasons to make these Rocky Road Brownies anyway:
- Teff flour has a great nutritional profile, including a healthy amount of plant protein and is minimally processed. You can find it at most health food stores and you can also order it online.
- Oat flour is a minimally processed whole grain. You can buy it at most health food stores or make your own in a high-speed blender. If you are gluten-free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats or oat flour.
- Almond meal is minimally processed and adds in some healthy fats and binders for a great mouth feel without the calorie bomb you get from eating processed oils.
- They are delicious.
- They have melted vegan marshmallows. Need I say more?
- And if you are gluten-free, well then you are in for a treat!
Be sure not to overcook these to the point where your marshmallows burn. That is bad. Very bad. Unless you are into burnt marshmallows. Then feel free.
Print
Rocky Road Brownies (Vegan, Oil-Free, Gluten-Free)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 16 brownies 1x
- Category: Dessert
Description
Everything you want in Rocky Road Brownies except the dairy, oil or gluten and you won’t miss it. Muchas deliciousness!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup teff flour
- 2/3 cup oat flour (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/3 cup almond meal
- 1 cup vegan sugar (try something less refined like sucanat or coconut sugar)
- ½ teaspoon xanthum gum
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup organic cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup organic unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup plant milk (I usually use almond milk)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegan chocolate chips split into two equal batches
- 1/3 cup sliced raw almonds
- 2/3 cup small vegan marshmallows (or about 7 large marshmallows cut into small pieces)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients (teff flour through cocoa powder) until well combined and all lumps have been smoothed out.
- In a medium bowl mix together all of the wet ingredients (applesauce through vanilla extract).
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined, but do not over mix.
- Add in half of the chocolate chips (1/4 cup) and mix well.
- Pour into a non-stick 8×8 pan (I use glass) and spread evenly. If you don’t have a non-stick dish or pan you can spray a bit of non-stick spray on the pan.
- Sprinkle remainder of chocolate chips, sliced almonds and marshmallows evenly on the top. This is the best part so have fun with this!
- Bake for 55 minutes until set.
Notes
If you don’t want to mess with 3 different flours or don’t have them, you can also use a gluten-free flour blend like Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Simply use 1 2/3 cups of the Bob’s Red Mill Baking Flour instead of the teff, oat and almond flours and eliminate the xanthum gum since it is already included in this gf flour blend.
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Oh wow! I can see why this is the favourite dessert in your home! I can imagine if I made this my kids would devour it and request it for future birthdays too – just need to get my hands on some vegan marshmallows!!
Thanks Kyra! Try the Dandies brand if they have them where you live. I get them at Whole Foods.
Yum!!
Please can you update your ‘go back’ links to http://www.rubbercowgirl.com/2014/12/orange-sesame-truffles-virtual-vegan.html and your ‘go forward’ to http://whiskmicheaway.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/virtual-vegan-potluck-2014-miches-winter-spiced-fruities/
Thank you 🙂
Oh gosh, I want to dive right into those little beauties!
🙂
WHAT?! YUM!!
So glad you finally got around to sharing this recipe! And at the Potluck :-)!
Thanks for all of your hard work in putting these together!
THANK YOU for updating your Go Forward link! I was just about to ask you to do that since WHOLE-listic Life was a no-show.
Sounds delicious! Love me a good brownie!
Thanks Sophia!
Those photos say it all. No wonder these are your kids’ favorite!
Thanks Ashley! These are so fun to make.
Oh yum! Wish we had vegan marshmallows here because I would make these in a heartbeat. 😀
Oh that is so sad! You can probably find them on line. Look for the Dandies brand.
Welcome to VVP! Very happy to see you there! It’s also a pleasure to meet new bloggers through VVP, thanks for stopping by too! I haven’t had Rocky Road Brownies since middle school (haha), but darn these look super delicious and perfect for Christmas!
★ ＨＡＰＰＹ ＶＶＰ ★
Thanks for the warm welcome Rika! It has been wonderful “meeting” so many bloggers who are new to me.
These look so moist and delicious! MUST. EAT. NOW!!! Thanks for sharing this with the VVP!
Thanks Amy!
Love the idea of using teff flour in this recipe! I have a big bag at home that’s taking up pantry space – will be making your brownies soon!
Teff is the bomb! I use it frequently. Thanks for stopping by Alina–love your blog!
I made these for Christmas Eve and they were very good, especially for having no oil! My only recommendation is to add the marshmallows later because mine crusted on the top. I would prefer them to be more fluffy. The Dandies brand are awesome.
Definitely try them because you won’t be disappointed! Thanks Plantivores!
I am so glad these were a hit Jennifer! I haven’t had an issue with the marshmallows cooking too much but, it is probably a good tip for people making them for the first time to add them in halfway through cooking just in case. There are so many variables when baking like this so thanks for the tip! I live at altitude (~5400′) and my marshmallows usually take about 30 minutes through the cooking period to even start melting. Thanks for the feedback and happy holidays!
Wendy
I made these for Father’s Day yesterday and everyone loved them! They were still warm out of the oven and I put a bit of So Delicious brand whip cream on top. Yum! Of note, I didn’t have xanthum gum so I did a flax seed egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed & 3 tbsp water) and it worked well. Thanks Wendy for the great recipe!
So happy the flax egg worked and that they were a big hit for your Father’s Day celebration!!