Healthy ‘Free From’ Chocolate Brownies – Gluten-Free & Vegan

Let me warn you: the recipe I am sharing today is addictive! These healthy brownies are vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, nut-free and also free from refined sugar. Although I rarely crave treats I make for Jumpy, I ate more of these gooey treats than she did! I kept going back to the fridge and eating “just one more slice!”

This year, I have teamed up with some of the UK’s top food bloggers to bring you a ‘Free From’ Christmas Feast. Our aim is to show that it is possible to cater for everyone for Christmas, with simple, healthy and allergy-friendly recipes. Our ‘free from’ Christmas buffet that does not contain any of the top 14 allergens, making it the ultimate ‘free from’ buffet.

For those of you who were not aware of it, the EU defines that the top 14 allergens are:
• cereals containing gluten: wheat, rye, barley, oats (if not gluten-free),
• dairy,
• eggs,
• soya,
• lupin,
• sesame,
• celery and celeriac,
• sulphites,
• mustard,
• fish,
• tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, brazils, pistachios, macadamia nuts),
• peanuts,
• molluscs,
• crustaceans.

Meet the Wonderful Team Behind our ‘Free From’ Christmas:

Little me!
Vicki – ‘The Free From Fairy’
Nath – ‘The Intolerant Gourmand’
Emma – ‘Free From Farmhouse’
Grace – ‘Eats Amazing’
Jo – ‘Modern Food Stories’
Nova – ‘Cherished by Me’
Ciara – ‘My Fussy Eater’
Reneé – ‘Mummy Tries’

On that note, let be bring you my allergy-friendly, vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free brownies!

We all love brownies at home. The recipe I normally go for contains flour, eggs and nuts, so it is safe to say it is not suitable for Jumpy. Until now, I would give her Lazy Day Foods’ rocky road bars whenever we had brownies, but she loves it when I bake something especially for her.

A few weeks ago, as I was looking into egg-free brownies, all recipes I found used ground almonds, so I used a couple for inspiration (from ‘The Awesome Green’ & ‘Deliciously Ella’) and it took some experimenting but I am rather pleased with the results.

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Healthy ‘Free From’ Chocolate Brownies

Warning: These brownies are addictive! They’re also delicious, healthy and allergy-friendly! Not only are they vegan, gluten-free, wheat-free, nut-free, they also happen to be free from refined sugar.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• - 2 sweet potatoes about 500g, peeled and cubed 
• 14 Medjool dates 90g, pitted
• 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 1 cup plain ‘free from’ flour blend 150g, I use the Free From Fairy’s flour
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• ½ tsp Fleur de Sel or crushed Maldon salt
• 1/2 cup good quality ‘free from’ dark chocolate 70g, melted

Instructions

1. Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (gas mark 4/5, 356°F). Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into chunks and place into a steamer for about  twenty minutes, until they become soft enough to be mashed easily with a fork.
2. Once the sweet potatoes are soft, place them in a food processor with the dates. Add in the coconut oil cacao powder, ’free from’ flour, maple syrup and salt. Blend well. Add in the melted chocolate and blend for a couple of seconds.
3. Stir one last time with a spatula and drop the mixture on a lined baking tray.
4. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until the blade of a knife inserted in the middle comes clean.
5. Take the dish out of the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Turn the brownies onto a cooling rack, and when completely cool, cut into squares.
7. The brownies can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days or in the freezer for a month.