Banana Brownies

Since trying to make brownies without butter, I've been having a hard time finding a recipe that doesn't result in brownies that crumble all over the place. This week, in my quest for a better brownie, I stumbled upon a recipe for banana brownies. It sounded intriguing, and I thought that perhaps the banana would help to hold the brownie together. Eureka! When I made the brownies today, they turned out just as I had hoped: they held together perfectly, and they were rich and chocolately with just a hint of banana flavor. If you don't like bananas, then I wouldn't recommend the recipe. However, to everyone else, I highly recommend this as the best dairy-free and wheat-free brownie recipe that I have found so far.

Here is the banana brownie recipe that I followed. However, please refer to my modified ingredient list below.

Banana Brownies
makes an 8"x8" pan

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening (this is the only soy-free shortening I have found), or 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn.
• 2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (approximately 1 large banana)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips. The two kinds I have found that do not contain milkfat are Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips and Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the unsweetened chocolate and shortening in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring frequently so the chocolate doesn't burn. (If you are using canola oil, wait and add it later, as indicated.) After the chocolate and shortening have melted, set the pan aside for the chocolate mixture to cool slightly. In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sea salt, and set aside. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl and stir in the sugar (and the canola oil if you did not use shortening). Then stir in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Next pour in the flour mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Thoroughly mash the peeled banana on a plate, measure 1/2 cup, and add that to the large bowl. Stir until the banana is completely mixed into the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips and then pour the batter into a greased 8"x8" pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for at least an hour before cutting into pieces.