Dark Chocolate GF Brownies

These brownies. Oh, my. Since we've mostly cut back our consumption of refined sugars, we've found our tastes changed. We both still love our dessert, but when we're in the mood for chocolate, we now reach for dark chocolate. There are countless brownie recipes and textures out there—cakey, gooey, dense—and everyone has a favorite. But lately, we're loving these rich, dense, not-to-sweet, dark chocolately (and gluten-free) brownies. And I love that this recipe makes a smaller pan...because if there are brownies at our house, we will eat them.

Here is the (awesome) original recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I followed Summer Harm's gluten-free version of these very closely, and she spells it out well in her post. Here is what I do, plus a few notes:

• I used a combination of raw sugar and coconut sugar. I love the flavor of coconut sugar (think caramel) and the texture of the raw sugar because it maintains a little of its structure even when heated.
• I add mini chocolate chips and either chopped walnuts or toasted & slivered almonds on top. The crunch from the nuts makes for some texture contrast and breaks up the rich, velvety chocolate texture. And the chocolate chips? Well, we like them with just about everything.
• These will be done baking before they look "done." Usually, a toothpick comes out clean even when the top of the brownies still looks wet.
• We cut these pretty small—usually into 16 squares, since I make ours in an 8"x8" pan and they are fairly thick. They're rich, and if you want more, you can always grab a second brownie. ;)
• Please listen to Summer when she says to eat these fresh out of the fridge, chilled. Try it. So good.

Happy brownie-making!