Vegan/Gluten Free Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
It’s that time of year. The time of year when you are totally inundated with pumpkin recipes galore. But, you don’t mind, right?
With as many food allergies as I have, finding recipes that suit all of my needs and actually taste good is practically impossible. I’ve searched through many an allergy free cookbook and website, but it seems the recipes always include at least one thing that I am still allergic to. Gluten Free recipes almost always still include dairy and eggs, and vegan recipes almost always still include wheat. And almost every recipe includes sugar. So, what’s a gal like me to do?!
TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS.
That’s right. I’ve changed my whole approach. I’ve decide to start tackling everyday, allergen-filled recipes and adapting them to suit my needs. I’ve tried enough recipes and found enough substitutions to know what works and what doesn’t. So, save for a few tried and true sources – like Karina’s Kitchen, Julie’s Raw Ambition, HaveCakeWillTravel, and Gluten Free Girl – I’m going start just adapting stuff on my own. I want to start making baked goods like the incredible Deb at Smitten Kitchen or the mind-blowing desserts by Aran at Cannelle et Vanille. There is no reason why folks with allergies and various dietary restrictions shouldn’t be able to savor all of these gourmet sweets, too. And, so, it is my hope that I can make these treats accessible to all of us.
This recipe was my first attempt at my new found approach, and it was a biggie. I saw it on Deb’s site and as soon as I caught a glance of it, I wanted it soooo bad. There would have to be a lot of substitutions, but I decided that this would be The One to start the ball of gourmet goodness rolling.
And, my, what a great choice that was.
These are so amazingly good. I got such a rush pulling these out of the oven and realizing that I had done it! I had successfully adapted this recipe into something that, not only tasted deeeelicious, but something that I could truly be proud to serve to anyone, even folks without dietary restrictions.
VEGAN/GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN SWIRL BROWNIES
makes two dozen brownies
adapted from Deb’s adaptation on Martha Stewart’s recipe
The first time I made them, I included 1 tsp. of xanthan gum as a binder. However, I found that with all of the flax already in the mix, the xanthan gum made it a bit too chewy. They were still awesome, but I think next time I will leave it out.
1/3 cup cocoa powder + 1/2 cup water, stirred together in microwavable bowl
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or EarthBalance spread, cut into pieces
2 cups oat flour or Gluten Free Rolled Oats, pulsed into flour in a food processor
1 tsp. baking powder
big pinch cayenne
3/4 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. ground flaxseed + 3/4 cup water, stirred together and set aside for 10 minutes to thicken
3/4 cup + 1/3 cup agave nectar, separated
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup maple syrup
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 13×9 inch pan with canola spray.
2. Add the butter to the cocoa/water mixture and microwave for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until the butter is melted.
3. In a large bowl whisk together oat flour, baking powder, cayenne, and salt. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together flax/water mixture, 2/3 cup agave nectar, and vanilla. Add these wet ingredients to the oat flour mixture. At this point the dough will be super thick and that’s okay.
4. Divide the dough equally into two separate bowls. Stir the chocolate mixture into one of the bowls of dough. Add 1/3 cup agave nectar and enough water to this bowl to make it into a thick brownie batter.
5. In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup. Add this to the other half of the dough and stir it well. Now, you should have a bowl of brownie batter and a bowl of pumpkin batter.
6. Scoop half of the brownie batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out as evenly as possible using a rubber spatula. Add half of the pumpkin batter on top of the first layer of brownie batter and smooth it out evenly being careful not to mix it up into the brownie batter. Add another layer of brownie batter and finish the layering with the rest of the pumpkin batter. After smoothing out the top, run a butter knife through the batters to create a swirly, marbled pattern.
7. Bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool in the pan, cut into squares and enjoy!
Other Punkin Sweets Around the Blogosphere:
Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Pots de Creme at HaveCakeWillTravel
Vegan/Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie at Gluten Free Goddess
Gluten Free/Sugar Free Pumpkin Cheesecake at Kalyn’s Kitchen
Vegan/Gluten Free Pumpkin Coconut Loaf Cake at eat’n veg’n
Casein Free Spice-Kissed Pumpkin Pie at 101 Cookbooks
Oh, and P.S. Check out the new page I added. You can now see what I eat everyday when you check out my food diary. It may give you some more ideas of tasty things that you can eat, too.
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Comments
Boy do I know how you feel! My blog is dedicated to reworking other folks’ recipes to fit my dietary restrictions.
Your brownies look amazing! And, since pumpkin’s on sale, what better time to make your recipe. Nice job, Rachel!
This recipe looks fantastic! I love everything pumpkin these days.
I decided it was easier to make up my own recipes than find ones that suited me, and I think it’s really fun adapting them to suit your needs. I’m actually soy free as well as vegan and GF, (and I prefer sugar free too). I’m always disappointed when I see tofu listed as an ingredient in desserts. There’s only so many adjustments a recipe can take!
These brownies look amazing. My bf and I have been trying to cut way back on gluten, and I am a sucker for anything with pumpkin and chocolate.
Rachel, this recipe looks so tasty! Even though I don’t have any food allergies I’m tempted to try your version of it 
It was great meeting you at the vineyard yesterday!
Rachel,
I appreciate your ingenuity, in theory this sounds great and in picture it looks gorgeous, however…. I made these brownies tonight and after elaborate preparation the chocolate batter was so runny that i could not layer or swirl them and it looks like a big old brown mess. hopefully it will taste good to make up for the lack of presentation.
hi again,
apologies for the previous email. the brownies taste GREAT and look just fine. mmm… dense & chewy!
I loved these brownies!!! At first I was worried because the chocolate half was so runny but they taste amazing and they came out perfect and don’t fall apart. I’ve always been scared to cook gluten free so I just buy the packages instead. This was my first gluten free recipe from scratch and it was great. Any other recipes you have I would definitely try.
Tried this recipe tonight and it worked out quite well! The pumpkin mix itself was great and could be used as a g-f pie filling or a muffin! I used coconut oil instead of margerine since I avoid soy. Thanks for your creativity!
I just made this. I substituted raw carob powder for cocoa as my wife is allergic to chocolate. I used Earth Balance shortening instead of butter substitute because I already had it in the house.
Cooking time for me was more like 1 hour, 15 min. It came out great! The only advice I can give is don’t freak out if the chocolate part looks watery at first. If it’s still runny at the end, you can always add more oat flour before you pour it into the pan.
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your picture is amazing! it makes me want to dive right in, head first.