Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

I am often in pursuit of desserts with less dairy and more natural sugars. But when I really need something rich, I need sugar and butter and chocolate. Becuase of this, I am constantly in pursuit of a dessert with more chocolate, more butter, more salt (All without going overboard, of course) to have on hand for those days. So you can imagine my delight to open my Food and Wine Magazine to find a recipe for brownies with hazelnuts, browned butter, and rich dark chocolate. So I adapted this recipe to be gluten-free and simplified it a bit. I mean, I want to eat the brownies, not spend all day making them!

So enjoy these simple-to-make, super-rich, and delightful brownies with a scoop of your favorite ice cream (I used dulce de leche), and some chopped hazelnuts. If you're anything like me, you'll eat it in record time . . . and by that, I mean, from the time I turned my camera off to the time the plate was white again was an embarrassing 3 minutes . . . but who's counting?

Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies

makes one 8x8" pan of fatty brownies

Adapted from Food and Wine, May 2012

1 cup hazelnut meal

2/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cup butter

1 (12 oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, separated

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup strongly-brewed coffee

Ice cream and chopped hazelnuts, for serving, if desired

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8x8" pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together hazelnut meal, cocoa powder, salt, and sugar.

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, keep cooking, swirling the pan every so often. Once the butter is lightly browned and has a nutty aroma, remove from the heat and stir in 8 oz of the chocolate chips. While whisking, add the eggs and combine. Whisk in the coffee.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the hazelnut mixture and stir just until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting. Serve with ice-cream and chopped, toasted hazelnuts, if desired.