Recipe: Chocolate Protein Brownies - Gluten Free!

As I have so many food intolerances, I always have to be prepared when it comes to food. This means packing lunches, snacks, etc whenever I am out.

With my nannying jobs, I need delicious portable snacks to keep me fueled throughout the day and I quickly grow tired of the same old same old bars or trail mixes - so of course I had to get baking! 

I'm on a bit of a brownie kick lately, so it's only natural that one of my favourite protein muffin recipes I've come up with is for Chocolate Protein Brownies.

The recipe is really adaptable and will work with whatever you have in your pantry. While I can't have protein powder as it's generally full of things my body can't tolerate, I use the all natural protein power of Peanut Flour! I buy mine at iHerb (find a $5 off coupon here).

They can be made gluten free, wheat free and vegan and are so easy to make! The protein content will depend on your ingredient choices, however, mine came to around 10g protein per brownie. 

You can make them into bars or large muffins (I used a texas muffin pan but you could also make more smaller ones). I find the muffins work best for on the go snacks as they don't make any mess or leave any crumbs. 

I make up a double batch of the protein brownies and freeze them in individual freezer bags for a quick and easy snack. The morning I want one I just pop them into the freezer for about 40 seconds and by the time I'm ready to eat it later in the day, it's completely defrosted.

Not only do they make a great snack, they're great for dessert too! 

Chocolate Protein Brownies

makes 6 low fat protein brownies that can be gluten free, wheat free and/or vegan. 

1/2 cup quinoa flakes or rolled oats or extra 1/2C flour*

1/2 cup peanut flour or protein powder 

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup gluten free flour/gluten free pancake mix/plain flour/whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup + 2 tbsps applesauce 

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2C + 2 tbsp milk of your choice

~1/4-1/2 cup sugar (depending on your tastes)

Optional: 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F.

Prepare a texas sized muffin tin (or ~10 regular sized muffins) or grease and line an 8x8 baking pan.

In a bowl combine the first 6 dry ingredients.

To dry ingredients, add in applesauce, vanilla, milk and sugar and mix until combined. 

If using, stir in chocolate chips and spoon out mixture into muffin cups or prepared pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes for muffins/20-25 minutes for bars or until set and the edges start to pull in from the sides.

Allow to cool before slicing, eating, storing in the fridge or freezing.

Notes: 

Quinoa Flakes/Rolled Oats/Flour I've used all substitutions - I prefer the quinoa flakes for the extra protein while still keeping the brownies soft and moist. If you use oats, the texture is a little coarser but you can easily grind them for a softer texture. If you don't have either, use an extra half cup of flour!

Peanut Flour/Protein Powder I use peanut flour as I can't have protein powders and I love the taste of it. I've had a friend use both unflavoured protein powder and vanilla protein powder and they both worked perfectly. 

Cocoa Powder always choose a delicious tasting cocoa powder for the best results!

Baking Powder 1 tbsp seems like a lot but it makes these protein brownies deliciously soft and fluffy.

So tell me, what's your favourite high protein filling and fueling snack?!