Gluten Free Grasshopper Brownies (Vegan)

What’s better than dense and chocolatey brownies? Gluten Free Grasshopper Brownies of course! These decadent frosted mint brownies are gluten-free, vegan, nut-free and soy-free. Perfect for a green-themed party or anytime a chocolate-mint craving strikes

March is here and that means Spring is right around the corner, and so is St. Patrick’s Day! I’m using this month as an excuse to make some delicious chocolate mint desserts since I LOVE that flavor combination (it’s right up there with PB and chocolate for me). And since I discovered some really great natural food coloring, I decided to make these ones green instead of leaving the frosting white.

These brownies are based off of my One-Bowl Fudge Brownie recipe, but these have slightly less oil and sugar in them. They are still nice and dense inside, just not quite as fudgy, and they make the perfect base for these amazing grasshopper bars!

Since it’s the first Thursday of the month, it’s time for our collaborative post with my Food Blog Genius friends! Here’s some of the creative green recipes we whipped up for the month of March:

Recipes clockwise from top left:

Kiwi Pear Spinach Pineapple Smoothie Recipe – Melissa & Greg, My Wife Can Cook

Matcha Green Tea Crepes – Julia, Imagelicious

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Nicecream – Kirsten, Treat Yourself Sweeter

Crustless Kale Artichoke Ricotta Quiche – Veena Azmanov

Easy Vanilla Green Tea Cupcakes – Gloria, Homemade & Yummy

Gluten Free Grasshopper Brownies – Sarah, The Fit Cookie

While I was making up the frosting for these brownies, I kept thinking about one of my friends who used to be a cake decorator. We went over to her house when we were kids and she taught us some cake decorating basics, how to make roses, her secret frosting recipe, and her best cake tips.

As a 10 year old kid in love with sugar, I couldn’t help sneaking bites of the frosting as we made everything. In fact, any time we made treats I was always dipping my finger in the batter or dough. Our friend very matter-of-factly shared with me that cake decorators must never sample their frosting, otherwise they would lose their lady-like figure.

I still sample my baking of course, but I laugh every time I make frosting since it reminds me of her. And what she said is very true! If you’re making a bunch of sweets, you can’t afford to keep “sampling” everything.

Sometimes when I make treats I’ve had so many tastes of the dough or frosting that by the time everything is put together, I don’t feel like eating any more of it. I’m a frosting fiend, so keeping myself from eating all the frosting is tough!

Even though these are gluten-free, vegan, and nut-free, they are definitely an indulgent treat, still pretty high in sugars and fats. I recommend waiting to “take a taste” until you’ve had everything put together at the end (plus you’ll save all kinds of hidden calories). Trust me – you’ll enjoy it more at the end!

Originally, I cut these into 9 bars, but with the frosting these are very rich and sweet, so I suggest cutting these into 12 (you can even cut them into 16 bars if you want more portion control).

I used the natural powder colors from McCormick that I also used in my Strawberry Chocolate Pancake recipe. The McCormick natural food color comes in 3 packets: blue, red, and yellow. For this one I used equal parts blue and yellow and the color turned out perfectly! I also found that the colors got brighter the longer the frosting sits.

Sarah @ The Fit Cookie

Yields 9-12 bars

Gluten Free Grasshopper Brownies (Vegan)

Gluten-free, vegan; Free of: soy, eggs, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame

30 minPrep Time

30 minCook Time

1 hrTotal Time

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Ingredients

Mint Brownies:
• 3/4 cup unbleached cane sugar
• 1/2 cup rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup oil (I use light tasting olive oil)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 drops peppermint oil
• 1 cup ultrafine whole grain sorghum flour
Mint Frosting:
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons palm oil
• 1-1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• Dash salt
• 4-5 drops peppermint oil
• 1/4 teaspoon blue McCormick natural food coloring powder
• 1/4 teaspoon yellow McCormick natural food coloring powder
Chocolate Drizzle:
• 1/4 cup allergy-friendly chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8-inxh square baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, rice milk, cocoa powder, ground flaxseed, oil, vanilla, salt, and peppermint oil. Mix well to combine
3. Whisk the sorghum flour into the chocolate mixture until a thick batter forms
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes
5. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool completely before adding frosting to the top
6. While you're waiting for the brownies to cool, prepare the frosting: combine the palm oil, powdered sugar, rice milk, and salt with a hand mixer until creamy
7. Mix in the peppermint oil and the natural food coloring powder and mix again, scraping down the sides periodically, until fully incorporated and creamy. Set aside - don't frost the brownies until they have cooled completely!
8. For the chocolate drizzle: Melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil by microwaving for 30 seconds at a time in a small bowl, stirring after each heating session until the chocolate has melted completely and is smooth. Allow the chocolate to cool a bit so it's not hot when you drizzle it on the frosted brownies
9. Once the brownies have cooled, remove the entire sheet of brownies by lifting the parchment paper with the brownies and setting them onto a cutting board (parchment paper and all).
10. Frost the brownies and then drizzle with the melted chocolate. You can cut these right away or wait for the chocolate drizzle to set up a bit
11. Enjoy!

Recipe Type: Dessert

Notes

I used the McCormick natural food coloring powder packets in this recipe. If you choose to use a different product to color your frosting, you might need to experiment with amounts of coloring to see what works since each brand will be different

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https://thefitcookie.com/gluten-free-grasshopper-brownies-vegan/

Sarah Parker @ The Fit Cookie