Hiiii 
How are you? Hope you’re having a great night <3
I’m going to go ahead and skip the “here’s what I’ve been up to” spiel and get right down to biznazz.
Brownies.
Flourless (= gluten-free!) chocolate chip brownies to be exact.
It’s weird because my sweet tooth has been MIA for a couple of weeks –I haven’t even had chocolate in the house!- but I’ve been Googling gluten-free brownie recipes because it’s been a while since a recipe made it onto the ol’ bloggy. There were a lot of standard ideas (but none that could beat my brother’s legendary recipe) and quite a few with interesting ingredients, like beans.
I’m sorry. I like beans and everything but keep them far, far away from my baked goods.
And then I found one that uses a 16-oz jar of almond butter as the “base”, and we instantly became best friends.
I don’t post other people’s recipes, so please check out the original version *here* if you’d like to join in the chocolaty foodgasmic fun
The only changes I made:
-Add 1 teaspoon espresso powder – makes chocolate taste so much more rich
-Add a little cinnamon
-Maple syrup instead of agave
Best-looking batter I’ve ever laid eyes on.
This:
went to this:
And ended just like this.
Somehow my sweet tooth made a spontaneous appearance 
Please make these. You will LOVE them.
I’m taking the rest to my work friends tomorrow 
Have a fabulous night and I’ll see ya in the morning with a discussion post <3
xoxo
Gina
Something to read: Habits of Highly Effective Exercisers
Hi, I'm Gina. Welcome to The Fitnessista! I love blogging about my adventures as a new mom, military wife and fitness instructor, as well as sharing new workouts and recipes. Check out the About page for more info - thanks for stopping by!
wow almond butter in brownies??!!! can’t wait to make these! i’m the same way..not sure about beans in baked goods!
those look to.die.for. i know my boyfriend would absolutely love them, he loves brownies.
I made these on my blog a few months ago! People loved them. I thought they did taste a little almond butter-y though.
Ummm…..that is the best idea EVER!!!! Flourless cake + brownies + choc chips + almond butter are pretty much my fav things in the world. Thaaaaank youuu, Gina
Ahhh!!! I’ve missed brownies so much….and I LOVE almond butter…. I can’t wait to make these
YUMMM!!! Thanks for linking to that recipe…sounds fantastic!
I once tried to make a batch of black bean brownies…I think my husband was ready to disown me that day.
Yum! I’ll have to give those a try!
Those look so good! You can’t go wrong with brownies with a full jar of nut butter in them!
amen to that!
I’m new to reading your blog and I’m always up for a good *different* recipe! I’ll have to try these brownies. Do you have celiac or a wheat/gluten sensitivity and that’s why you cook/eat gluten-free? Just curious, I see a lot of your recipes and food you eat are gluten-free. Excited to continue following your blog!
(PS. EVERYTHING is better with AB!! EVERY.THING!)
welcome to the little blog!
i’m not allergic to gluten, but it does make me feel pretty icky, so i generally avoid it.
I tried the bean brownies . . . so gross! But these little guys seem much better. Nut butter beats beans in dessert any day of the week!
Holy yum those look amazing!
Bahahaha I love what you said about the beans! These brownies look insaaanely good.
Sounds so good!!!
I have wanted/contemplated making that Elena recipe for some time! I was looking for brownie recipes and a reader told me she makes them all the time and loves them and I almost have made them. Now, I am pushed over into the must make them realm!
Question…I am not the hugest fan of AB, i know, crazy..It’s fine, but I much prefer PB or Sunflower seed butter. Based on the neutral-ness of AB, that may be better in this recipe. Do you think I should just stick w/ AB or would PB or SFSB be ok (after I adjust the batter for texture/thickness if using PB b/c it’s so much thicker than AB is)?
And this
“I’m sorry. I like beans and everything but keep them far, far away from my baked goods.”–
Omg EVERY TIME i see someone make something from blondies to brownies with beans or chickpeas, I say that to myself
Those look so good, definitely have to give those a try. I bet the AB will bring them to a whole new level of fudginess that is so characteristic of the best brownies.
I love the added espresso powder. Reminds me of my homegirl Ina Garten because I saw her add coffee to a cake once and thought “how interesting!” Of course, it has to be just about half a cup “good” brewed coffee….oh, Ina.
Thanks again for the recipe link and as always the great blog.
Hey I’m new to your blog! I can’t wait to make these!!! Especially since I just recently found out the cause to all my stomach problems is gluten. Thanks for posting this! My sweet tooth is rarely missing. How’d you get yours to go away?
my appetite has been funky lately. usually it’s in full force
the title of this post is sooo true! mmmmm
There is no way I would have any left over to share…please do a readers request on how to build up your will power!!!
Yum Gina, these sound ahhhhmazing:)
Never gets old! Healthy and filling!
I don’t get it though, if your bro’s brownies were legendary, why were you searching for another brownie recipe? And which do you like better? Now I don’t know which one to make!?
And when I’m stuck in a food funk, I never get tired of waffles or pancakes made with brown rice flour and topped with banana and AB
i really wanted to try a flourless one! his are better though
I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for ages but couldn’t bring myself to buy almond butter and put it all into a single batch of brownies (my wallet would weep) .. But I guess you’ve got to make some sacrifices for a good ol’ brownie
I am also not gluten-intolerant but my tummy feels lots better with less!
Gina, I love how you made the brownies in a muffin tin – did you have to change baking times for this ??? (Because a dry brownie is a sad brownie ..just making sure
)
best idea ever…..AMEN TO THAT! great recipe Gina. I wonder how cashew butter would do?
totally!
Mmmh.. a nice chocolate recipe to start off my Monday. Perfection, Gina!!
hello, these look delish cant wait to try them. i saw that you substituted the agavae for maple syrup and was wonderining if its just taste preference or is there a nutritional reason you switched them. thanks !
there is mixed research on the effects of agave, so to err on the safe side, i stay away
Brownies that use a whole jar of AB? There is no way these could be anything less than epic! Definitely bookmarking this recipe!
My sweet tooth never goes missing. And it really wouldn’t disappear after trying some of those. Almond butter as the BASE?! Heck to the yea!
these look great although it might pain me to dump my whole jar of beloved almond butter into brownies!
Elana’s recipe is my favorite brownie recipe also! I made them this weekend and was actually going to email it to you to see if you had ever heard of it
Oh my gosh, these look awesome! What a fun idea!! Thanks Gina!
I know it sounds crazy to use beans as an ingredient, but the bakery next door sells gluten free brownies that are made with black beans and they are actually the best brownie I have ever eaten, GF or not. The only reason I know this is because I had to ask the chef/owner what her secret was!
I hear you, it’s weird, but don’t let it dissuade you in the future if you can help it. So good!
Those look deadly and delicious!
When you say “espresso powder” do you mean like instant coffee?
yep, but they make espresso powder, which is a little stronger
PS those look amazing and I would definitely muster up a sweet tooth to help you out with one, LOL!
I’ve made the peanut butter blondies before! Elana’s the best… I discovered her about 3 years ago when I was looking up recipes for vegan candy. Her chocolate recipes are AMAZING and almost always use almond butter as a base!
for that, she is a genius
I made these bad boys tonight, and they are fantastic. I used the Fitnessista’s tweaks, and added some chopped hazelnut. Thank you, Fitnessista, for educating me on the wonders of the espresso powder! I shall henceforth use espresso powder anytime I use chocolate in a recipe. I have also added Elana’s blog to my Reader.
awesome and double awesome
[...] Bake it! Flourless gluten-free chocolate brownies with almond butter – Fitnessista [...]
Reached my first stepping in stone weight loss post-baby. 135! Here I come 130! These were my reward tonight after some HIIT on the eliptical (oxymoron?). And I only ate one and a half (my ultimate in self-control!).
I just baked these and they are ridiculous! I cannot stop eating them!
i’m so glad you like them!