Gluten Free Goodies...And A Little Monster

I repeatedly see recipes for "slutty" brownies, every single time I use Pinterest (which is highly addictive, I might add. If you aren't on it, I wouldn't recommend it, hahaha, jk ;) The sheer volume of "pins" for this one item piqued my interest. What is a "slutty" brownie, you ask? Well, it's a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, and a layer of Oreo cookies, all topped with brownie batter and baked to perfection. They are crispy, gooey, sweet, delicious! I just had to make some. The thing is, some of us living in my home are gluten free. This makes the whole seemingly simple task of baking anything a little more complicated. The good news is, I just happened to have a fantastic recipe for g-free chocolate chip cookies, and gluten free Oreo-like cookies are readily available in most supermarkets these days! The only challenge might be finding a good brownie recipe, but having had some amazing flourless chocolate cakes, I figured brownies would lend themselves to the task quite readily. A quick search on my go-to recipe site yielded success on the first try. A quick trip to the grocery store for supplies, and we were off!

layering on the Glutino brand "Oreos"

The first task was making my chocolate chip cookie dough. The recipe is adapted from the winning cookie recipe on Food Network Canada's Recipe To Riches.  I have made a few changes to the recipe to suit my own tastes, but the original is pretty awesome. I doubled the recipe and had enough to make the bottom layer of a 9x13" pan, and also about 3 dozen cookies (2 tbsp. dough balls, bake for 12 minutes @ 350 F from chilled). I then layered on a package of Glutino Dream cookies, which taste nearly identical to Oreos. Next came the brownie batter, from a Canadian Living recipe, that I doubled as well, but used the full amount in one pan. Into the oven they went, to bake @ 350 F for 50-60 minutes. I tested with a bamboo skewer, and when it came out just slightly gooey, I pulled them out to cool. 



Into the oven they go

This recipe match-up yielded thick, fudgy, decadent brownies that I honestly could have cut much smaller, but why not live a little?  I think the beauty of this recipe, as a whole, is that you can use your favourite chocolate chip cookie and brownie recipes, whatever version of Oreo your prefer (regular, double stuffed, gluten free...), and they will turn out slightly different, but delicious all the same. If you can bake, then this WILL turn out. If you can't bake, you can use any number of available cookie and brownie mixes, or order them from Sugar Sweet Cake Company ;) We don't just bake cakes you know!

Gluten free "slutty" brownies

* these brownies got rave reviews from my non-celiac friends and family, who had no idea what they were eating, until I told them afterwards. This is how I like to test my g-free recipes, because if they don't taste a difference, then neither will the tasty treat deprived celiacs of the world ;)

Amazing chocolate chip cookies

** the chocolate chip cookies were awesome as well. In fact, I think they were better than the brownies, and maybe the best cookies I have ever eaten, regardless of gluten content!!! They are also available from Sugar Sweet Cake Company.

Domo Kun cupcakes

As for our little monster friend, this is Domo Kun. He is a little Japanese stop-motion character, and beloved by many, including my brother. These were his birthday cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Greg!!!