Substitute bittersweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate, and pecans for the walnuts.The combination of delicate white chocolate with the crunchy pecans makes these quick and easy brownies more sophisticated than most.
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen
Active time: 15 minutes
Start to finish: 1 hour
1 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
Pinch of salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
11/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Place walnuts on a baking sheet, and toast for 5 to 7 minutes, or until lightly browned.
2. Combine rice flour, potato starch, xanthan gum, and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk well.
3. Combine butter and brown sugar in another mixing bowl and beat at low speed with an electric mixer to combine. Increase the speed to high, and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the rice flour mixture. Mix until just blended. Stir in walnuts and white chocolate, and spread the batter to an even layer in the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, then cut into pieces.
Variation
Substitute bittersweet chocolate chips for the white chocolate, and pecans for the walnuts.
White chocolate is not officially chocolate, since it doesn’t contain the thick, dark paste that remains once the cocoa butter is removed. It has the cocoa butter as its base, along with sugar and milk solids. It has a tendency to clump and should be melted over very low heat to keep it creamy.