The Hot Handle

A blog interspersed with occasional gluten free recipes.

Please note: If you have a family member who requires a gluten free diet, be sure to use a cast iron skillet that has never previously touched gluten....and if it has, scrub it all down completely and re-season, to be on the safe side.

Looking for information on Celiac Disease? There are many good sites, but here is one to get started with:
www.celiacdisease.net/celiac-disease-101.



Saturday, September 25, 2010

Flying Off the Handle: Banana Brownies


This is my guitar.

I used to take group guitar lessons at a local community college.  It was a lot of fun, and perfect for my life at the time.  But one important thing also happened while I refined my skills:  I met friends there, and 10 years or so later, we are still jammin'!  Every so often, five women (me included) get together, lugging our guitars and some food, often at my house.  It's a blast.

We range in age from 49 to 61.  We are liberal and conservative.  We are Jewish, Catholic and Lutheran.  We hardly pick up a guitar until it's jam time.  We talk......and talk.....and then remember we are there to play some music.  We play chords and sing together, not especially caring how good or bad we are. 

We are a powerful group.  We have cheered each other on through divorce, cancer, special anniversaries, birthdays, and accomplishments.  We truly enjoy each other. 

To think I would have never met them except for the guitar classes.....

I made these brownies for our last jam, which happened to be last weekend. 
Everyone loved them!


Banana Brownies

Preheat the oven to 325.

Grease a 9x13 inch oblong pan.

In a large bowl, mix together:

7/8 cup Jules Gluten Free Flour,
7/8 cup rice flour,
1 1/2 cups sugar,
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder,
1/2 tsp. baking soda,
1 tsp. salt, and
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum.

In another bowl, use a hand blender to mix together:

2 bananas,
3/4 cup oil,
1 egg, and
1 4-oz jar baby food prunes.

(Yes, baby food prunes!)

Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until well blended.  Spread in the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.  (Look for gluten free on the chocolate chip label; I used Nestle brand.)  Bake 30 minutes, until they look pretty dry on top.  Cool completely, and cut into 32 squares. 

I put half of the brownies in another room to keep them from cross-contamination with all the other foods there.  The next day they were delivered to John at his college.  He loved them, too!