Easy Vegan Peppermint Brownies (Gluten Free)
The best vegan chocolate peppermint brownies that are ultra rich, moist, and fudgy. This is the perfect festive holiday dessert recipe that you can share with your family and friends.
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Easy Vegan Peppermint Brownies (Gluten Free)
Good morning everyone! Now that winter is in full swing, I thought it would be the perfect time to start sharing some of my favorite holiday recipes. My family loves to bake fun treats together during the winter season, so I have quite a few tried and true recipes that I look forward to making each and every year.
Today we are going to make a recipe that is a huge hit in my family – vegan fudgy peppermint brownies. These brownies are loaded with flavor and sweetness. They are perfect to bring to a holiday party or family gathering, and even your non-vegan friends will appreciate them. So, let’s take a look at some quick things to note for this recipe. Then, we will go through the list of ingredients you will need to make these fudgy, vegan, gluten free peppermint brownies.
Should You Refrigerate These Brownies?
I personally like to store these chocolate peppermint brownies covered in the refrigerator for optimal freshness and flavor. I really enjoy chilled brownies, but I also like my brownies warm and gooey depending on what I’m in the mood for.
Whenever I’m craving a warm, gooey brownie, I will just place one of the brownies on a microwave safe plate and microwave it in five second intervals until the chocolate is melted and the brownie is nice and warm. Then, I will serve it up with some vegan vanilla ice cream or coconut whipped cream. I definitely recommend storing any of your leftover brownies in a container in the refrigerator so that they stay fresher longer. Even if you prefer your brownies warm, you can always use the microwave method to reheat them.
Do Vegan Brownies Contain Gluten?
Vegan brownies definitely do not have to contain gluten, but it really just depends on the recipe. For these vegan chocolate peppermint brownies specifically, I used oat flour rather than whole wheat flour so that these brownies can be made completely gluten free if desired. You will just have to use your favorite gluten free oats to make your oat flour.
Easy Vegan Peppermint Brownies – Ingredients
- Quick Oats – The quick oats are the first essential ingredient you will need for the peppermint brownies. They will be blended up to form a fine oat flour.
- Cocoa Powder – You simply can’t have rich chocolate brownies without cocoa powder. For this recipe, I used the Hershey’s special dark cocoa powder to give the brownies a rich chocolate flavor.
- Vegan Chocolate Protein Powder – The chocolate protein powder adds chocolate flavor and a boost of protein to these peppermint brownies. I used the Orgain Simple protein powder in the chocolate peanut butter cup flavor. You can use any chocolate protein powder you have on hand or prefer.
- Baking Powder – The baking powder serves as the key leavening agent in this recipe to help the brownies achieve the perfect texture.
- Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – The mini semi-sweet chocolate chips add sweetness and chocolatey goodness to this peppermint brownies recipe. You can use whichever ones you like. I really love the Enjoy Life brand miniature chocolate chips.
- Mini Candy Canes – The mini candy canes are crushed and added on top of your brownies for additional sweetness and peppermint flavor. They also add a pop of color to your brownies.
- Unsweetened Applesauce – The unsweetened applesauce adds a ton of moisture to these peppermint brownies. It helps the brownies achieve a fudgy texture, and it also adds some sweetness to the brownies.
- Nut Milk – The nut milk is a key source of liquid used in this brownie recipe. It adds a ton of creaminess to your brownie batter.
- Pure Maple Syrup – The pure maple syrup adds sweetness to the chocolate peppermint brownies. It also helps bind the brownies together thanks to its sticky consistency.
- Pure Peppermint Extract – The pure peppermint extract adds a ton of peppermint flavor to the brownie batter. This ingredient is very strong, so you will only need a little bit.
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Easy Vegan Peppermint Brownies (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup quick oats (blended into a fine oat flour)
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
- 1/4 cup vegan chocolate protein powder (I used Orgain Simple in the chocolate peanut butter cup flavor)
- 2 tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 mini candy canes
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp nut milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat flour, cocoa powder, protein powder, and baking powder.
- Make a well in the center of the bowl, then add the applesauce, pure maple syrup, and pure peppermint extract.
- Mix all wet ingredients to combine, then slowly mix the wet into the dry.
- Add the nut milk and mix again until a smooth brownie batter consistency is achieved.
- Pour the brownie mixture into a lined or greased baking pan and smooth it out in an even layer.
- Crush the mini candy canes into small pieces using the back of a spoon.
- Sprinkle the candy cane pieces and chocolate chips evenly on top of the brownie batter.
- Bake the brownies for about 18 – 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.
- Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into eight equal sized rectangles.
- Dig in and enjoy!
Notes
I hope you all enjoy this simple and delicious peppermint brownies recipe. I really like to warm my brownies up in the microwave for a few minutes and serve them with some vegan vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Anyways, that’s it for this recipe. As per usual, I will be back with another blog post very soon.
-Alyssa 🙂
