Rosemary-Infused Brownies (Or, a brief history of fudge)

Do you see this picture of me smiling? That's because this picture was (one) taken on my birthday, (two) I was in India, (three) India is like, my most favorite place ever, (four) I was with a group of international yoga friends for a super fun party and (five) we were eating Indian fudge. This was no ordinary fudge... it was the best Indian Fudge EVER.

I didn't even know that Indian fudge existed until I was actually IN India. I mean, you don't equate Indian culture with gooey chocolate goodness, right? But I happen to be a health conscious foodie, so I'm open to gastronomic surprises - as long as they are relatively healthy and vegan-ish. And especially if they involve chocolate!

Even though I’m an Ayurvedic practitioner, and incredibly committed to health, I still love fudge. I mean, you’ve got to let yourself have fun in life. Am I right or right? : )

Anyway, back to the story of how I encountered the Indian fudge that became by birthday cake… Last winter, I was on my way from Mumbai to the international home of Iyengar yoga in Pune. I stopped for a few days in Matheran – a beautiful “hill station” nestled between these two metropolitan cities. Matheran is famous for having no cars, clean air, lots of monkeys and really good chikki. Chikki is a classic Indian sweet made from nuts or seeds, ghee (clarified butter) and jaggery (a truly delicious Indian sugar). Matheran was the perfect place to recover from jet lag and get reacquainted with my beloved India.

Since I was staying with a family in Pune, I wanted to bring them a gift - homemade chikki seemed perfect. So I bought some with the last of my money before I arrived in Pune, I also bought a small package of chikki for myself.

As it turns out, the hype is for real - homemade chikki is AMAZING. I couldn’t fathom the idea of leaving Matheran without more. But I had spent all my money and it was my last night in Matheran. I knew what I had to do.

At 9pm, I trekked over to the town’s only ATM. As I approached, I heard - and then saw - a frightening growl. It belonged a dog who appeared to be guarding the ATM. There was no way around him and no way I was going to get any money out of that ATM as long as he had something to say about it. My last minute late-night chikki mission was a bust! I arrived in Pune chikki-less (although I did still give my host family their chikki)!

It wasn’t too long before the universe stepped in, as it always does! I shared my chikki story with a sweet, modern Indian couple who, upon meeting me in line at a local restaurant, took me out to lunch AND invited me to their wedding – I’m telling you. How can you not love India?!

They told me that the BEST chikki actually came from a nearby town called Lonavla (he grew up there!) and that it was just a train ride away. I dutifully boarded the train the following day (it was only 4 hours roundtrip), found the store most renowned for their sweets -  a place called Cooper’s and there it was… the fudge! I forgot about the chikki at that point. I had a new love to tend to.

By the way… so that you know I’m not making this up, I recently discovered a Facebook group called the “Coopers Fudge Fan Club”)!!!

The rest is history. I bought the fudge. I ate it standing in the pouring rain. I loved it. I cherished it. I shared it with friends… and then I shaped it into a letter “T” and made it my birthday cake. The end... The recipe I’m sharing with you today is NOT fudge – but it is fudgy and delicious. Try it! And check out that Cooper’s Fudge Fan Club page on Facebook – it’s awesome!

Rosemary-Infused Brownies - Gluten-Free!

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Yield: About 16 brownies

Once they have cooled to room temperature (if you can wait that long to taste them!), these brownies are bites of moist chocolate goodness imbibed with the savory kick of rosemary – an advantageous herb in winter for its ability to strengthen circulation, metabolism and elimination.

I adapted this recipe from one I found in “Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book”. Bob’s Red Mill is my favorite source for all types of grains, especially all-purpose, gluten-free baking flour. I always keep some on hand so that when the mood strikes for a batch of cookies or brownies, I’m ready!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

5 ounces Dark or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips*

2 Eggs (at room temperature)

1 teaspoon Rosemary Extract or Vanilla Extract

1 cup All-Purpose, Gluten-Free Baking Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 cup Organic Sugar

2 teaspoons Fresh, Chopped Rosemary Leaves or 1 teaspoon Crushed, Dried Rosemary Leaves

Pinch of Salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking pan with coconut oil.

Set up a double boiler method on your stove over medium heat. Melt the coconut oil and the chocolate chips, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate melts. Remove from heat.

In a small separate bowl with a wire whisk or fork, beat the eggs and then whisk them into the chocolate/oil mixture. Beat in the rosemary extract and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, rosemary and salt. Beat in the chocolate mixture until smooth, then spread the brownie mixture into your greased pan. Bake for about 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before digging in.

*In lieu of using chocolate chips, consider breaking a couple of high quality, dark chocolate bars into chip-sized pieces. Brands like “Alter Eco”, “Green and Blacks” and “Divine” taste especially… well, divine.