It’s Thursday again and here I am sharing with you my search for a delicious gluten free, egg free, dairy free and soy free Brownie. This week, I tried another brownie mix I picked from my shopping expedition at Stop&Shop.
At first, I was a bit hesitant to try this. It’s $4.39 a box, not on sale and the mix still needs 2 large eggs. After a few minutes of back and forth holding and returning to the shelf, I finally gave in and put it in the cart. The “please mom” look from 2 small boys sealed the deal.
The day came to try this brownie mix. Again I followed the directions to the dot. With my big mixing bowl and trusted wooden spoon, I slowly added the prepared egg replacement and melted butter. Since no electric mixer required, I carefully folded the ingredients making sure not to overmix. As the batter come together, it became really thick and gooey. Spreading the batter evenly to fit the greased pan was a big challenge. After a few minutes of patting down, the super thick goo went to the oven.
Waiting for the brownies to bake seems like eternity. I’ve been looking at the glass oven door every 4 minutes or so to make sure that I don’t burn it. Finally, the sweet sound of the alarm went off. Top looks good and the sides aren’t burnt. Just by it’s looks, I thought, I was able to come up with the best GEDS free brownie. (Fingers crossed)
When the pan of brownies finally came to room temperature, it was time to start phase two which is cutting. My plastic knife went through the brownies wonderfully. Yes, I always use a plastic knife to cut bars because nothing sticks to it and the cuts are clean. Wow! These really looks like real brownies!!! The top has a shiny, crackled finish and the middle has a soft moist cakelike structure. It also holds it’s shape well. Not bad eh?
Here’s the final test – Taste. What can I say? Looks are deceiving! The brownies didn’t have the chocolate flavor I was hoping for. Actually, there’s not much flavor at all. It was so bland. Not a hint of cocoa or vanilla. It even needs some sugar. Plus, these brownies have a grainy feel that sticks to the tongue. Unappealing.
My kids did ate them but they kept on asking me to make the “Blakie brownie” next time. They said that even if the “Blackie” is very gooey and sticky, it tastes so good. Way better than this batch. Who am I to argue right?
So the verdict is, these Cocoa Brownies from Simply Organic have the good looks of a real brownie but the taste is just not there. I even went online check the reviews for this product and yes, we all agree that this mix is not a keeper. Some of the reviewers even used the 2 eggs the recipe called for. Oh well… the GEDS free Brownie Quest continues…. See you next week.
-Roz
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