Free The Brownies!

So, I made the brownies. Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies, for those just joining us.

Again, everything started out well. The batter looked as it should.

They have mini-chocolate chips already in the mix, but I threw in more anyway, because, well, it's chocolate; there can't really be too much of it. I didn't really measure, but I took this shot of the chips added, so you can get the idea.

Out of the oven and cooled for at least 15 minutes, they are tasty and thick, chocolatey and moist. They look like brownies, they taste like brownies.
The timing directions are right on, so follow them and just watch your own batch.

At first, they are fine, but they don't keep well, so if you're going to make these, be sure it's for immediate consumption (or soon thereafter).

Overall, I'll give them 7 stars. Regular brownies stay fresh far longer than these and taste better, so that's a con or two. They are tastier than the cookies though, so that's a pro for the BC GF line. I suppose I expected more from a company that has been around so long creating baking mixes as they have. It seems like they rushed them to the shelf when they discovered the market (late, I might add, and with only four options?). I really had hoped for more.

There's still the cake to try yet. Here's hoping!

Free To Be Mainstream

Looky, looky!
I found a mainstream label making gluten free desserts. In a mainstream grocery store, no less!

Betty Crocker, purveyor of many a boxed dessert kit, offers three selections for our gluten free sugar intake: chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake and chocolate brownies. Clearly, the lesson here is that if you take away wheat, you'd better add (or at least leave in) the chocolate. That does seem rather obvious though, if given much thought.  {Note: Apparently, there are four. A yellow cake is also available. On the label it is shown with chocolate frosting, maintaining my point.}

So far I've only tried the cookie mix. So far I'm not impressed.

It started out well. The dough looked like it should.

It formed nicely into balls for baking.

But then...something went wrong. I'm not sure what, I'm not sure when, but I'm fairly certain where: the oven.

They did look fairly normal, as compared to other cookies, but in spite of my extra effort, (I beat the egg to fluff it up, like you would cake batter), they came out FLAT (like the world before Columbus set sail) and way too crispy for my personal taste. I enjoy a thick, chewy cookie experience. 'Thin" is reserved mostly for pizza crust in this house. (And fantasies of my ass. My fantastic ass is always thin.) That said, they are not distasteful. By that I mean, while I would not call them 'yummy', I can see where someone else might. The flavor was familiar, yet lacking, like a chocolate chip cookie's anorexic cousin. I cannot, in good conscience, blame this on the gluten freeness or overall quality of the product, however, as my neighbor has warned me that cookie baking at a mile above sea level does not yield favorable results. I'm here to say to you that my neighbor is correct.

While it is sad that the cookies did not turn out spectacularly for me, I do not want to discourage people at lower altitudes from trying them. Quite the contrary, I'd love to hear from those of you who do get them to resemble actual cookies in taste, texture and/or appearance. So far I've only got points for appearance.

So, though these cookies only get three stars from me, I'm still giving props to Betty C for giving it a try where others have not bothered at all and looking forward to the brownies I plan on baking this week. Brownie is my true medium anyway. Don't know why I didn't just start with them.

Details to follow, naturally.

For Your Desserting Pleasure

This post may be very like one I have already written, but I don't feel the need to apologize due to the yumminess of the outcome. You can thank me later.


Since I had such good luck with their muffin mix, I decided to give Authentic Foods Chocolate Cake Mix a go. I love a good cake, but I also love my waistline, so cupcakes are more practical (I'm nothing if not practical), because I tell myself there are less calories in a cupcake than in a slice of cake. This may be true, but it's not really important. What's important is that I believe it to be true. And cupcakes are WAY easier to bake than a honking two-tier chocolate cake. Who has that kind of time?! I have a blog to write, for crissakes.


I chose to use the same timing method I employed with the earlier muffins, so I paid attention to them; I watched the time. I watched the tops. I got a clean knife at testing and pulled them out of the oven at somewhere between 19 and 20 minutes. (The directions recommended 30. I would not.)
I despise overdone cakelike treats. Burn does not taste delicious on dessert. Trust me on this. I was the kid who did not light her s'mores marshmallows on fire at camp. I lit other stuff on fire, but never, ever dessert.

The texture of the finished product is fabulous. Light, fluffy, cakey. Just like chocolate cake should be, which, as I have indicated in the past, is not what's up with every product out there. Even different products within the same line can dissapoint. One item will be great, another not so much. Those of us who choose or have thrust upon us a gluten-free diet have long lamented the loss of great cake. I enjoy baking my own and dressing them up myself, so a good packaged mix is wonderful to find. This line has so far proven to be good stuff. The consistency is perfect. I didn't even bother to frost/ice/slather them with buttery sugar. I did add mini dark chocolate Toblerone candy bars. Not enough though. Should have used more.

I plan to add chocolate chips or "chunks" next time. Good ole' next time.

These cupcakes taste like chocolate cake (not brownies, torte, or flourless cake) and are muy fabuloso. And yummy. I'm thinking they will be perfect in the ice cream sundae I plan to make of one or two of them tomorrow. Must get to the store for chocolate syrup.

Once again, I do not have any affiliation with the company. If they want to send me more products to test in my mile-high kitchen, I'm happy to help. We all do what we can in these trying times.

Overall, I'd give it 8 out of 10 stars (a new rating system I'm trying out).

Without the added chocolate, it is a bit dry, so icing, frosting or slathering on sugary butter may help with that. Ice cream will certainly take care of it. Or Cool-Whip.

Of course, I prefer the chocolate injection/addition/enhancement. But then, don't we all?