Sorry, Betty, but Bob's brownies take the cake

Muffins, pancakes, piecrusts, etc. These items should all be made from scratch. And definitely don’t buy a boxed, brownie mix. But when you do buy a brownie mix, buy Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Brownie Mix. Unlike other boxed brownies that deliver the immediate chewy, chocolately thrill, but that dissolve into a heavy feeling in your stomach and a grease stain on your fingers and around the corners of your lips, Bob’s brownies are deeply chocolately, perfectly moist, and never have that slightly plastic reminiscent aftertaste. What is that taste, Ms. Crocker?

            Bob’s instructions tell you to add into the mix 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter (we just used one, but you can use 1/2 cup Earth Balance or another butter substitute to cut down on some calories as well), 1 egg, 2 tsps vanilla, and 3/4 warm water. We also mixed in an additional teaspoon of salt and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips -- for some extra flavor interests and textures. The recipe says to bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, but we did need to bake ours for an additional 10 minutes to get that perfect, brownie texture. There is a recipe on the back of the mix for cream cheese brownies as well that we have not yet tried, but which sounds like a dream come true.

I’d like to draw your attention to Bob’s list of ingredients, where, second on the list, you’ll find the words ghiradelli cocoa. That’s right, it’s the real deal in that bag, and you can taste it in the final product. Also, because the mix is gluten free, it uses potato, sorghum, tapioca, and corn flours instead of your basic bleached, white, wheat, and this diversity gives the brownies a delightful consistency; still moist, but a bit more dense. Worried about a slightly off, gluten free taste? Don’t be. If it didn’t say so on the bag, you’d never guess this mix is harboring these rebel flours. In fact, I’ve served these brownies to friends several times without mentioning their alternative ingredients and no one has ever said anything negative about the taste. In fact, no one ever said much of anything at all, other than, mmmm, yummmm, do you have any milk?

The recipe on the bag of mix says, “Serves 16 (1 brownie each) when cut into 16 pieces.” We assure you, one brownie each will not be enough. Eat them warm as a classically indulgent treat. Or, if you want to give your palate a slight challenge, try eating a square with a small dollop of plain, Greek yogurt on top. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the way the textures and opposing sweet and sour notes play off one another. Way to go Bob, way to go.