I don't use baking mixes very often, but I make an exception for gluten-free treats. If you don't bake gluten-free on a regular basis, but want to make a GF treat for a friend, it's hard to justify picking up a lot of specialty ingredients. So mixes like these brownies from Trader Joe's are really helpful in these cases. I gave these brownies a try, curious to see if they could become my go-to gluten-free dessert. Well, that's probably not going to happen, sad to say.
I'll tell you straight: I was not a fan.
There isn't a lot to say about these brownies. I had high hopes for them, though. Their ingredient list was shockingly short (just seven ingredients!), for a processed mix product, which was encouraging. They didn't have any dairy, soy, or tree nuts. (Amazingly versatile, right?)
They bake up in a snap, since like most mixes they just need a few ingredients stirred in quickly. They baked up nice and dark, and they looked pleasantly fudgy.
The only problem? They really did not taste good. I found them chalky and greasy, without a very nice mouth feel. I've eaten plenty of gluten-free baked goods, and I know that I can do better than this!
As you can see from the photo above, they also barely held together; they had to be refrigerated before cutting.
What do you think of these brownies? Have you ever tried this mix? What did you think? And if you have better gluten-free mixes to recommend, please do! It's always nice to have one around for a last-minute gluten-free treat.
Related: Inside the Secret World Of Trader Joe's
(Images: Faith Durand)
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I'm not a fan of that mix, which I believe is a rebranded Namaste mix. I'd much rather bake my own, although mine are more cakey than fudgey (the kids prefer them that way).
I just tried this mix at Thanksgiving and was not impressed. I have tried the gluten free Betty Crocker mix and that tasted like their regular brownies to me. Good for when you need a quick prepackaged mix.
I just made these a couple days ago and they were such a weird texture! The King Arthur brownies are awesome -- much better than these.
Yeah, these aren't good. The Bob's Red Mill mixes are much better, as are the Pamela's mixes. Such is the gluten free world - so many products out there are just...well not good. PLUS they are often twice the price for half the amoung (I'm talking to you Bisquick). There are frozen gf crab cakes out there that are selling for...wait for it..over $70 for a box of six. Seriously, it's better to just peruse the myriad gf blogs and find a recipe that you like. It will inevitably be better.
I thought these were disgusting! I tried them twice - TJs has never let me down before. But both times they were just terrible. This is one thing TJs just got totally wrong.
I used the King Arthur Flour cookie mix (adding in my own GF goodies) for a friend and they tasted terrific!
I have to put a big vote in for Bob Red Mill's gluten-free chocolate cake mix. I've used it several times to make cupcakes and cake, and you can buy it in bulk on Amazon.com.
Everyone I've made it for can't tell that it's gluten-free and asks for the recipe. They can never believe that it's from a mix, but it is. And so good! Especially with cream cheese icing. :)
I haven't used this mix in awhile, but I thought the brownies were pretty great. I remember them being a bit gooey and definitely not finger food but still tasting yummy. Sounds like I'm the only one,
Betty Crocker's gf brownies are awesome! I add in a half bag of additional chocolate chips and they are amazing. They even won an Epicurious taste test contest!
TJ's mix is gross. I'm generally not a fan of Bob's Red Mill mixes just because they always have a strong bean flour flavor that I don't like. My favorite brownies and CC cookie mixes come from Pamela's.
Yes, as others have mentioned, Betty Crocker is the best! They are chewy, dense, rich, and have satisfying chunks of chocolate strewn throughout. And non-GF folks can find them right alongside Betty's other cake and brownie mixes, so it's an easy thing to tell non-GF folks to use as a go-to. No special stores or special aisles required. Betty's GF cake mixes are also pretty dang good. I always put a pan of water on the bottom shelf of the oven when I bake with storebought mixes, GF or regular. It keeps the cake nice and moist, which is especially hard to get from a GF cake, homemade or storebought. (Also a good trick for muffins, cupcakes, quickbreads, etc.) Betty's cookie mix is also good--I think better than Pamela's, Bob's, etc.
TJ's brownie mix is mealy and sort of bitter. With TJ's items, gluten free or not, I find that either I love them or I hate them. There's never a lot of in between with TJ's.
If you're looking for a good GF brownie recipe, though, instead of a mix, this one is a favorite in our house with the GF folks and the non-GF folks:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/amazing-black-bean-brownies-recipe.html
I LOVE Betty Crocker's mix. I undercook them a wee bit (exactly 27 minutes, not 28 or 29) to make them delicious and fudgy in the middle. I gave them to my family along with (and FAR AWAY FROM) my grandmother's brownies and mine were gone far faster.
The Trader Joe's mix was especially disappointing. I usually love all of their products, but this tasted like one greasy egg roll. I would not make them again, but like everyone else says, the Betty Crocker mixes are pretty decent! I am a big fan of the Gluten Free Cake Doctor book which doctors all mixes- worth a look at if you haven't already.
The King Arthur brand brownie mix is pretty good, too!
err - meant to say the King Arthur Gluten-Free brownie mix :)
I just tried TJ’s gluten free brownie mix and was pleasantly surprised. Now, I will say that I love to cook and rarely follow directions exactly… So what I did was use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and added the following: 1 Tbs instant espresso, 1 Tsp vanilla, and 2 Tbs agave nectar. After 35 minutes at 350 degrees they were ready. I would say play around with the mix and see what happens, you might be pleasantly surprised like I was. Happy cooking!
i LOVED this mix...i made a vegan version with a flax egg, subbed half the oil for apple sauce and um...baked them for 25 minutes. Then prepared a home made peanut butter frosting, sweetened with agave and this shit tasted bomb. I ate the whole batch :/
Oh thank goodness!! I took this disaster personally until I saw this. What a mess! I'm a vegan and I substituted the egg with my Ener-G Egg Replacer which works in every other mix I've tried, and this turned out with a consistency of an oily sludge. They must have gotten their measurements wrong or something! 1/2 cup of oil? Really? I could have drained 1/4 cup off the top of the prepared "brownies." Plus, I don't think it is reflected properly in the nutritional information (prepared).
Yup, I'm in full agreement with the King Arthur- Especially when you mix some peanut butter in the top :)
These are awful, I agree. A surprise for a Trader Joe's product, because most of their stuff is great. I agree with some of the other readers, Bob's Red Mill is really good (and the best, in my opinion, when it comes to gluten-free mixes.)
These brownies are really tasty but the directions on the back of the package seem misleading.
The package calls for ¼ cup of water but there is no way that you are going to get moist, chewy brownies that hold together with that little water. When I mixed together the ingredients, it resembled cookie dough rather than cake/brownie batter, so I added more fluid until it was the right consistency.
The brownies turned out terrific: chewy, but light and fluffy at the same time.
I agree with Heloise on adding water. I made these brownies last night. I substituted apple sauce for half the oil and nearly doubled the amount of water to 1/2 cup. I also added some TJs chocolate chips. Instead of baking for 30 min. I took the brownies out at 25 min. and I have a pan of delicious, fudgey, chewy brownies. Get inventive folks! There's no way that Betty Crocker is the best mix out there, when it's loaded with GMO corn and soy ingredients!!!! Betty Crocker uses Monsanto GMO produce in every single one of it's products!!! Take a stand, people, and don't put that junk in your body or support the evil Monsanto!
Thank you for the comments on adding water. I tried the TJs GF gluten free brownies for the first time last night. I doubled the water and lengthened the baking time a bit, and they were delicious. I would never have known without these comments, much appreciated!
I've always liked this mix a lot, but I've never followed the instructions on the back because I just couldn't believe the batter was supposed to be cookie dough consistency when I mixed the required ingredients in. I've always added soy milk until the batter is the consistency I expect of brownie batter, and then it turns out great. Today I made them by the actual directions for the first time, and they were terrible! I'm convinced they screwed up the instructions, nothing else makes any sense!