By Alisa Fleming, www.GoDairyFree.org ~ My GFCF friend Amy gave this mix a whirl, and while she loved the end result, she had a bit of trouble with the prep.  With my own package of the mix at hand, I decided to do my own test to see if I could troubleshoot the problem.  Amy was correct; this is one super-thick batter.  It pulled one of the beaters right out of my little hand mixer.  Luckily, mine was just smooth and thin enough to coax into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan, though I wasn’t able to get it to completely touch those corners.  It was so stiff and gel-like that it wanted to pull back a bit. Like Amy’s, the end result turned out very well.  I think a simple note on the package stating that the batter will be very, very thick would help to alleviate concerns.

These brownies were a definite cross between a cakey and fudgy brownie, the two textures coexisting, yet not intermingling.  They were what I might expect self-frosting cakey brownies to taste like.  The flavor was rich, but more of a semi-sweet chocolate in taste that wasn’t too sweet.  My husband noted a slight bitter taste, which I equated to a coffee-like influence. The texture was cohesive rather than crumbly (as so many gluten-free goodies are), which was nice. But this binding power made it slightly sticky and difficult to cut.  At first I wasn’t sure if it was cooked through, but I had cooked them for the maximum time, plus a few minutes.  Luckily, they were nicely cooked ....

I prefer my brownies a bit more on the sweet and dense side, merely because I like chocolate, but not chocolate cake. My husband said he could tell these were a bit “different” (I hadn’t told him they were gluten-free), and said he liked them, but they wouldn’t be his first choice.

But unwilling to settle for our opinions, I cut them up into small, bite-sized rectangles and carted them off to a party for some outside opinions.  They sat alongside a tray of store-bought, super sweet, loaded with Symphony toffee chocolate, brownies. Next to that processed indulgence, I wasn’t sure if these natural and gluten-free brownies stood a chance. But to my great surprise there were a good handful of women who decided to sample my unknown brownies.  After their first taste, they each began frequenting my bowl of brownies (passing up the toffee variety completely), proclaiming they were (and I quote) soooo delicious.  My grandmother was also in attendance, and she asked if she could take some home after the party because she positively loved them!  Not a person there was gluten-free, nor did I disclose the “secret” behind these special brownies.

So while this particular consumer (keep in mind, chocolate is nowhere near my favorite flavor) wasn’t completely wowed, these gluten-free brownies went over like hotcakes at gluten-loving affair. 

Ingredients: evaporated cane juice, Ghirardelli cocoa, potato starch, sweet white sorghum flour, tapioca flour, whole grain corn flour, sea salt, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), xanthan gum

Where to Purchase: Bob's Red Mill products can be found in stores across the country, can be purchased directly from Bob's Online Store, and tons of their products (including these two) are available on Amazon for a discount.

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