Saturday, May 2, 2009

Brownies

The other day, I went on visit to Trader Joe's. I hadn't been there in a long while because I generally find their supply of gluten free items lacking. I figured I'd check and see if they had anything new. As I wandered the aisles, I thought to myself, "How can be the best wife ever and totally bless my husband and make him super happy? I know, I'll make him brownies! He loves brownies!"

Ok, fine. I was actually thinking, "Good crap, I really want a brownie. It is cold and drizzly and my head hurts from being around 13-year-olds all day and I really want a brownie. I wonder if I can get my husband to make them for me while I take an early evening nap?"

Thus, my brownie mix quest began. When I walked over to the baking section (because Heaven only knows just how much I was NOT going to do this brownie thing from scratch) I was dismayed to find it to be so miniscule. And yet, low and behold, they had ONE (yes, ONE) gluten-free mix, and it was for brownies! I had no idea if they would be any good, but did I care? No way. Brownies I wanted and brownies it would be.

























Trader Joe's, let me just say, you blew me away! I seriously commend you. These just might be the best gluten-free brownies I've had, including the ones I make from scratch! They are very, very simple and whole in term of ingredients as well. The two flours are my pride and joy, sweet rice flour, and amaranth flour. I need to experiment with amaranth more! (By the way, quick tip: Whenever you try something gluten-free and pre-packaged, be sure to check out the ingredient list. Heck, you probably do this automatically anyway, or at least you should. It's a great way to pick up some good idea for flours and ingredients for homemade foods.)

I did add an extra egg (the recipe only calls for one, but that seemed skimpy to me for a nice, fudgy brownie), some chocolate chips and walnuts.

The best part? Guess how much the bag was? No, you'll never guess. Only $2.99! Great job, TJ's! It drives me crazy when gluten-free brownie mixes are six bucks. C'mon, people, seriously. Back in my gluten heyday I could grab a mix box on sale for a dollar. There is no need to sucker punch me with a six dollar price tag, it's just annoying.

Happy eats!

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