Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Brownie Mix, reviewed February 15
Mixes, as you might guess, are really not my thing. I always prefer to make something from scratch if I can. That said, I don’t think that mixes are inherently bad or anything.They’re certainly useful in a pinch because they can be made very quickly and with little fuss. And there are some pretty good mixes out there - I like the Ghirardelli triple chocolate brownie mix quite well, for instance. So every once in a while I’ll give a new one a shot.
I picked up this bag of Trader Joe’s new Gluten Free Brownie Mix the last time I was in the market. Gluten free cooking isn’t something I do a whole lot of and because good GF recipes often call for unusual flours/ingredients to get a good consistency, a mix is a nice thing to have on hand.
These brownies primarily use brown rice flour and evaporated cane juice. They’re free of wheat, nuts, milk/dairy, soy and corn, so they’re a good option for almost any allergy-specific diet. All you do is mix in oil, an egg and some water to the powdered mix, pour it into a pan, and bake. Chocolate chips are optional, and you can replace sone of the oil with applesauce (as per the directions) to make a lower fat batch. Mine took a bit longer than directed because I used a heart-shaped pan instead of the 8×8″ pan called for, but the brownies ended up turning out very nicely. They were moist, fudgy - very fudgy, actually - and tender, and though they don’t have quite the same texture as “real” brownies (if you’ve ever used brown rice flour, you might have noticed that it can give a very slightly grainy feel to some baked goods), they’re very good for a quick and gf fix.
I’d buy them again and experiment with different add ins - cinnamon and spices, dried cherries, white chocolate chips - in the future, and I’ll definitely keep it in mind when I want to bake something easy and tasty for my gluten intolerant friends.
Ryley Feb 15
Man do I miss TJ’s..
We don’t have them where I live now, every 6 months or so, I go to visit my parents and TJ’s is one of our normal stops. I fill up on my staples, and pack them all home..
(My dog can’t live without peanut butter treat..and I can’t live without their spaghetti sauces and frozen cubed garlic, basil, cilantro, and parsley!)
Now that my cousin is Gluten intolerant.. i wish even more that we had one. These brownies sound like a great fix for her.. I guess i’ll have to grab them on my next trip!!
Deborah Zemek Feb 17
I make brownies for my mom who is gluten intolerant and I use oatmeal flour 1 to 1 for wheat flour. I realize that some people who are gluten intolerant can’t use oatmeal, but if they can, the texture is almost exactly like regular brownies and the flavor is awesome. I prefer them to “regular” brownies. When she uses mixes, she uses the Gluten Free Pantry - they have the best mixes in her opinion and you can get them on amazon.com with free shipping.
Stacy Mar 1
Fair warning - if you are sensitive to xanthan gum - there is a lot in this brownie mix. Fine if you can limit yourself to one little brownie, but quite scary if you can’t.
Mark Oct 2
I agree, TJ’s brownie mix is really good. In fact, I didn’t think anything could top it. Now I wish TJ’s would also bring in Patsypie brownies. I brought a bag on a trip to Toronto. By far, the best gluten free brownies I’ve ever eaten. It’s the first time I’ve ever bought a gluten free product that my wife actually thought was as good or better than regular bakery goods. She kept checking the bag to make sure it was really gluten free. She usually feels sorry for me, since I can’t eat, as she puts it, “real food”. Anyhow, I’ve ordered a couple of times from the company’s website at www.patsypie.com. I’ve also tried their chocolate chip cookies and cranberry biscotti. Both excellent.
Allison Nov 14
Warning: My son ate two of these brownies (cut small) and had diarrhea. I ate a tiny taste and got major heartburn. I won’t be buying these again. If you have a Whole Foods near you, their gluten free mixes are SUBERB.
natalie Jan 4
bleh–just tried these because i’m on a GF diet and my brother got it for me for christmas. really not pleased. it has a very strange taste to it. i have made brownies on my own, using very easy to use all purpose gluten-free flour, which trump this by SO MUCH that i’m never going to buy this. i’d suggest just looking for a brownie recipe that doesn’t rely too heavily on flour, picking up any old bag of all purpose GF flour, and substituting it straight across.
Annie Jan 10
I just made these the other day and they are fabulous! I added in a tbs or two
of vanilla. My picky 7 and 9 year olds loved them as well. They did not hold up in a school lunch tho, they turned a bit “slimy”. That said, the 7 year old quickly ate another out of the pan and said they were great.
kay Jan 11
These are very good and amazing if you add things to them, ie: nuts, gluten free choc. chips. In the gluten free world of baking, everything seems to have a sandy texture. These are wonderful! They are all natural as well in comparison to anything that you will buy in a box in the grocery store.
So simple my 5 year old whips them up with my supervision easily. Give them a try! Total kid pleaser for sure!@
Greg Mar 25
I added coconut to these. Not a lot, I really didn’t measure. The coconut added a nutty flavor that made theme taste closer to a real (wheat-containing) brownie.
Cat Jun 17
I substituted the 1/4 cup water with espresso, which made for a very rich brownie! A bit of crumbled walnut does great things too if you’re not allergic.
Janet Sep 22
Made them a few days ago, they were a gummy, funny-tasting mess. I’m sure I followed the recipe exactly. I have previously used a mix from Whole Foods that was good. I’ll try GF flour now.