Betty Crocker Gluten Free Boxed Mixes

The flavor of real brownies in an easy mix.

Recently, Betty Crocker came out with a line of gluten-free products (which also happen to be vegan from all appearances) including brownies, cookies and cake mix.

I do not normally purchase boxed anything. We eat much more naturally and whole, food-wise. Processed foods are not known to be very nutritious, flavorful or easy on the calories. That said, I have gone a loooong time without a decent brownie. I was willing to try anything.

Make that almost anything.

If you have read my other gluten-free vegan food reviews, you know I do not have a high opinion of Bob's Red Mill products. They have a terrible beany flavor--actually beany does not begin to describe it and I am a bean lover, so I hate to disparage a bean--to which my body instantly reacts as if I have been poisoned, ejecting the offending material.

So you can imagine that I read thoroughly and carefully the ingredient list, scanning for any of the several ingredients I have come to suspect. Seeing none, I then had to overcome my second gag-reflex--the price. These mixes are dear at $4.50+ per box. I had a coupon, which helped me to overcome my reluctance for a one-time trial.

I knew we were in for something special the moment the mix hit the bowl. Adding the liquid ingredients, the overwhelming heady scent of sweet sweet chocolate overcame me. I think my knees may have weakened a bit.

I tentatively tasted a bit of batter on the tip of my finger. No gagging. Nothing but rich batter that tasted as fantastic as it smelled.

Problems: The cooks involved insisted the batter was too dry and added a little bit of water, tablespoon by tablespoon, until it looked right. This turned out to be a disaster. We added too much. For a repeat, I would simply follow directions and see what happened.

What happened this time was that the brownies smelled wonderful in the oven, looked great, but never seemed to finish off. I am not the best at cooking and my partner has no brownie experience, so between the two of us, we definitely overcooked them, in addition to the other mis-steps.

Despite the mistakes, the hot brownies were decadent chocolate heaven. My partner is not a big treat fan and is not gfv, but he agreed they were good.

Because of our mistakes, I am sure we ruined the mix. The batter adhered to the glass pan and molded itself to the surface in a way that resisted scraping and soaking. The following day, pieces could not be chipped out. Not at all. Not even for curmbs. In fact, it took me a period of hours to scrape, soak, scrape, soak to get the stuff out to clean the pan.

My advice: The products are definitely worth a try, worth the convenience--and maybe the price--for an occasional treat. Especially when you consider the alternatives: mixing your own flours and hoping for a combination that works or going without. Perhaps use a non-stick pan for the brownines.

I'd advise you to use the mixes while you're working on recipes you enjoy that don't come from a box. For that, I give my highest recommendation to Pig in the Kitchen, where you can find numerous exceptional gluten-free and vegan bread and treat recipes by a lovely French woman. I owe her my sanity for bringing baked goods back into the realm of possibility for me.