Gluten Free Food Reviews

I heard so many great things about the Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle mix, I just had to try it out! I made these for our Memorial Day cookout to rave reviews.

I purchased this mix from my local natural foods store for $3.99. It is 16 ounces and makes an 8×8 size pan of medium thickness brownies.

Mixing was fairly easy, just add eggs, melted butter and optional chopped nuts. The batter is very thick and a little difficult to spread in the pan. I used a touch of cooking oil on my fingertips to prevent sticking as I smoothed the batter in the pan by hand- spatulas and spoons just weren’t working for me. The instructions suggest 25-27 minutes baking time. Since I like fudge brownies, I opted to bake the brownies for 25 minutes. However, they were underbaked, even for my taste, so I would suggest baking the full 27 minutes for best results. Anything less, and it will just look, taste, and cut like brownie batter.

I also suggest completely cooling and freezing the brownies for at least an hour before cutting, as suggested on the package. These brownies are more like a slice of fudge than a traditional brownie, and really need that freeze time to allow for cutting clean lines. These moist brownies are very fudgey and have a rich chocolate taste, free from grittiness or significant crumbling ( just a bit at the edges ). The mix also contains chocolate chips that add another level of richness to the final result.

These truly are a decadent treat that anyone would enjoy. And they are just as good the next day, if they last that long!

Pros: wonderful flavor, moist, rich, chewy and gooey,

Cons: More like fudge than a traditional brownie, need long cooling/freezing time before cutting and serving

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Where can I Buy This Fudgey Brownie Mix?

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Ingredients: Sugar, chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanillin), cocoa powder, white rice flour, potato starch, corn starch, xanthan gum, salt

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I purchased this mix for $4.59 from my local natural foods shop. The mix is 17.5 ounces and makes a 9×13 pan and makes 12-20 brownies, depending on how small you cut them.

This mix requires vegetable oil, eggs ( or egg substitute) and water. The mix is moderately thick and spreads fairly well in the pan. After baking it is best to wait until the brownies are completely cool before cutting and eating; otherwise they tend to be sticky and the taste isn’t as great. After baking, the brownies tend to be fairly thin. For a thicker brownie consider using two mixes or a smaller pan.

These brownies are a nice moist cake brownie with a hint of fudginess. When slicing and removing the brownies from the pan, the corners tend to break off and the top didn’t have the crinkley texture I like. To me, these brownies had a nice cocoa flavor without overpowering sweetness, thanks to the evaporated cane juice. I liked that they held their shape, and the bits of mini chocolate chips added just the right touch. The texture was great, with no indication of grittiness or chalkiness.  I could taste the rice flour base, but strangely enough, I did not mind this time. These are decent brownies that will suffice for any chocolate or brownie craving; however, they are not the decadent, lucious chocolate treat you may dream about. That said, I will probably buy them again. Especially if it is topped with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Pros: soft and chewy, moist, holds shape well

Cons: fairy thin, chocolate flavor could be richer

Rating: 4 stars

Where Can I Buy These Brownies?

Amazon.com

WellnessGrocer.com

Ingredients: organic evaporated cane juice, organic white rice flour, organic chocolate chips (organic sugar, organic chocolate liquor [non-alcohol], organic cocoa butter, soy lecithin [added as an emulsifier], organic vanilla flavor), organic potato starch, organic cocoa powder, tapioca starch, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors, (organic sugar, natural vanilla flavor with other natural flavors), xanthan gum, sea salt, baking soda, and non-aluminum baking powder (monocalcium phosphate, baking soda, cornstarch).

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1/20 package (about 25g)
Servings Per Container: about 20
Amount Per Serving					Mix	Prepared
Calories					110	160
	Calories from Fat				20	70
% Daily Value**
Total Fat 2g*					3%	13%
	Saturated Fat 1.5g				7%	11%
	Trans Fat 0g							Â
Cholesterol 0mg					0%	7%
Sodium 40mg					2%	2%
Total Carb. 21g					7%	7%
	Dietary Fiber <1g				3%	3%
	Sugars 13g				Â	Â
Protein 1g					Â	Â
Vitamin A					0%	0%
Vitamin C					0%	0%
Calcium					0%	0%
Iron					2%	2%
* Amount in mix. Prepared as directed with eggs, butter and water contains an additional 5.5g fat (0.5g saturated fat), 20mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium, 1g protein.
** Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
		Calories:			2,000		2,500
Total Fat		Less than			65g		80g
	Sat Fat	Less than			20g		25g
Cholesterol		Less than			300mg		300mg
Sodium		Less than			2,400mg		2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate					300g		375g
Â	Dietary Fiber				25g		30g

I purchased Pamela’s brownie mix from my local food store for $5.99. The 16 ounce package makes an 8×8 pan of brownies. 

The brownies were easy to mix, but much more challenging to spread in the pan. The batter is very thick and tends to stick to my spatula when I spread it.These brownies also contain large chuncky bits of chocolate, which help make these brownies rich and chocolately.

Fresh from the oven, the brownies are very gooey and need to completely cool in order for them to hold  their shape when sliced. The flavor seems almost seperated- I could distinctly taste the rice flour, cocoa and molasses ( not too great). However, when completely cooled and let set for an hour or so, the flavors seemed more blended and the brownies were much easier to slice and remove from the pan. Also, these cooled brownies were not nearly as gooey and seemed almost dry and cake-like.  The texture was just slightly grainy and crumbly. No wierd aftertaste was detected.

 Overall, these brownies are OK, and taste best with some vanilla ice cream. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed, since Pamela’s pother products are usually amazing.

I found it interesting that this brownie mix also included recipes for cake and cookies ( both utilizing this mix) on the side panel. They may be worth a try!

Pros: great chocolate chunks, easy to prep, nice appearance

Cons: really sweet, rice flour flavor & texture a bit strong

Rating: 3 stars

Ingredients: Molasses and honey, brown rice flour, natural process cocoa powder, white rice flour, organic chocolate chunks,(organic natural evaporated cane sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic cocoa butter, non-GMO soy lecithin/emulsifier, organic vanilla. chunks may contain traces of milk protein due to manufacturing equiptment); tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, potato starch, natural flavor ( contains corn derivitive), sea salt; Xanthan Gum; Baking soda).

Where Can I Buy These Brownies?

GlutenSolutions.com

I really liked this brand’s Lemon Poppyseed mix, so I thought I’d give the brownies a try. At $6.89 to make a 8×8 pan, I hoped I wouldn’t be wasting my money.

The brownies mixed up very thick, and it was a bit difficult to spread evenly. The mixture seemed a bit grainy, but smelled wonderful. After baking, I tried a small square and wasn’t impressed- the texture was still grainy & gritty and had the distinct rice flour taste that I am not too crazy about. (insert disappointing sigh here). However, I let the brownies sit for 24 hours and tried them again cold. I couldn’t believe they were the same! They were still a bit grainy but now tasted fudgy and chewy with a mild sweet flavor, more of the traditional brownie experience I was hoping for. So, let these sit a while before indulging- you’ll be glad you waited.

Pros: great chocolate flavor

Cons: grainy, “rice”taste to them, cool completely before serving for best taste

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Want to try these brownies? Click the link below:

Cause You’re Special Chocolate Fudge Gluten-Free Brownie Mix from GlutenFreeMall.com

Ingredients: Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa, Rice Flour, Corn Starch, Tapioca Starch, Xanthan Gum, and Salt.

 

I bought this brownie mix from a local natural foods store for $4.29, much less than some of the other mixes. So I thought, why not try it out?

The recipe was easy to mix by hand and pop into the oven into an 8×8 pan. When the brownies finished baking, I cut into them while they were still pretty warm with no problems or stickiness.

Overall, these are decent gluten-free brownies. They aren’t the best I’ve had, but certainly not the worst. (The worst being my attempt at homemade gluten free brownies- not a pretty sight).

 

 Pros:The top of the brownies were a bit crispy and crinkly, just the way I like them. They are very moist and fudgy, even when slightly overbaked. They have a mild cocoa flavor and nice texture, no obvious graininess or crumbling from the rice flour. The cut brownies hold their shape very well.

Cons: These are very sweet brownies. At times it almost overhwelmed the coca flavor. There was also a chalky feeling left in my mouth after eating one.

 Bottom line: I would buy these again, but not rave to my gluten-free friends. These would be great with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream. Now that would really make them even better!

Rating: 3 stars