Testing Duncan Hines’ chewy fudge brownie mix “thick and fudgy”

After trying out the cheapest mix at Walmart, Betty Crocker’s I was feeling a little disappointed in how thin and uneven those brownies were and wanted something better but still cheap.

Duncan Hines’ chewy fudge brownie mix advertises on the box “thick and fudgy” which got me excited. Sounds like they are aware of the thin brownie dilemma and are avoiding it themselves. This box was $1.54 at my local store which is only $0.46 higher than Betty Crocker’s and the pictured brownie on the box seems to be twice the height, definitely worth the price difference! Aside from the great value brand at Walmart, this was the next in line from cheapest to most expensive mixes near me. They also had a few flavor options, chewy fudge, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate fudge.

This box mix is pretty typical. It requires eggs water and oil. You mix everything together and put it in the oven to cook. The box provided an option to make a more cakey brownie as well as an option to sprinkle on candy before cooking. You already know that I ignored both of these recommendations but I do appreciate them including these options for others. The front of the box advertises this mix as “13×9 family size” which means it can be baked in a 9×13 pan to feed more people but I feel that this would create a thinner brownie.

I mixed the batter up quickly. I must admit, dear reader, I did not count to 50 strokes when mixing, I mix solely based on vibes which should give you a realistic idea of how the brownies come out when you don’t follow the directions to the exact word. The mixture looked and tasted delicious. Of course the box warns you not to eat raw batter but I will lick the bowl until it kills me and maybe even then.

There was a lot more batter in comparison to the thin brownies we made previously. This box tells you that you can bake these brownies in an 8×8 pan, a 9×9 pan, or a 9×13 pan. I chose to go in the middle and used a 9×9. The instructions said to bake this pan size for 32-35 minutes but at 30 minutes in the oven they were ready to come out. I always feel like brownies cook faster than the boxes suggest so I am constantly testing before the suggested time is up. I definitely don’t want overcooked brownies.

The brownies came out with a beautiful crackly top. I let them cool a bit before cutting into 16 pieces. The middle was soft and the edges had a bit of a crisp to them. They tasted fantastic. This box mix provided a great brownie. It was so fudgey in the middle and the edge was not overly crunchy. It was proportionate and didn’t go thin and flat in the middle. The flavor was good and the consistency was great. It could have been fudgier but that may have been due to my choice of a 9×9 pan. The box did recommend the 8×8 for the most fudginess. Wait, is that a word or did I make it up? Someone should definitely contact Webster and get that into the dictionary.

This brownie was great for a box mix. They were so soft and fudgey that when I went to stack them up like the picture of the box, they started sinking into one another and did not hold for very long. Days later they were still holding up and were of good quality which I appreciate because even though I want to, I absolutely should not eat an entire pan of brownies by myself in one day.

This mix as prepared is a total of 3612 calories. If cut into 16 servings as I did it is 225.75 per brownie.

Here are the links to products used today:
Duncan Hines Brownie Mix – https://amzn.to/44GFp9N
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/4bDJIoV
9×9 baking pan – https://amzn.to/3JZVcHy
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.