There is not a whole foods store near me so I do not shop there but I found this mix online on Amazon and was excited to try something brand new to me! It is the 365 Whole foods Market brand fudge brownie mix. Right off the bat the box claims it’s a fudge brownie, pictures fudgey brownies, and gives an option for an extra ingredient to make the brownie even fudgier. This already seems like it’s my style so I am excited.
It’s a standard brownie mix where you add oil, water, and eggs. I was really in the mood for a perfect fudgey brownie so for once, I chose to use their suggested change for a fudgier brownie and included an extra egg yolk to the mix. The batter had a tasty chocolate brownie flavor and it was quiet thin but I haven’t noticed the thickness of the batter having an impact on the quality of the brownie. I poured the batter into a 9×9 pan as recommended rather than my preferred 8×8 pan.
The box says to bake these brownies for 27-30 minutes. Since boxes are never right, I decided to check at 23 minutes and the brownies were done. They smelled and looked overcooked actually. This is disappointing, I can’t imagine what would happen if I had trusted the time on the box like many other people surely do. How overcooked would these brownies be if I waited to check on them until 27 minutes? Always remember, you can’t trust the box mix times.
I cut the cooled brownies into 16 pieces. I took a bite of one and it tasted overcooked and the consistency was just fine. It definitely leaned towards cake like, absolutely not fudgey in any definition, but it wasn’t a bad brownie. The flavor was nice and it was soft, the edges didn’t get too hard like some other mixes. It was even all the way around. I was so bummed about these brownies not being fudgey, they weren’t good enough for me to eat a second one.
I shared these with some friends who prefer cake-like brownies and they really enjoyed them. However, this didn’t change my vote. I chose to add an extra ingredient that they claimed would make the brownie fudgier and did not get even close to a fudgey brownie. Are these brownies worse without the extra egg yolk? Did the egg yolk throw off the mix entirely? For $3.69 I won’t be purchasing this mix again just to see where I went wrong. While that isn’t very expensive, it is higher than a lot of brownie mixes and I’d rather buy two boxes of Duncan Hines than risk making this mix again and having it go wrong. If you enjoy a cake-like brownie I definitely recommend trying this mix out, but if you lean towards fudgey like me, try a different mix or go homemade.
This mix as prepared normally totals 2364 calories and if cut into 16 is 147 calories per brownie.
Here are the links to products used today:
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Tablespoon set – https://amzn.to/4agFQsK
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
9×9 baking pan – https://amzn.to/3JZVcHy
Plastic Measuring Cup – https://amzn.to/4bDJIoV
*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.