Product Review: Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix

This is part II of the Betty Crocker mixes that I started a few days ago. The previous devil's food cupcakes were practically inhaled by my family, so I found myself making the brownies a bit sooner than I had anticipated!

The instructions for the brownies are exceedingly simple - melt some butter, add two eggs and the brownie mix, and stir it up. It was really thick, but then, the box said it would be. I had to spread it into a larger pan than I originally wanted, so I cut the cooking time back a bit to avoid overcooking.

These smelled AWESOME while baking. Always a good sign! They looked great when I took them out of the oven - the tops were crackly, the edges looked crisp.

And then there's the taste... HOLY COW THESE ARE GOOD! The Gluten Free Gods are smiling over Betty Crocker right now. I thought it impossible to make these just like my grandmother's, but somehow, they've done it. These are chewy, RICH, brownies. The chocolate chips add a little extra richness, but not to the point of being overdone. I imagine I can now recreate the "Chocolate Thunder from Down Under" dessert that The Outback restaurant is famous for - with a product that tastes like the real thing.

I will most definitely be buying some more of these products. I sincerely hope this isn't a "fad" to the folks at General Mills and that they continue to expand this line for the gluten free community. I personally would love to see muffin and bread mixes come next - I've been dying for a good blueberry muffin! GM - are you listening?

Allergen warning - dairy and eggs.

Product Review: Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix

It was only a matter of time before a mainstream brand jumped in to the Gluten Free world with a product offering of their own. In this case, Betty Crocker, and with four different products: Devil's Food Cake Mix, Yellow Cake Mix, Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I am pleased to note that these mixes are made in a dedicated gluten free facility, and the box states that two employees of the company who were wheat free inspired the product line.

In the interest of testing these items individually, and so my waistline doesn't expand exponentially (hardy har har), I will post the Devil's Food Cake Mix trial today and the Brownies at a later date.

First things first - the ingredient list is in fact pretty basic. Not a lot of chemicals and preservatives as I had expected when I first heard about this product. There are a few, but here's the ingredient list: sugar, rice flour, potato starch, cocoa processed with alkali, tapioca starch, salt and guar gum. It does have a allergen notation for possible soy ingredients - and be warned - it calls for eggs and softened butter.

Simple instructions - ingredients need only to be thrown all together in a bowl and mixed up with two varying mixing speeds. There are multiple cake pan measurements and cooking times, as well as a cupcake cooking time. It also instructs you to set your oven temperature based on what you are using to cook it in - a first for me.

After mixing, I tasted the batter (couldn't help myself) and was pleasantly suprised that it tasted similar to Gluten Free Pantry, which I already know to be a quality product. Excellent. While baking, the scent is that of an unmistakable chocolate cake. I've had some bad experiences in the past where the product didn't come close to smelling like it should, and admittedly for me, that's a big part of feeling good about what I'm eating.

Cooling time - the cupcakes are spongy and firm. Another excellent sign.

Waiting to try one is soooo hard - but I waited patiently and was finally rewarded. WOW. These are WONDERFUL! If you have had Betty Crocker cakes in the past before going gluten free, you know what a light, airy texture the original imparts. The gluten free variety is no exception. It is moist and delicious, with a deep chocolate taste and satisfying "cake" texture. No joke - as good as the real thing. My guess is that the texture benefits from the mixing instructions - follow carefully and your results should be mind blowing. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up for this cake!

*I tried one without frosting so that I could fairly gauge the taste and texture of the product itself, but I admit, I will be frosting the rest with a buttercream frosting. ;o)

**I found these at my local Von's (Safeway) store in the baking aisle. Visit www.BettyCrocker.com for recipe ideas using these products, as well as a product locator to find them in a store near you.

Product Review: Glutino Chicken Pizza with BBQ Sauce

This was a new arrival at Whole Foods recently, and being the pizza fanatic that I am, I had to try it. It is made with a brown rice crust, and has 30g of whole grain. This product does have eggs and milk, so those with additional allergies need to take care.

After cooking it to make sure the edges got browned and crispy, I noticed that the center of the pizza did something strange. This may just have been a one-off, but the center of the pizza "bubbled up", so the bottom of the crust ended up being soft (with the appearance of being "undercooked") instead of crispy. Odd for sure, but I hope this was just my experience. The edges were crisp and delicious, and I would have loved the whole crust to be!

The cheese was sparse in comparison to the BBQ sauce. The pizza was doused in a sweet, tangy sauce (a bit too much for me), with a bit of cheese and 3 chunks of chicken. Yes, I counted! :o)
This pizza, overall, was very tasty. I would love to see more cheese, less sauce, and more chicken. Definitely a step forward for pizza lovers! Worth a try if you like BBQ chicken!