Trader Joe's Ready to Bake Brownies

February 20, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Trader Joe’s Ready to Bake Brownies Price: $3.19
Serving: 1/9th pan, 1.55oz.
Servings Per Package: 9
Calories: 170
Fat: 11%, 7g
Cholesterol: 15%, 45mg
Sodium: 2%, 55mg
Protein: 2g
Carbs: 9%, 26g
Fiber: 6%, 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 per serving

Trader Joe’s says: Why gather all the ingredients and dirty a bowl when Trader Joe’s “Ready to Bake” Brownies are so unbelievably easy and so consistently delicious? Simply unwrap the oven-proof tray of batter in this box and bake in a preheated oven. Whether you prefer your brownies gooey in the center or baked until almost dry, these brownies will satisfy.

Abi says: Considering how much adore Trader Joe’s Chocolate Croissants and pre-made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, you’d think I’d be all over their ready-to-bake brownies. They even have an additional advantage over the croissants and cookies in that they come with their own baking tray. However, this dessert fills me with a disappointment tempered with confusion.

The ingredients list looks pretty standard (Sugar, flour, butter, eggs, cocoa and vanilla - simple!), so the best I can figure is that unlike cookies, brownies don’t bake well from a frozen state. This is sad because brownies are nature’s foolproof dessert: they’re easy to mix by hand, simple to bake and test for doneness, loved by mankind. Yet, these brownies from Trader Joe’s went uneaten in my house. Sure, we each sampled a square. Then they just sat on the counter for the next couple hours, mocking me with their lack of deliciousness.

At the end of the night I noticed that even George had avoided the pan of brownies. Usually he manages to eat an entire row in the course of a couple of hours, but these baked ~~goods~~ bads went untouched.

I hope that their spot in the Trader Joe’s freezer is soon filled with another, more palatable item.

comments

7 Responses to “Trader Joe's Ready to Bake Brownies”

Sarah Clayton on February 20th, 2008

“Mocking me with their lack of deliciousness.” Brilliant!
anastasia on February 20th, 2008

Those look awful…what was off with the flavor?
Deborah on February 20th, 2008

They turned out pretty tasty in my oven… or we were just desperate for chocolate.
Crow on February 21st, 2008

“This is sad because brownies are nature’s foolproof dessert: they’re easy to mix by hand, simple to bake and test for doneness, loved by mankind.”

Except almost all brownie mixes that you’re mixing by hand taste like crap.
Abi Jones on February 22nd, 2008

@Sarah - Thanks, though it would have been nice if they were good.

@anastasia - I was expecting full, rich chocolatey flavor, but these were dull on the palate. The ingredients I included in the list above are all that’s in the package and just now I realized that salt is not on that list (though there is sodium in the nutrition information). A bit more salt and more vanilla might have made a world of difference.

@Deborah - You might enjoy this story from NPR about an MIT Economist and our rationality when it comes to chocolate: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19231906. Don’t worry, there’s no auto-playing audio.

@Crow - A)You’re wrong. There is one brownie mix beyond all brownie mixes: Betty Crocker family size with syrup pouch. But yeah, the rest of them are pretty bunk. B)You can definitely mix “scratch” brownies by hand.
leanne on March 11th, 2008

In our house, Duncan Hines brownie mixes rule. That and the one scratch recipe I make in the Baker’s Edge pan.

I was also disappointed in the TJ brownies, because we totally love the cookie dough and croissants. We baked them so they would be chewy in the center but not fudge-like, but there was no height to the brownies. It was kind of pasty and not fun. The chocolate flavor was fine, it was the texture that threw us off. The edges were okay with the slight chewiness, but that was it.

It’s the first time a “pan” of brownies ever got tossed after just one bite. Sad.
Duncan Hines Oven Ready! Homestyle Chocolate Fudge Brownies : Heat Eat Review : We Review TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods on March 26th, 2008

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