Brownies

 I do love a good brownie. Preferably chewy in the middle and a bit crunchy around the edges. However, we are trying to cut down on sugar (it’s been 29 days since my last chocolate – although there have been a couple of chocolate biscuits), so when I spotted these “noshu” 99% Sugar Free brownies, I thought I’d give them a go.

So last night, I decided I’d whip them up (just call me Sara Lee).  Alarm bells rang when I did the spatula batter taste test and was left with that artificial sweetener taste in my mouth. Panic not I thought, smells OK, chocolatey, the things just need to cook.

30 minutes later, out they came.  I impatiently waited for them to cool a bit and then cut off my fave bit – the corner.  Still warm. Mmmmm, get in my belly – guilt free chocolate goodness.

I managed to swallow the mouthful and was left with this awful taste in my mouth.  The box lied. These are not delicious. These are not fudgy. These are not brownies.  I should have mentioned that they are also gluten and grain free.  And as for the suggestion on the box to add “Noshu sugar free choc chips,” I don’t think it would have been any sort of improvement.  

Never been a fan of artificial sweetener.  Luckily, I rarely drink soft drink, so I’ve never needed to grow to like Coke Zero.

As for these “not-brownies” well you’d need to be either very, very desperate for a chocolate hit or stranded on a deserted island.  And that’s why I ended up having to eat 4 chocolate biscuits to get over the disappointment and get rid of the yuck taste in my mouth.

I’m not much of a baker (let’s face it, I’m not much of a cook), but I used to make brownies from scratch until I discovered that not all packet brownie mixes are bad.  In fact, the Green’s Triple Choc Fudge Brownies are delicious and a bargain when half price at Woolies!

Verdict? Stick to the real thing or skip them all together.  Oh and if you want to make your own from scratch, this is my favourite recipe:

125g butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

1.    Preheat oven to 160 degrees and line a medium square baking dish with baking paper.

2.    Melt the butter. Add cocoa and beat until smooth.

3.    Beat the eggs and vanilla essence and add to the cocoa mixture.

4.    Add the sugar and walnuts and fold in the flour until just combined.

5.  Bake for 25-30 minutes. Depending on how gooey you like them