Boxed mix brownies are tasteless nowadays. Or can I not taste chocolate anymore?

They taste awful and give me wicked heartburn.

Curse the cheap cunts at the mega-corporations!

I made a box of Duncan Hines over the holidays and ate every single one. If you really want to be a fat whore swap milk for water and melted butter for oil.

Why bother with a mix. Just make them. It's not hard

Here you go, baby:

1Box Brownie Mix

add 1 extra egg

use melted butter in place of oil

add extra 2 TBS butter

use milk in place of water

add extra 4 TBS milk

(I would also add a tsp of vanilla and nuts)

R4- I'll have to give this a try, wish I had the copious amounts of pot!

Great big fat people problems.

[quote]1Box Brownie Mix

Your problem right there.

R4 - If the problem is they don't have flavor, and the main flavor is chocolate, how is adding an egg, butter and milk going to help?

If you have eggs, butter, and milk - how far away from just mixing your own are you?

Hint: Flour, cocoa, vanilla

Fraus have been aware of the problem for years and have supplemented with pieces of chopped candy bars.

Oh yea, you can cut up a Hershey bar (or two) and stick it in there too.

Double chocolate Ghirardelli brownies for caramel sundaes has been my go to indulgence for a few years. Don't tell me they taste like.crap!

I use Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge brownie mix. Tastes as good as home made.

I made them once, the Ghirardelli brand. They tasted more like sugar than like chocolate. I like this recipe from Sarah Carey @ Martha Stewart.

I agree with you, OP. Most boxed mixes create very bland brownies. Maybe add some extra cocoa? Then again, homemade is the way to go.

My credentials as a fat whore are unrivaled -even at Datalounge. I once spent an entire summer baking multiple batches of brownies every day, on a quest for the perfect brownie recipe. I tried all the major published ones, and then went off on my own -experimenting with flavors and textures. Of course, the perfect brownie is an impossible quest (like the perfect chocolate chip cookie). People don't agree on what the perfect one should be. Chewy? Cake-y? Dark? Nuts? So... rather than throw another recipe at you, I'll pass along a few ideas that may help you make YOUR perfect brownie:

Chocolate: I use a combination of unsweetened baking chocolate, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. For each quarter cup of cocoa powder you add to a recipe, add another tablespoon of butter or heavy cream. You can freely add chocolate chips.

Flavorings: Always use high-quality, real vanilla. That should go without saying, but... In my experimentation I noticed that recipes that call for you to melt chocolate have you melt it in a strongly-flavored liquid, like rum or coffee. You're not supposed to actually taste either -they are just there to enhance the flavor of the chocolate itself. After a lot of experimentation, I found that adding a quarter tsp. of almond extract had the same effect of heightening the chocolate, with no impact on the texture of the final brownie. You can use more if you want to actually taste the almond flavor, but you'd be amazed at how much that small amount enhanced the overall flavor.

Remember, brownies are exceedingly simple: dump everything in a bowl, stir, and bake. Try a scratch recipe (like the one inside the Baker's Chocolate box) and you'll never go back. It literally only takes five minutes longer than using a mix, and you only add a couple of measuring cups/spoons to the cleanup. But people will beg you to bring them to every event.

OP, get a Duncan Hines mix. I prefer oil to butter. I know butter has more flavor, but it's solid at room temperature. Oil (except coconut oil) is liquid at room temp, which leads to a softer, moister brownie. I've never subbed milk for water, but that sounds like a good idea. Caveat, though: milk & cream do dumb down flavors. You may get something less intense, as far as chocolate flavor.

Look at the ingredients on the box and then ask yourself why you’re expecting that crap to end up tasting great.

Ghirardelli is superior to Betty Crocker.

Ghirardelli must have changed their formula, because it used to be good, IMO.

I like my brownies chewy almost like fudge.

I like my brownies to have some cake texture and some walnuts.

I’d either make them from scratch or buy some from a bakery. Boxed mixes are awful

OP I had the same experience as you. I made an ice cream cake for my sister in law's birthday. I always use Ghiradelli mix because it tastes good and is SIL's favorite. This last cake, she said with a bit of a grimace, "These don't taste the same. Did you do something?"

This recipe is pretty basic OP and will taste much better than the mixes. It's what I'm using from now on for ice cream cakes and simple brownies. Dutched cocoa will taste better than the regular type but both are good.

I always add York Peppermint Patties to brownie mix.

Ghirardelli must have changed something in their mix.

Martha White had the best brownie mix, but they quit producing it several years ago. Other mixes I've tried are too cake like...Good brownies are fudge-like in the center, and are crispy on the edges.

Peppermint takes over, though, as a flavor.

I always add about a tablespoon of espresso powder to brownie mix. Enhances the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee.

Taste-testing brownie mixes.

Brownies? Fuck off.

Use GOOD vanilla extract.

Swap water or milk with Bailey’s

^ Thank you, Sandra Lee.

P.S. I enjoy your Kwanza cake video

What r9 said It's a common frau trick to throw in some chocolate candy bars.

If you want to it taste more like chocolate, add some. It's not that complicated people.

OP here. As R12 said, the Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge are THE brownie mix. They actually taste like how I remember brownie mixes! Chocolatey, chewy and delicious. Made them with oil and totally no grease taste. Fat Whores Rejoice for the Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge brownie mix!

Here's a photo of the exact mix we made.

I bought Duncan Hines brownies and yellow cake mixes last year after a long time of not having them. Both were horrible and tasteless. The yellow cake definitely wasn’t the same from years ago. The brownies basically tasted like cake, even the fudge brownies.

Overbaking is the chief reason brownies taste blah. Bake a few minutes less than the directions indicate and let cool several hours.

( Though I know you fat whores ain’t gonna wait that long)

I'm surprised at the outcome (Pillsbury). I guess Duncan Hines and Ghirardelli have gone downhill.

I see the box (Pillsbury) says 13x9, so that's good. The box cake mixes have been downsized (fewer ounces of mix per box).

Pardon me, but by the title of the thread, I assume this is where fat whores gather?

The other night I made truffles with just some cocoa, oil, sugar and some water just get the consistency right and lo and behold we have our truffles. Well something like that, after you shape and roll them in cocoa. They resembles those ones you get at Trader Joe’s. I’m sure you could add or change the ingredients for different flavors.

How does it taste, though, R41? I can't imagine making truffles with mainly cocoa powder and oil.

R42 You have to sweeten to taste. And I would have picked a different fat I think if I had it in hand. Like butter, just make it fattening as possible. I added maple syrup in with some of the sugar. Trick is to get batter thick enough to form balls but smooth enough it melts in your mouth better than any man has.

I like boxed brownies . Duncan Hines is actually pretty tasty. Adding peppermint patties is an icy cool delight.

R43, I know there's sugar in there, too, but most recipes have actual chocolate (with the fats of the chocolate) and a bit of cream.

R45 Next time I’ll try some of my edible bar in there.

I make my holiday truffles with this basic recipe: sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla. I make peanut butter and coconut ones, so I divide the dough and add enough of the flavoring ingredient to taste. After rolling in balls, I freeze them then dip them in melted Ghiardelli bittersweet chocolate chips and a little bit of canning wax so the chocolate exterior sets and doesn't melt the minute you pick them up with your fingers.

You can do the same with cocoa powder if you want chocolate. I would *never* use oil in place of the butter though. Blech.

This turned into a thread about comparing balls, I love it.

One thing I realized, you can’t over mix, which I tend to do. That’s when they will lose the fudginess and come out like cake.

R3 It's like that joke Joan River's made about poor Elizabeth Taylor when she was overweight. 'Liz is the only one who stands in front of a microwave and yells 'hurry!'

It's faster.

R32 It's still St. Patrick's Day!

Add some high quality powdered cocoa to add richness to the chocolate brownie mix. You'll have to adjust the liquids a bit since you're adding more dry ingredients.

Oh, for Fuck's Sake, people, it can't get any easier and better than this. Better than boxed Going to make a batch after my nap.

Several brands of cheap cocoa powder, including Hershey's, were recently discovered to have high lead content. Aside from the fact that the taste issue with boxed mixes has, as others noted, been an issue for years, it's not really worth it to rely on them even as a base anymore, given the safety concerns. Basic recipes for brownies are very simple, and they still come out pretty amazing for a relatively modest cost.

R 52 This is a whole let of steps compared to dump box contents in bowl add oil and egg but I like the idea of real ingredients and higher grade cocoa powder which I have.

Got any recommendations on which butter is best if any? Of course I'd add walnuts but if one wants a brownie that is 2 inches thick can one double up on the recipe amounts and does that include changing the time for baking? I don't know why these brownie recipes are always 1/2 inch thick. Bakery brownies usually are about 2 inches aren't they?

I prefer to just make poor man truffles. Just some cocoa powder and sweetener like maple syrup. And enough fat (can be butter, oil sounds gross but you’ve eaten them from the store that way). Consistency to obviously shape and you can roll them in cocoa or cinnamon or powdered sugar. Tweak it however, but a rough idea if you crave something and have the ingredients.

The Ghirardelli brand is good.

I double the recipe, add some espresso powder and add some peanut butter chips.

Truly delicious.

I combined a Giada and an Ina recipe. 😬

What does the powder do ?

Trader Joe's Truffle Brownie Mix is SPECTACULAR!

Someone explained up above, but the coffee powder gives the chocolate taste more depth and complexity. It makes it taste more chocolatey, if you will.

I have an Ina chocolate cake recipe that calls for an entire cup of hot coffee.

r52 here. Just made this recipe. Awesome! it took 20' longer than a boxed mix would have, but is SO much better. I used Droste brand Dutch Process Cocoa and real vanilla. Also added the chopped walnuts. Followed the recipe verbatim and weighed out the ingredients, except the batter in the double boiler seemed too dry, so ended up adding a tablespoon of canola oil. Took a lot of elbow grease to mix in the eggs, and then the flour with a spatula. Had to bake it for 40' because my gas oven is humid, but overall, this recipe was worthwhile!

Honestly, Little Debbies taste better than the boxes. The boxes have a cloying taste.

Duncan Hines is best. I usually add chocolate chips and nuts. I also like to make Eagle brand 3 ingredient fudge to spread on top. All easy, really rich.

Ghirardelli Double Chocolate is the best. I add coffee instead of water and some cocoa.

OP is an idiot. Everyone knows Ghirardelli Chocolate Supreme is the BEST boxed brownie mix on the market. I'll allow for espresso powder, but fuck these nasty peasants that add nuts to their brownies. Disgusting. Just say you don't want to share.

Would someone please tell the OP that loss of taste for the chemicals of chocolate and cocoa powder is a symptom of the onset of dementia?

I'm afraid I'm too tender-hearted to do it myself.

All u have to do is sprinkle copious amounts of powered sugar over the brownies right after they come out of the oven and you Will Want to eat every single one !

I would like to say that everyone who claims brownies are just as easy as a box mix to make are HUGE LIARS and their pants are ON FIRE.

However, I made these brownies by scratch last night and they were fucking delicious.

Every single one of you types fat.

There, I said it.

Sounds like the box mixes have reduced the amount of salt in their mixes. Brownies with too little or no salt are tasteless.

Tell us, OP, of that Golden Age when boxed mix brownies were brimming with rich, chocolatey flavor?

Older people lose their senses of taste and smell, sadly. All they can smell is their fart.