Pamala's Chocolate Chunk Brownies

[imsohungry]

I was sooo excited when I went in my local grocery and found that they have started carrying some of the Pamala's product line. Well, I purchased the brownies (and cookies, which I haven't tried yet) and the they turned out gross. Uggghhh! How did I mess up such an easy product??? add egg, oil, and water. How could I possibly screw that up?

Anyway, I baked them in a square metal pan (not glass) and at the recommended temp. They were kind of tough and dry. I added an extra spoon of water when mixing b/c they looked dry. Maybe I baked them too long. Do you all wait until the toothpick is clean to pull them out the oven? I did. Maybe I cooked out the moisture.

Please help. Obviously, I am just as bad at cooking as I am at keeping my houseplants alive.

-Julie

[jayhawkmom]

I don't know what you did wrong.... but I've tried other Pamela's products and not liked them at all. Even the "premade" packaged cookies are really icky, to me.

I've made the GFPantry Truffle Brownies....and those were YUMMMMMMY!!

I hope someone can help you figure out what happened, and that the next batch is much better!!!

[key]

I made them too and they didn't turn out at all. Love her pancake mix and that is all I use from her.

I made the gluten-free Pantry one's and loved them, but last time I made them they didn't turn out at all either. Not sure what happened, but the company got bought out and it was since then that they didn't turn out and they seemed different.

Monica

[Sweetfudge]

Hm, I've never tried baking Pamela's cookies. I have tried the premade pecan shortbread and dark chocolate w/ chocolate chunk cookies, and really liked both. I have however baked the pancake mix, and it turned out well. I think with cookies, you can't measure "done" by the toothpick theory. Sometimes when you pull them out of the oven, they cook longer just sitting on a hot pan, so I usually try not to overdo mine. Don't know what else to tell you. Good luck with your next endeavor!

[mellajane]

I love the Pamela's pre mixes... I did just make a chocolate cake with the same mix and it turned out dry as well. I think we overbaked them. The pancake mix for cookies is awesome. I always add ingredients. Coconut does really well. Also peanutbutter chips are good added with the chocolte. I did not like the

pre-made cookies! Foods by George has awesome pre-mad brownies.I am starting to try to cook from scratch now. It is very challenging. The Bette Hagman cook books are awesome as well. Almost everything I have made has turned out delicious.

I was sooo excited when I went in my local grocery and found that they have started carrying some of the Pamala's product line. Well, I purchased the brownies (and cookies, which I haven't tried yet) and the they turned out gross. Uggghhh! How did I mess up such an easy product??? add egg, oil, and water. How could I possibly screw that up?

Anyway, I baked them in a square metal pan (not glass) and at the recommended temp. They were kind of tough and dry. I added an extra spoon of water when mixing b/c they looked dry. Maybe I baked them too long. Do you all wait until the toothpick is clean to pull them out the oven? I did. Maybe I cooked out the moisture.

Please help. Obviously, I am just as bad at cooking as I am at keeping my houseplants alive.

-Julie

[hineini]

I've made them several times.

The keys, for me, are:

-Using the amount of egg and oil they call for

-Using butter instead of oil, if you're not allergic to casein - It's way yummier

-Not overcooking it by even a second. Follow the minimum baking time on the package. promptly remove from oven. Remove brownies from pan as quickly as possible. Store in ziploc bags or saran wrap.

The first time I made them, they were totally dry and yucky because I cooked them literally one or two minutes more than what the minimum was that the package called for.

The second time, they were perfect.

DO NOT to the whole "insert a toothpick, it should come out clean" thing - Preheat the oven to the right temperature and bake them for EXACTLY as long as the minimum on the package (i.e. if it says 18-22 minutes, bake for 18). I"ve found that with brownies, esp gluten-free ones, if you wait until the toothpick comes out clean it's already too late. Better undercooked than overcooked, cause when you pull them out of the oven they'll actually continue baking until they're totally cool.

The other key I found was to use a spatula to spread the mixture out evenly, and to use the right size square baking pan (if it's an inch too big, the brownies will be too thin and will over-cook)

That's the only ideas I have for you. I'm so sad that I ate my last one last night and don't have any more mix in the house!

[mamatide]

Can you eat dairy? You should really try these brownies (scratch). I've made them several times and everyone raves about them - just don't tell the kids that they have beans in them!

I got the recipe from Canadian Living Magazine.

Too-Good-To-Be-Gluten-Free Brownies

Note: look for adzuki (or azuki) beans (small sweet red beans popular in Japaneze cooking) in health food stores, Asian markets and some supermarkets. If you can't find them (I couldn't) use 1 3/4 cups (425mL) drained rinsed canned or cooked black beans (which I used).

1/2 cup butter (125mL)

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (175g)

1 can (14 oz/398 mL) adzuki beans, drained and rinsed

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1. Line 9-inch square metal cake pan with parchment paper, leaving 1-inch overhang. Set aside.

2. In small saucepan, melt butter with chocolate over low heat; set aside. Meanwhile, in food processor, purée beans until smooth; set aside.

3. In large bowl, beat eggs with sugar until pale and thickened; beat in vanilla. Stir in chocolate mixture until combine; stir in beans until smooth. Scrape into prepared pan.

4. Bake in centre of 350F oven (180C) until cake tester inserted in centre comes out with a few moist crumbs cinging, about 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.

5. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. Using paper as handles, remove brownies from pan, cut into squares.

Makes 16 squares.

Per square:

222 calories

4g protein

11g total fat (6g saturated)

28g carbs

2g fibre

65mg chol

146mg sodium

%RDI

2% calcium

6% iron

7% vitaminA

2% vitaminC

8% folat

[hineini]

Can you eat dairy? You should really try these brownies (scratch). I've made them several times and everyone raves about them - just don't tell the kids that they have beans in them!

Oh wow... They sound so yucky but I totally want to give it a shot, as I'm trying to cut down on grains in general! I will bake them and let you know how they turn out.

[pinkpei77]

man!! i just had this happen to me TWICE last week!

once with the namaste mix and once with the pamela's mix.

they both were HORRIBLE.

i think ill try the gluten-free pantry ones tonight.

ive made the pamelas brownies before and they were excellent.

maybe it was just a bad week for brownies??hahha

[imsohungry]

Oh wow... They sound so yucky but I totally want to give it a shot, as I'm trying to cut down on grains in general! I will bake them and let you know how they turn out.

If you do try that recipe, let me know. I'm afraid I can't afford to throw any more gluten-free cooking attempts in the trash this month...especially money on a dessert. (good grief, it sounded so simple...add an egg and oil...anybody in the mood for my chocolate-flavored cardboard?)

Thanks for the replies and tips everyone. I will definetely remove all future brownie-making attempts promptly on time, and NOT use the old "toothpick" method anymore. (fine by me...I'm out of toothpicks anyway)

man!! i just had this happen to me TWICE last week!

maybe it was just a bad week for brownies??hahha

Coleen,

HA! Guess so. Maybe I'm sending out my crappy-cooking vibes all over the U.S. I should really stay out of the kitchen.

[Guest nini]

you overcooked them, plain and simple... don't worry, I did the same thing last night trying to follow the directions on the bag of Pamela's Amazing Wheat Free Bread Mix to make pizza... I set the temp to the correct temp on the bag and did LESS than the minimum time and still burnt it and it was stuck to the pan. What parts of it that were salvageable tasted really good, so next time I'll try a lower temp and less time!

Do you have a gas oven? Maybe you need to set the temp lower next time and pull them out at the minimum time... I found it takes a lot of experimenting, and don't throw the mistakes away, you can use the dry brownie crumbs for a pie crust, just melt a little butter and mix brownie crumbs in the bottom of the pie plate with the melted butter and mush down! then add filling this makes an awesome cheesecake crust!

When you have bread disasters, crumble it into crumbs in Ziploc freezer bags and freeze, these come in real handy when you need bread crumbs for something!

cookie disasters also make excellent pie crusts! Sometimes all it needs is a little more sugar or some vanilla extract or some butter to make a yummy pie crust out of a cookie disaster!

[imsohungry]

Nisla,

Thanks for the tips about using the leftovers as a pie crust...I hadn't thought of that. The brownies aren't in the trash yet; they're on my kitchen counter...awaiting their destiny, which thanks to you, is no longer the trash. I'll DEFINETELY use them for a pie crust!

[CarlaB]

I would say, don't overcook.

For those who are casein senstive, I use the Namaste mix and use coconut oil instead of butter/oil. They're great! I truly think they're better than wheat brownies.

[Generic]

I just baked some pamela's brownies about an hour ago. I had to cook them an extra 15 minutes beyond the recomended 18-20 minutes. I know you can't use the tooth pick test, but in the past I had them be really raw still in the middle.

So with that in mind, I stabbed a fork in and they were still raw in the center. (it says on the package toothpick should have crumbs still on it,). So I cooked them an additional 5 minutes at a time until they had crumbs on the fork. I baked at the exact temp and I am at sea level, so no high altitude baking problems here. Funny the difference, maybe I had an older package? But I did add the extra TBS of water, because they were so dry the chocolate chunks were falling out of the "dough" when I was trying to scoop it out of the bowl into the pan.

[imsohungry]

I just baked some pamela's brownies about an hour ago. I had to cook them an extra 15 minutes beyond the recomended 18-20 minutes. I know you can't use the tooth pick test, but in the past I had them be really raw still in the middle.

So with that in mind, I stabbed a fork in and they were still raw in the center. (it says on the package toothpick should have crumbs still on it,). So I cooked them an additional 5 minutes at a time until they had crumbs on the fork. I baked at the exact temp and I am at sea level, so no high altitude baking problems here. Funny the difference, maybe I had an older package? But I did add the extra TBS of water, because they were so dry the chocolate chunks were falling out of the "dough" when I was trying to scoop it out of the bowl into the pan.

Yea Laurie,

My problem was originally the "raw in the middle" thing too. Then they were as dry as dirt. So, I'm just going to take everyone's suggestions and continue to experiment with time/temp...next time I think I'll also use a different pan.

Good luck! -Julie

[Nantzie]

The only Pamela's things I use are the Amazing Wheat Free Bread, which is the best stuff ever. We go through at least two loaves a week of that. The other thing is the Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix, which has a perfect recipe for choc chip cookies on the back. Don't like the premade cookies. Don't like the brownies. I don't think I've tried anything else of their's.

But I think it goes to show you that you can't cross out a whole company's gluten-free stuff. Sometimes they'll have a couple things you love and the rest is just not for you.

Nancy

[sparkles]

I use the dry mix and follow the directions to a T..... and bake them only 18 minutes. Since I have always liked chewy brownies, I like them soft and gooey in the middle. They go into the oven looking too dry but that is just the way they are! They certainly do not spread like gluten brownies in the pan but I bake them one parchment paper and shape them into a square with a knife after they are baked. I usually frost them because they don't have that shiny glaze real brownies have. I serve them to my family with ice cream and they think that they are great.... but I do think that you need to like gooey to appreciate them!!!!

[imsohungry]

But I think it goes to show you that you can't cross out a whole company's gluten-free stuff. Sometimes they'll have a couple things you love and the rest is just not for you.

Nancy

Nancy, I agree. I've tried several products by Kinnik and Ener-G that I LOVE, but then some of their products are really gross (IMO). So, we've got to keep an open mind...especially due to the limited number of companies that truly accommodate gluten-free individuals!

Sparkles,

Yummm...chewy brownies. I've got to keep searching...

[jnifred]

I have found that the Pamela's brownie mix makes better cookies and cake than brownies. I like the Namaste brownie mix. I would guess you over baked it.....good luck next time