I'll Trade You

When Consumer Reports comes out with a rating on restaurants or certain types of foods, I'm generally not interested. If they're assessing the performance of a type of tire or telling me which operating system works best for a computer, I value the research and opinion. But when it comes to who has the best french fries or milkshake, I'd rather find out for myself. So when Consumer Reports revealed that they thought Trader Joe's Truffle Brownies were the best store bought brownie mix, we decided it was time to put this rating to the test.

Sadly, there is not a Trader Joe's in the Roanoke Valley. It's another topic for another day, but it would be AMAZING if Trader Joe's could come to the Roanoke area in the near future. I'm looking at you abandoned Ukrops building. In the meantime, we take advantage of visiting places that have TJ's locations and usually pick up a few items to bring back home. Seeing as how my family takes a trip to the Naval Academy every few weeks to see my brother, we can count on some loot from the Trader Joe's store in Annapolis on a relatively regular basis.

A couple weeks ago, I finally got around to making these highly acclaimed brownies. The ingredients include one full stick of butter, which hurts the waistline but not the tastebuds. And when I poured the mix into a bowl, I noticed large chunks of chocolate that would be mixed in with the batter - hello truffle friends. Making brownies isn't the most complicated baking in the world, so I followed the recipe, put them in the oven, and then eagerly waited for the result. Once the brownies were finished baking, I pulled them out of the oven and again followed the instructions on the box - which included letting the brownies cool for 30 minutes! Agonizing!

After 30 minutes of drooling, I cut into my first piece and took a bite...BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE! These brownies were rich, they were decadent, they were moist, they were heavenly. The chunks of chocolate really put them over the top and provided a fudge-like element. Eating them warm offered an experience similar to enjoying a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut. I quickly realized that it would be a challenge to not enjoy the entire pan of these brownies on my own. I resisted the temptation to hide them from everyone else and offered my family some. Everyone was a huge fan and I don't think the pan lasted much more than 24 hours.

Now, I find myself daydreaming about Trader Joe's brownies. They were delicious, but they could even be taken to another level. With the possibility of adding peanut butter, or caramel, or butterscotch, or coconut...I feel like Willy Wonka. I guess we'll just have to try them all to figure out which way is actually the best. Pardon me, I can hear myself getting fatter.