The verdict: This one was still a touch too sweet, according to most of our tasters. Associate cooking editor Antara Sinha noted its texture was more crumbly than the others, though the brownie still had a stick-to-your-teeth chew that we weren’t crazy about. One upside? Its shiny, crackled top made it aesthetically appealing.
Just Fine: Duncan Hines
The ingredients: sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, cocoa powder, vegetable shortening, contains 2% or less of wheat starch, dextrose, salt, artificial flavor, carrageenan, baking soda. Duncan Hines has you add a whopping 3 large eggs (many brownie mixes only call for 1 or 2), as well as water and vegetable oil.
The verdict: The Duncan Hines mix produced a brownie that we deemed just below average. Vaculin praised the flaky top, and we noted that it was easy to cut clean, even squares. But Laperruque took issue with its texture, deeming it “too cakey.” To the cakey brownie fans, she had one thing to say: “If you want a cakey brownie, eat cake.” Laperruque’s Antoinette-isms aside, we thought the flavor was sweet without going overboard, but the praise stopped there—it’s not the brownie we dream of, but we wouldn’t kick it out of bed.
A Very Close Second: Annie’s
The ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic wheat flour, organic chocolate chips, organic cocoa, organic palm oil, organic tapioca starch, sea salt, organic natural flavor. This mix instructs you to add 1 stick butter, 2 eggs, and 1 Tbsp. water to top it off.