Hale & Hearty’s Rich Chocolate Gluten Free Brownie Mix

It’s not that I can’t cook (in fact I can, and I’m none too shabby at it!) it’s just that I really don’t have time to cook meals from scratch after a long day in the office. On the odd occasion I have made something, I later find the constituent ingredients lurking in the back of my cupboards several months later where I’ve used only a small quantity of a special type of gluten free flour, for example. It seems such a waste. So the chances of me making chocolate brownies were slim to nil, particularly given I don’t have a sweet tooth.

When my total chocoholic husband spied the Hale & Hearty Rich Chocolate Gluten Free Brownie mix in the batch of products they very kindly sent me to review, his eyes lit up and told me (sadly) in 7.5 years together I’d never ever made him a cake. I would’ve laughed heartily had it not been for the fact he really meant it. Uh oh. Bad wife alert.

In addition to the wholesome and nutritious nature of the Hale & Hearty products, what I also really liked is that you don’t need to buy lots of ingredients which might go off before you can use them again. Only basic store cupboard ingredients are required to make up their products. In the case of the chocolate brownie mix, so long as you have eggs, milk and butter at home, you’re in luck! If you’re vegan, there is also an alternative recipe for you on the back of the package.

Like all H&H products, there are no artificial flavourings, colourings, or preservatives. The mix is even organic! This is perfect for people like me who are short on cooking time but concerned about eating high quality, flavoursome food.
Here’s what you need (brownie mix in the white packet):

So how easy were they to make? Really easy. Empty contents of brownie mix to bowl, mix with butter and eggs to mix to a paste and then stir in milk. Recipe on back of packet, complete with variations you might want to make, such as the vegan alternative or perhaps adding chocolate drops or nuts. Pop in the oven for 25 minutes and that’s it. No leftover ingredients.

Here’s how my brownies looked fresh out the oven…can you smell that gorgeous chocolatey mix?:

Here’s a slice…yummmm…

How did they taste? Rich, delicious, chocolatey….the standard mix had tiny chocolate chip bits in it which I really liked. Next time I might add some white chocolate chips though. Amazingly, these brownies managed to last a few days in our house before they were all eaten. In fact they seemed to get better – the outside got a bit crisper / harder which I like in a brownie.

I can have a box of the Hale & Hearty Rich Chocolate Gluten Free Brownie Mix in the cupboard for the next time I need to sneak in yet another pair of shoes do something selfless. Yay, no more bad wife alert…!

Store cupboard essentials score: 8 / 10 (perfect if you’re likely to be invaded by a horde of chocoholics and need to rustle up some brownies in a jiffy)
Ease of use: 9 / 10
Taste: 9/10 (with white choc bits, it would be 10/10)