It’s great to know that we now have low-carb, keto friendly, and gluten free (for those of which it matters) options off the shelf options for creating brownies. BUT is Duncan Hines’ Keto Friendly Chewy Fudge Brownie worth your hard earned money for when you want that fudge-like, gooey brownie? I took a deep dive into the mix – trying it as directed and with substitutions to find out!
Following Instructions… (Test #1)
For the first test batch, I did as the instructions said – add butter, eggs, water, mix, and bake. I used a larger pan than 8×8 (11×9) and my oven didn’t quite hit 350F, so I had to pull some audibles. Overall, it was super simple and no fuss. How’d it turn out? It was… alright. Not very sweet, and not very fudge-like – it reminded me of the texture of a lemon bar but drier. It also wasn’t very chocolatey, which leads me to the second batch.
Begin the Modifications! (Test #2)
The first modification I made was to add more chocolate – so when mixing, I added a half cup of Lilly’s Milk Chocolate Chips. I’m usually a fan of Lilly’s Dark Chocolate chips for most everything, but I wanted something that melted a little easier – a property that milk chocolate definitely has. The rest of the ingredients stayed the same – except this time I had an 8×8 pan at my disposal and a working oven. After 20 minutes in the oven, it was ready – and this was a great improvement over the first batch. Although the chips didnt quite melt as much as I’d hoped, it added that extra chocolate flavor and bite that I was looking for. Still not as sweet as Id like, but we’ll get to that later.
Suggested Substitutions (Test #3)
Duncan Hines makes some suggested substitutions on the side of the box – using coconut oil, avocado oil, unsweetened applesauce, or greek yogurt. As I like aiming for the lowest calorie food, the Greek yogurt immediately caught my eye. I substituted out the 6 tbsp of melted butter with 6 tbsp of 10% fat Greek yogurt, also adding a half cup of the Lily’s Milk Chocolate chips. Result: interesting. It was
When to Stop?
After the 5th test, I decided to stop experimenting. The whole purpose of a pre-made mix is to cut down on time and ingredients necessary. Although there is some time saving, if we have to include so many additional ingredients – the time saving is minimal and I would rather make the mix myself!
BUT… that said, if you just want some brownies now, then this mix works great. It’s requires simple ingredients and can be made rather quickly! Best of all – the brownies work incredibly well with my Low-Carb and Keto friendly Ice Cream!
Would like a brownie recipe that is all keto and a chocolate nib with just monk fruit added . Is this possible.
Potentially! It’s something im working on!