Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Mix Review

I know I’ve made these Brownies at least 100 times but for some reason never stopped to take the time to do a proper review of them. So, after reading the Washington Post article about the best Brownie Mixes on the market right now and I was intrigued by what they said about Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle mix.

I’ll tell you what they said. They said that out of 10 pre-mixed brownie mixes that they tested, the Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle mix came in second. I thought this was remarkable considering the top mix was from a well known chocolate company. The reason they said is because the Trader Joe’s mix has semi sweet chocolate chips (aka dark chocolate) in the mix. Something that none of the other mixes had in them. They claim that they give the Trader Joe’s Brownie mix a flavor bump and almost an unfair advantage. So, I just had to try the mix again but this time properly document making them and rating them.

I want to cover something here. Trader Joe’s says right in the name that there is “truffle” in the mix. Let’s clear this up. There are not mushroom truffles in the mix. Normally, chocolate truffles are, according to Wikipedia “A chocolate truffle is a French chocolate confectionery traditionally made with a chocolate ganache center and coated in cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped nuts. A chocolate truffle is handrolled into a spherical or ball shape.” I can tell for a fact that are  no handrolled chocolate in this mix. There are chocolate chips which aren’t even closely related to truffles other than they are both a form of chocolate. Enough of that…

Preparation

Brownie Truffle Baking Mix Directions:

You will need:

Full Package of Mix
Large Eggs
1 Stick of Butter (4 Oz)

Baking Instructions:

Prepare: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the bottom and halfway up sides of a standard 8 x 8 x 2 pan with butter or cooking spray.

Mix: Melt butter (1 minute in the microwave or use a small saucepan). Melted butter should be creamy looking. Whisk in eggs until blended. Add brownie mix and stir until moistened.

Pan: Spread batter in the pan, filling the corners and leveling the top.

Oven: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Yields about 16 servings.

Baking Tip: All ovens bake differently.

Always double check your oven temperature with an oven thermometer before baking. Check the brownie at the minimum baking time by inserting a toothpick in several locations. If the toothpick comes out clean, the brownie is finished. If not, bake for an additional 5 minutes.

I had to bake for about five minutes over the allotted time but it was worth it. We like to have some crispy edges and this didn’t disappoint.

Final Thoughts and Rating

I don’t know about your household, but in mine, brownies don’t last very long. I could probably bake one of these boxes every day for a week and wouldn’t have any leftovers. I have tried making brownies from scratch and I have made brownies from a variety of mixes and I keep coming back to Trader Joe’s Brownie Truffle Baking Mix. I can’t make it this good from scratch so I gave up and the only other mixes I like are about 3 times the cost of the Trader Joe’s and they are hard to find. 

It’s so damn simple to just get a couple of eggs and some melted butter and mix it all together and throw it in a square baking dish and half and hour later you have delicious warm brownies right out of the oven. I read that Trader Joe’s has been selling this mix for 25+ years and it makes sense. This has got to be one of the best products they have ever sold. 

I just really love the dark chocolate flavors and the dark chocolate chips just give it that extra fudgy chocolate flavor we all love so much. They have the absolutely perfect consistency and if you want it a little extra crispy, then leave them in a little longer. You can also make chocolate/chocolate chip cookies with these with the modifications mentioned on the side of the box.

There might be one or two brownie mixes better than this but good luck finding them and spending the $$$ on those. At the end of the day this is near perfection. I am going to rate this a solid 9 out of 10 Bells!

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe:

You will need:

1 Full Package of Mix

1 Large Egg

1 Stick of Butter (4 oz)

Combine egg and melted butter in mixing bowl. Add mix and stir until moistened.

Drop rounded tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yields 20 to 24 cookies.

High Altitude Instructions: Add 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon water to the ingredients above.