In our column Fake It or Make It we test a homemade dish against its prepackaged counterpart to find out what's really worth cooking from scratch.
I grew up with a mother who almost always made her baked goods from scratch, even in an age when the packaged mix was king. This meant that my childhood was blessed with rich, lusciously fudgy brownies. But the brownies of school bake sales, sleepovers, and birthday parties? They reliably came courtesy of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, and I don't ever remember turning my nose up at them, either.
These days I try to follow mom's lead, but in those moments when time is running short and I volunteered to bring dessert, I'm sorely tempted by the boxed options. I have to wonder: Will anyone notice the difference?
The Contenders
Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Brownies vs. Truffle Brownies
There is some debate about when and where brownies first appeared on the dessert scene, but sources agree that the chocolate confection originated in the United States (USA! USA!) around the turn of the 19th Century. A clever hybrid between cake and cookie, brownies are a dense, chocolaty bar cookie baked in a rectangular pan; they can be fudge-like, cake-like, or anything in between.
Relative Costs
It was about three times more expensive to make the brownies from scratch than to use a mix, owing mostly to the cost of chocolate and walnuts. I spent about $4.25 on the Pillsbury mix plus added ingredients, versus $13.50 for the homemade batch.
Relative Healthfulness
Slight edge to store-bought. Many of the ingredients are similar (flour, sugar, and eggs), but the store-bought version calls for vegetable oil instead of butter and contains cocoa powder in lieu of bar chocolate, resulting in a lower saturated fat content.
Time Commitment
It took me about 40 minutes to make the homemade brownies (not counting half an hour of baking time), versus just five minutes to mix together the store-bought mix.
Leftovers Potential
Slight edge to homemade. All the chocolate and butter in the homemade brownies kept them moist and flavorful for about a week, wrapped well with foil. The Pillsbury brownies were good for about four days before drying out.
What The Testers Said
First let me introduce our panel.
THE HEALTH NUT
A delicate eater, the health nut is calorie conscious but also likes to eat well
THE FOODIE
Calorie agnostic, our foodie judge has a sophisticated palate and a love of cooking
THE DUDE
Ambivalent toward food trends and health concerns, this guy just wants to be fed when he's hungry
THE KID
Between ages of 9 and 12 years old, not jaded, typically not into strong flavors
Testers sampled both brownies blind. Everyone correctly identified which was homemade and which store-bought, and noted the superior chocolate flavor of the homemade.
The Health Nut: Store-bought; "It's lighter and fluffier, which I like in a brownie. And it reminds me of being a kid."
The Foodie: Homemade; "It has a much, much more authentic chocolate flavor, and I like the cake-like texture."
The Kid: Homemade. "It's more chocolaty."
The Dude: Homemade; "I like the texture, and the nuts and frosting. It lets you know you're not eating something out of a package."
The Verdict
Make it.
The cocoa powder used in store-bought brownies is simply no match for the freshly melted chocolate you'll get with the real McCoy. While most people won't turn down a store-bought brownie--and may even enjoy the nostalgic journey back to their childhood--nearly all of our testers recognized and appreciated the quality difference of a brownie made from scratch.
--Elizabeth Gunnison
Photograph by Jamie Lothridge / My Baking Addiction
