Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Brownies

The Palmer House Hilton, a famous historical hotel in Downtown Chicago, held a contest at a fair to find the perfect dessert to take in boxed lunches. The brownie won, although it was not the same brownie that many of us think of today

A woman in Bangor, Maine shifted the recipe to the brownies that we are more familiar with, and it took on the name Bangor Brownies in 1907. This brownie has become one of contemporary America's favorite desserts.

What makes a brownie fantastic? Well the obvious answer is the rich chocolaty taste and the density. But who really knows the best recipe to make the brownie not too cakey, or not too fudgy. I think Betty Crocker's Dark Chocolate Brownie mix got pretty darn close. As for Pillsbury, nuh uh.

I was excited about making these brownies, especially because the mix was twice the price of other brownie mixes at Target. Yes, I know perfectly well that just because things cost more doesn't mean they don't necessarily taste better; I lived off of off-brand food for most of my life. But mostly, if the price is higher, the flavor is as well.

I cannot explain how disappointed I was with these stupid brownies. I followed the box recipe exactly and put it in the oven. I baked it for the minimum time that they gave me and when I checked it with a toothpick, the edges came out clean, as if I didn't even stick the toothpick in. I immediately took it out. There was this giant UFO circle in the middle of the tray. The top wasn't flaky like traditional brownies either. At that moment I wasn't too worried about anything because usually the dry parts of the brownies are just chewier and more cookie-like, which is fine with me.

I waited an hour for them too cool and cut myself a slice. I couldn't get it out of the tray properly. That was the first downer of these brownies: they were way too fragile. Well I took a bite from the middle-side and it was too much like fudge to be considered a brownie. It was too moist. I am a lover of moist cakes but this was overly moist. Too much of anything is bad. I went to the corner piece and, granted it was chewy in the middle, but the outside felt like layers of hard sugar crystal. Even in the middle part of the cake the top layer felt like sugar crystals overpowered by watery moistness.

It did taste good while it was in your mouth. It tasted more sweet than flavorful. I prefer the rich chocolaty taste of the brownie rather than the sugary-ness. After you swallowed it didn't leave a wonderful brownie-aftertaste in your mouth like it should. It didn't even smell that wonderful.

I am a perfectionist, and these brownies were not perfect. I did everything in my power to make these brownies nice and they weren't!
I give this a 1/10, for effort.

Don Francisco

Coffee has been a staple in my daily diet since I was in the 5th grade. No lie, I really did start drinking it every morning since then. Even as a little girl, I would bring my plastic tea set to my mom and dad and ask them to fill coffee inside of it so I could sip it from there. Many people joke that coffee is what stunted my growth; but that's no doubt my short parents fault. =p



Well anyways, I usually drink the coffee from the bulk aisle at Winco because it's the cheapest that I could find for decent taste. But I was visiting my cousin and she had the courtesy to get me some coffee. Knowing that my favorite is the hazelnut blend she decided to buy me Don Francisco's Hawaiian Hazelnut Blend.

I've never tried Don Francisco's coffee before, nor have a tried a Hawaiian Hazelnut brand. I was very curious of the taste. I brewed it the moment I got to her house. It released one of the most wonderful smells in the world. The smell of coffee is something I and many other people enjoy very much. I wouldn't mind if more air fresheners and perfumes smelled like coffee. It's an idea somebody should pursue.

The taste was fantastic. She got me medium roast, which was a little light but still had lots of flavor, which was the key to this coffee. It has the most exotic taste and smell. I got sort of a coconut taste in there as well, even there is no evidence of coconut flavoring.

It's just a wonderful coffee. I give it a 9/10.
It's a must try for coffee lovers.