How many Brownie points? (Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Brownies)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Waitrose Belgian Chocolate Brownies
Date:	10/01/09 (259 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty chocolate Brownies

Disadvantages: Go drier towards best by date

I'm so glad I don't make New Year resolutions, as shortly after arriving at my daughter's house she was making a cup of tea and asked if we would like a Brownie or an Empire biscuit. Had I decided to be good and lose some weight I wouldn't have been able to try the Brownies from Waitrose that she raves about!

Waitrose is a rather smarter Supermarket than my usual Tesco, and a lot of the prices prove this. The box of 6 Brownies is really smart looking as you can see in the photo, mostly black with brown gingham stripe at the base and the name on the front, Belgian Chocolate Brownies. The brownies are about 2 inches square (I didn't like to ask for a ruler to check!) and probably ¾ inch deep, they were packed in a rigid clear plastic tray, with the top half showing above the black fronted box. They are then sealed in cellophane, to keep them fresh. The packaging is recyclable.

Cost
The packet we had was reduced from £2.15 to £1.69 and the best before date is tomorrow. I'm not sure how long a shelf life these have, but possibly quite short normally. Instructions are to consume within a day once opened, and store in a cool place. The use by date should not be exceeded- she'll need to eat the rest tomorrow!

Ingredients
A massive 26% is Belgian chocolate, then caster sugar, wheat flour, free range eggs, butter, soft brown sugar and cocoa powder. There is a warning that there may be nuts which is usual these days as firms want to protect themselves. Good to see very ordinary ingredients.

Calories
Do we need to speak calories when talking about Chocolate? Our minister says there are no calories when you have cake at church! But as this wasn't at church I had better inform you that 1 brownie square has 128 calories, there is 6.6 grams of fat, which really compares quite well to chocolate biscuits.

Taste
I bet you thought I had forgotten the important bit! Well I sunk my teeth into the chocolate confection and tasted the chocolate immediately, there were little chocolate chips of Belgian chocolate, quite crunchy and the brownie was quite sweet. I was a little disappointed as it wasn't as squidgy as the Brownies I make, but know my daughter had said the centre was soft when she had them before. Possibly this was because this packet was a day away from its use by date. Overall the Brownie was very nice, crispy on the outside, and firm in the centre. It certainly was chocolatey and made a lovely treat with our tea.

Would I buy them?
Well our nearest Waitrose is 25 miles or more away, so we don't often shop there, and as pensioners I think 36 pence for a little square of Brownie is rather expensive, so doubt I would buy very often, but nice for a treat when we're out! You can buy them again daughter dear, just so I can see what they are like when squidgy!

Summary: Belgian chocolate brownies