This week, Nancy had the brilliant idea of conducting a brownie taste test. Who was I to argue? Everyone loves chocolate. Well, except the one strange guy in the office that turned up his nose and said he doesn’t. Doesn’t like chocolate. I didn’t know it was possible. But I digress. We stopped at four local places to pick up their gooey masterpieces and matched them up. Here is how they fared in our blind test.
THE CONTENDERS:
A: Oh* Brownie
B: Society Bakery
C: Créme de la Cookie
D: Bread Winners Café
THE TASTERS:
Eight chocoholics with big smiles.
WHAT THEY SAID:
A: Oh* Brownie
“Tastes like a mix. Perfectly fine brownies that wouldn’t be out of place on the impulse-buy table greeting you in a big box chain store.”
“Dry, pasty, funny aftertaste.”
“Way too dry, not my favorite.”
“Wow, very salty. My least favorite.”
“Delicious!”
“Chalky. Is this one vegan? It seems flourless.”
“This just tastes like dry brownie mix, i.e., asbestos.”
“Strange texture, chalky.”
B: Society Bakery
“The walnuts feel like a cheat. The base is fudge-like and has a hint of coconut. Is it true?”
“Fudge-like.”
“Fudgy, nutty, delicious. Sorta tastes like Christmas. I like this.”
“Dense, chocolatey, moist. (I know…)”
“Delicious! More dense and sugary.”
“Nice chocolate fudginess.”
“Nice – not too rich.”
“Good texture. The nuts were a good addition. Yeah, good.”
C: Créme de la Cookie
“Pleasantly more varied.”
“Tastes burned.”
“More sweet than D. Too much. Dry.”
“Dry, if you’re into that kind of thing. Bland.”
“Delicious! A little dry.”
“Flaky, most chocolatey.”
“Espresso taste. This is delicious. Good crust, awesome flavor.”
“I like the crunch of the well-baked top.”
D: Bread Winners
“Seems like the most ambitious of the bunch, but do we need all these complications in a brownie? There is a lot to this brownie. The nut pieces are buried deep within. This is one mysterious brownie.”
“Gooey and nice crunch.”
“Flavorless. Doughy. Kinda garbage.”
“Classic.”
“Delicious! I like this one the best.”
“Gooey. Traditional brownie flavor.”
“Sweet, great texture.”
“Tastes raw and like it has sand in it.”
THE TALLY:
A: Oh* Brownie – 0 votes
B: Society Bakery – 1 vote
C: Créme de la Cookie – 3 votes
D: Bread Winners – 4 votes
CONCLUSION:
Okay, apparently there were some pretty diverse opinions. A few found Bread Winners’ brownie to be classic, but there were a couple of strong dissenters. It won our vote nevertheless. It was mostly gooey with the slightest bit of crunch and it seemed to win some hearts and minds.
In a close second, Créme de la Cookie’s version had a crunchy crust that some loved, and some hated. Maybe this brownie thing is as divisive as the potato salad thing. Crunchy vs gooey, sweet vs not-too-sweet? Maybe it just comes down to what we’re used to eating at Grandma’s house at Christmas.
Society Bakery makes a very sugary, fudgey brownie. Good, but not a favorite in the office. Lastly, the Oh* Brownie didn’t have as much flavor, and two tasters called it chalky and box-mix-like in comparison to the other options on the table.
