Brownies (eek from a box...)

I am not even sure what possessed me to purchase it.  In the past I've brought left over mixes home from work thinking i'll use them in a pinch.  They sit in the pantry long passed their expiration date.

It was the packaging that caught my eye while I was making a purchase from work.  First, the fact that it was a pouch nestled among the many boxes on the shelf.  Next the name- Marie Callender- really ?  a brownie mix?  I glanced over the ingredients.  Really, nothing artificial or offensive. So, what could it hurt?  I can get past using a box mix. really I can.

Of course as I prepared the package to directions, I could not resist jazzing up the mix.  A teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ancho chili powder and 3/4 cups of chopped pecans.

The moment of truth.  Mike took the first taste. (He had been out of town and had no idea about their origin.)  The first thing he said was, "Are these from a box?"   Ohhh!  There was no hiding the telltale flavor of a mix, even with cinnamon and chili powder.

My impression?  The cinnamon added a nice flavor, but the chocolate itself  tasted  bitter. It did not leave the usually chemical aftertaste of most box mixes, but the bitter flavor was not easy to overcome. Lesson learned.

They did look delicious though.