Ultra-Chocolatey: Sheila G’s Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle Might Be Broken, But It’s Good!

The Good: Affordable, Good ingredients, Good company! Flavorful
The Bad: Packaging does not protect the Brownie Brittle AT ALL! Not especially nutritious
The Basics: Sheila G’s Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle might not thrill those who love caramel, or who want cookies that are intact, but it is surprisingly flavorful and worth trying!


Having recently received the entire product line from Sheila G’s and it is worth saying up front in my review of their Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle that the company is good. The people there are friendly and they seem to be committed to making a quality product. The Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle is a good product that is entirely diminished by the packaging. In the bag I was sent directly from the factory, there was only one unbroken piece of Brownie Brittle and there half an ounce (1/8th of the package!) of Brownie Brittle as crumbs.

The final flavor of Brownie Brittle from Sheila G’s for me to review (at least until they introduce a new flavor!) is the Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle. Brownie Brittle is essentially a cookie; those who associate gooey softness with brownies will be shocked by the Brownie Brittle; these treats are much closer to being cookies, thin and crispy, than they are like brownies. One of the serious detractions to buying Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle in the stores is the packaging; while I love resealable packages, the type of bag that the Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle comes in does not adequately protect the product so consumers get the most out of it. That at least one-eighth of the package sent directly from the factory was crumbs illustrates well the severe weakness of their packaging. It is harder to endorse the product knowing that consumers are likely to get less than their money’s worth out of a bag (thanks to breakage).

That said, the Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle tastes wonderful and is possibly the most chocolatey Brownie Brittle Sheila G’s makes.

Basics

Redefining the nature of traditional brownies, Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle are 1/8" thick and, when unbroken, they are 2 1/2” long by 2” wide rectangular “chips” (or cookies). Each piece of Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle is fairly rough on both sides, like the bottom of a brownie that has been very much overcooked to solidify with the bubbles from the batter. Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle comes in a 4 oz. bag. According to the nutrition facts, a serving of Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle is one ounce, 28 grams and there are four servings per container. Measuring out this bag was virtually impossible from the breakage. I had to weigh out the Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle and I got three and a half very, very broken up servings and another half-ounce of just pulverized crumbs.

For those who have never had Brownie Brittle before, Brownie Brittle are flat, hard chips that are similar to bagel chips. Moisture - or saliva - dissolves Brownie Brittle on the tongue. They are more like a thin cookie than a soft, chewy brownie and in even from the well-protected bag sent directly from the company, the vast majority of the pieces of Brownie Brittle were broken up bits. The Salted Caramel Brownie Bites have the actual caramel chips embedded in the tops of the Brownie Brittle. They actually look like they are melted onto the tops. Some of the pieces have as few as one caramel chip, some as many as eight!

Ease Of Preparation

Unlike making brownies from scratch, Brownie Brittle is easy to prepare. Simply open the resealable bag and remove four pieces (if there are that many not broken up into tiny pieces in the bag) and consume. There is no other preparation needed; this is a ready-to-eat product. As one who absolutely loves the end of cereal (cereal crumbs), I found a certain delight in taking the crumbs at the bottom of the bag, adding milk to it and eating it like cereal crumbs! This flavor is like eating the bottom of a bowl of Cocoa Puffs!

Taste

Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle smells just like fresh-baked brownies. The aroma is strong and distinct and there is no hint of anything to the scent these brownie brittle pieces emit except for chocolate and cocoa. The scent is inviting and familiar to anyone who loves brownies.

On the taste front, the Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle is intensely chocolatey. The top of each has a tang of saltiness that manages to accent the chocolate beautifully. The salty accent comes from the bits of caramel and the hard chips of caramel carry the salty, slightly buttery flavor over the chocolate. The blending makes for a dry, powerfully chocolate cookie flavor that is recognizable and delicious.

The caramel cuts some of the dryness of the cookie, though it makes the chocolate of the brownie seem like it is made of a darker chocolate. The flavors blend perfectly and the ultimate flavor that the Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle finishes with is a dark chocolate flavor; like super-concentrated, dry, chocolate. This is not at all unpleasant, but the caramel flavor is definitely more subtle than prominent; it accents the chocolate flavor as opposed to augmenting the Brownie Brittle with a strong flavor of its own.

Nutrition

Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle is a baked sweet, so one ought not to be living off it. The Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle pieces are made primarily of sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, and cocoa. There are, surprisingly, no unidentifiable ingredients in this food product and nothing that seems at all artificial (in fact, this is one of the few mass-produced product I have reviewed where the ingredients list reads more like a recipe than a chemical equation!). The bag of Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle carries an allergy warning for wheat, eggs, soy, and milk. It is also noted that this Brownie Brittle was made on machinery that also processes tree nuts.

Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle has 120 calories per serving, 35 of which are from fat, though it is very tough to stick with the somewhat nebulous serving size of 28 grams. The 4 grams of fat represent 6% of the recommended daily value of fat and 5% of the daily recommended saturated fat; there are no trans fats in this Brownie Brittle. As well, there are 115 milligrams of sodium and 14 grams of sugars (21 total grams of carbohydrates). There is a gram of protein and 4% of one’s RDA of Iron in a serving of Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle, but there are no other real nutrients in these.

These are not nutritious, but have nothing bad in them, so they make for a healthier sweet snack, though they are not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-up

The Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle stores just fine in its bag, breakage aside, and as long as they are kept in a cool, dry (preferably dark) place it ought to last for a few months. The bag I received a couple of days ago, directly from the company bore a November 1, 2014 expiration date.

Unless one really crunches down sloppily on these, cleanup ought not to be an issue. The Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle generates a ton of crumbs, but they are pretty easy to clean up.

Overall

Sheila G’s Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle are flavorful and chocolatey, but not a great value because of how much breakage the bags encourage. Those who want a delicious chocolate cookie will find these are a decent treat!

For other Sheila G’s products, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle
Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle
Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle

7/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Good, But Bearing A Burnt Taste, Sheila G's Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle Is A Well-Made Average Snack!

The Good: Affordable, Good ingredients, Good company! Good toffee taste.
The Bad: Packaging does not protect the Brownie Brittle, Not especially nutritious, Burnt aftertaste
The Basics: Sheila G’s Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is a good treat that is robbed of a higher rating by a lack of a consistent strong toffee flavor the fact that is has a burnt aftertaste to it that lingers unless one has milk handy!


It always excites me to form a new relationship with a company whose products I have reviewed. I recently found Sheila G’s Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle (reviewed here!) to be somewhat lacking and the company made contact with me and provided me with their four current products for me to review. I’m always impressed when a company takes such a chance; having received a negative review from me, providing product does not guarantee that other products from the company will get a positive recommendation from me. Sheila G’s gamble paid off with me, though, in that I found their Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle (reviewed here!) to be absolutely delightful. In fact, it is a product that I will happily purchase now that I have tried it and enjoyed it so much.

The second new-to-me flavor to get my attention from the package Sheila G’s sent is the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle. At this point, it is worth noting up front that Brownie Brittle is essentially a cookie; those who associate gooey softness with brownies will be shocked by the Brownie Brittle; these treats are much closer to being cookies, thin and crispy, than they are like brownies. As with the other products Sheila G’s sent, the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle in the bag directly from Sheila G’s was quite a bit more intact than the packages I bought in the store. I assert that one of the serious detractions to buying Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle in the stores is the packaging; while I love resealable packages, the type of bag that the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle comes in does not adequately protect the product so consumers get the most out of it.

The Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle also suffers some, at least the batch that I was sent, from having a burnt taste to it. My wife, who loves all things toffee-related, the way I adore mint chocolate items, sampled the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle with me and when I was worried that I might be too hard on the product, she frowned upon her first bite and noted the burnt flavor to the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle, so I feel like that is a very objective issue with the product.

Basics

Redefining the nature of traditional brownies, Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle are 1/16" thick and, when unbroken, they are 2 1/4” long by 1 3/4” wide rectangular “chips” (or cookies). Each piece of Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is fairly rough on both sides, like the bottom of a brownie that has been very much overcooked to solidify with the bubbles from the batter. Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle comes in a 4 oz. bag. According to the nutrition facts, a serving of Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is one ounce, 28 grams and there are four servings per container. Measuring out this bag, we found that meant four pieces of Brownie Brittle per serving. Our bag, sent directly from the manufacturer, had only four completely intact, unbroken, pieces.

For those who have never had Brownie Brittle before, Brownie Brittle are flat, hard chips that are similar to bagel chips. Moisture - or saliva - dissolves Brownie Brittle on the tongue. They are more like a thin cookie than a soft, chewy brownie and in even from the well-protected bag sent directly from the company, most of the pieces of Brownie Brittle were broken up bits. The Toffee Crunch Brownie Bites have the actual toffee pieces embedded in the tops of the Brownie Brittle. They actually look like they are melted onto the tops. Some of the pieces have as few as one bits of toffee, some as many as nine!

Ease Of Preparation

Unlike making brownies from scratch, Brownie Brittle is easy to prepare. Simply open the resealable bag and remove four pieces and consume. There is no other preparation needed; this is a ready-to-eat product. As one who absolutely loves the end of cereal (cereal crumbs), I found a certain delight in taking the two tablespoons of crumbs at the bottom of the bag, adding milk to it and eating it like cereal crumbs! Even in that form, though, there was a burnt flavor to this Brownie Brittle.

Taste

Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle has a buttery aroma that is distinct to butterscotch or caramel. The scent is inviting and instantly overpowers any hint of chocolate to the bouquet of the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle. The strong scent of toffee is very inviting to anyone who likes toffee.

As far as taste goes, the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is the most erratic of the flavors I have tried so far, though it does taste good. Unlike the other two Brownie Brittles I have tried so far, the flavor of the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is only distinct on one of its two sides. Placing the Brownie Brittle with its top-side (the side with the toffee pieces) down on the tongue or chewing the Brownie Brittle right away yields the flavor of toffee. If one sets the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle bottom-side down on the tongue, the taste is entirely that of the brownie “cookie.” In this case, it is the flavor of a very mildly burnt or slightly overcooked brownie. That way, the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is unremarkable, but not at all truly bad.

Flipped over so the toffee side connects with the tongue, the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is sweet and buttery. The flavor of butterscotch blends with the chocolate of the brownie well . . . for about twenty seconds. After that point, though, the sweetness fades and the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle has a strong burnt aftertaste to it. The aftertaste lingered for about five minutes after the last piece I consumed, which was broken up easily by milk but otherwise took its time in dissipating.

Nutrition

Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle is a baked sweet, so one ought not to be living off it. The Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle pieces are made primarily of sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, and cocoa. There are, surprisingly, no unidentifiable ingredients in this food product and nothing that seems at all artificial (in fact, this is one of the few mass-produced product I have reviewed where the ingredients list reads more like a recipe than a chemical equation!). The bag of Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle carries an allergy warning for wheat, eggs, soy, tree nuts and milk.

Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle has 120 calories per serving, 35 of which are from fat, though it is tough to stick with the somewhat nebulous serving size of 28 grams. The 4 grams of fat represent 6% of the recommended daily value of fat and 5% of the daily recommended saturated fat; there are no trans fats in this Brownie Brittle. As well, there are 95 milligrams of sodium and 14 grams of sugars (21 total grams of carbohydrates). There is a gram of protein and 4% of one’s RDA of Iron in a serving of Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle, but there are no other real nutrients in these.

These are not nutritious, but have nothing bad in them, so they make for a healthier sweet snack, though they are not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-up

The Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle stores just fine in its bag, breakage aside, and as long as they are kept in a cool, dry (preferably dark) place it ought to last for a few months. The bag I received a couple of days ago, directly from the company bore a November 22, 2014 expiration date.

Unless one really crunches down sloppily on these, cleanup ought not to be an issue. The Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle generates quite a few crumbs, but they are pretty easy to clean up.

Overall

Sheila G’s Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle are good, but ought to be paired with milk in order to enjoy them the most. Pairing the Brownie Brittle with a glass of milk cuts the aftertaste and seems to accent the toffee’s sweetness. While this is not a dealbreaker for me, it does mean that it is not ideal on its own. That makes the Toffee Crunch Brownie Brittle more average than extraordinary.

For other toffee products, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Ferrara Milk Chocolate Toffee Crunch Orange
Blue Diamond Butter Toffee Oven Roasted Almonds
Celestial Seasonings English Toffee Tea
Hills Bros. Cappuccino English Toffee Instant Coffee

5.5/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Giving Sheila G’s A Second Chance Is Worth It For The Mint Chocolate Brownie Brittle!

The Good: Tastes great, Affordable, Good ingredients, Good company!
The Bad: Packaging does not protect the Brownie Brittle, Not especially nutritious
The Basics: Sheila G’s Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is a good-tasting treat worth trying!


It is always exciting to me to see that the manufacturer of a product I have reviewed has found my little blog and I am always interested in seeing how they react when they encounter a negative review I have written. I try very hard to be unbiased and approach each experience as I experience it and when I reviewed the Sheila G’s Mint Chocolate Brownie Brittle (reviewed here!), I was not impressed and my review apparently concerned the fine folks at Sheila G’s. Within hours of the review being posted, they contacted me and today I received a “care package” from the company featuring all four flavors of Brownie Brittle they now produce (I’m happy to see they no longer make Walnut Brownie Brittle as I’m not a fan of walnut brownies and would hate to be immediately biased against one of the flavors!). Whenever a company starts a relationship with me, I pick the product they send me that I am most biased in favor of to start my reviews. While this, admittedly, prejudices me in favor of the product, it also shows the company that sends me products that I am appreciative of their finding my blog and sending me products to review. Given my love of mint chocolate products, the Brownie Brittle I was most biased toward was the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle.

Opening the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle, unbiased by my expectations of what a product called “Brownie Brittle” “ought” to be, I discovered almost instantly that my first experience with Brownie Brittle might have been biased by a bad batch. The first thing I noticed was that the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle in the bag directly from Sheila G’s was quite a bit more intact than the packages I bought in the store. This makes me believe that one of the serious detractions to Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle is the packaging; while I love resealable packages, the type of bag that the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle comes in does not adequately protect the product so consumers get the most out of it.

Regardless of everything else, I wanted to put right upfront in my review of the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle that the customer service at Sheila G’s is exceptionally good. The people who work at Sheila G’s are remarkably friendly and responsive. They seem to genuinely want to produce the best possible product and they seemed exceptionally concerned that my first experience with the Brownie Brittle might have been based on a batch that was handled improperly/was sold too close to the expiration date. Their responsiveness and the fact that their business is a Women’s Business Enterprise certified company are both big pluses as far as I am concerned!

That said, the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle did not need anything to push up its rating given how good it is on its own.

Basics

Redefining the nature of traditional brownies, Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle are 1/8 – 1/4" thick (depending on whether or not they have the chocolate chips in the piece of Brownie Brittle) and, in their unbroken form, they are uniformly 2” square. Each piece of Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is fairly smooth on one side (like the slightly glazed top of a brownie) and textured on the bottom, like a cookie or toasted bagel top. Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle comes in a 4 oz. bag. According to the nutrition facts, a serving of Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is one ounce, 28 grams and there are four servings per container. Measuring out this bag, we found that meant four and one half pieces of Brownie Brittle

For those who have never had Brownie Brittle before, Brownie Brittle are flat, hard chips that are similar to bagel chips. Moisture - or saliva - dissolves Brownie Brittle on the tongue. They are more like a thin cookie than a soft, chewy brownie and in the well-protected bag sent directly from the company, there were only ten completely unbroken pieces of Brownie Brittle; the rest were broken up, though nowhere near as bad as in the first bag I had (which had none of the Brownie Brittle that were even remotely regular or 2” in length on any side!). The Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle has the actual mint chocolate chips with irregular frequency; some of the pieces have as few as two mint chocolate chips, some as many as ten! Regardless of how many mint chocolate chips a piece of this Brownie Brittle actually had, every piece smelled deliciously of mint.

Ease Of Preparation

Unlike making brownies from scratch, Brownie Brittle is easy to prepare. Simply open the resealable bag and remove four and a half pieces and consume. There is no other preparation needed; this is a ready-to-eat product. As one who absolutely loves the end of cereal (cereal crumbs), I found a certain delight in taking the two tablespoons of crumbs at the bottom of the bag, adding milk to it and eating it like cereal crumbs!

Taste

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle smells entirely like mint. As one who loves chocolate mint, the smell of peppermint is entirely recognizable. There is almost nothing chocolate to the aroma of the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle, though it still manages to insinuate the scent of brownies. There is something to the scent of brownies that is not chocolate, but is distinctly the scent of brownies and that is captured perfectly in the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle.

In the mouth, the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle has the immediate and impressive flavor of mint. The chocolate flavor comes in as a secondary flavor, sublimated to the cool, clear, peppermint flavor. The mint flavor finishes with the chocolate and the chocolate and chocolate brownie flavor is flavorful enough to impress those who love brownies. As one salivates, the chocolate flavor is fleshed out. Because these are crispy, they never quite take on the expected flavor of a brownie, but they are the exact flavor experience one expects from a chocolate cookie. As a result, the Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle blends in the mouth to take on the well-rounded flavor of a mint chocolate cookie.

The Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle leaves a slightly dry aftertaste in the mouth, much like what one gets when eating a cookie. It is nowhere near as dry as one might think for a cookie, but quite a bit drier than a brownie’s usual aftertaste.

Nutrition

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is a baked sweet, so one ought not to be living off it. The Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle pieces are made primarily of sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, and cocoa. There are, surprisingly, no unidentifiable ingredients in this food product and nothing that seems at all artificial (in fact, this is one of the few mass-produced product I have reviewed where the ingredients list reads more like a recipe than a chemical equation!). The bag of Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle carries an allergy warning for wheat, eggs, soy, and milk.

Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle has 120 calories per serving, 35 of which are from fat, though it is tough to stick with the somewhat nebulous serving size of 28 grams. The 4 grams of fat represent 6% of the recommended daily value of fat and 5% of the daily recommended saturated fat; there are no trans fats in this Brownie Brittle. As well, there are 95 milligrams of sodium and 14 grams of sugars (21 total grams of carbohydrates). There is a gram of protein and 4% of one’s RDA of Iron in a serving of Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle, but there are no other real nutrients in these.

These are not nutritious, but have nothing bad in them, so they make for a wonderful snack!

Storage/Clean-up

The Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle stores just fine in its bag, breakage aside, and as long as they are kept in a cool, dry (preferably dark) place they ought to last for a few months. The bag I received today directly from the company bore a September 15, 2014 expiration date.

Unless one really crunches down sloppily on these or lets the few Mint Chocolate Chips in them melt, cleanup ought not to be an issue. If it becomes an issue, consult a fabric cleaning guide. Chocolate stains might be a problem, but again, it only becomes an issue if it gets melted. The rest of the brownie brittle very easily may be wiped up. This product generates quite a few crumbs, but they are pretty easy to clean up.

Overall

Sheila G’s Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle are a delicious snack that is worth trying. While I might be biased in favor of chocolate mint products, I can honestly say that Sheila G’s execution of those flavors is accurate and fun. The mint chocolate chips in this Brownie Brittle are flavorful and do not have any hint of waxiness that mass produced chocolate often possesses. The Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is, essentially, a high-quality cookie that is a nice treat; one only wishes they were less breakable so one might enjoy the full bag better!

For other chocolate mint snacks, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Ferrara Milk Chocolate Peppermint Orange
Edy’s Mint Cookie Crunch
Jelly Belly Mint Chocolate Dips

8/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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When You’re Expecting Peanut Brittle And You Get Bagel Chips . . . Sheila G’s Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle.

The Good: Does not taste bad, Generally inexpensive
The Bad: Low on nutritional value, No zest/purpose, Not terribly sweet
The Basics: Sheila G’s Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle are a somewhat pointless snack that is unlikely to thrill brownie lovers and makes me wonder what the point is.


When I was in high school, I worked on a science project: the Male Pregnancy Project. I was designing a pouch for men that would include grafted uterine tissue inside a Gor-Tex “backpack” and a tapeworm-style filtration system that would connect the circulatory system of the parent to the unit. As I became obsessed with the project, my biology teacher pulled the plug on the concept because he could not see the point. After all, what is the point in a world suffering from the effects of overpopulation, of introducing a method of making more children? And what is the point of a male pregnancy project when women exist? While I began to justify the project as a way for gay couples and infertile women to carry children to term, the point was never lost on me; the applications were severely limited and utterly redundant. I begin my review of Sheila G’s Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle because as I consider the product, I am left feeling a sense of wonder over how the product ever made it into mass production.

After all, we have brownies and it’s not like they aren’t a wonderful and well-conceived snack on their own. And I’ll admit, I was very surprised by the product initially; with a name like Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle, I anticipated something like a peanut brittle where the peanuts were replaced by chocolate chips. That is, alas, not at all what the Brownie Brittle is. Instead, Sheila G’s Brownie Brittle is very much like the overcooked bits of brownies one finds stuck at the bottom of the pan when one does not grease the pan right. This is more like pita chips or bagel chips than they are analogous to either peanut brittle or sweet and delightful brownies.

Basics

Redefining the nature of traditional brownies, Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle are 1/8 – 1/4" thick chips that vary completely in length and width that are fairly smooth on one side (like the slightly glazed top of a brownie) and textured on the bottom, like a cookie or toasted bagel top. Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle come in a 4 oz. bag. According to the nutrition facts, a serving of Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is six pieces (28 grams) and there are four servings per container. The bag we picked up for Christmas bore that out exactly, though the different sizes of chips with their varied shapes make it very hard to get exactly twenty-eight grams worth of chips out of any six random chips.

For those who have never had Brownie Brittle before, Brownie Brittle are flat, hard chips that are similar to bagel chips. Moisture - or saliva - dissolves Brownie Brittle on the tongue. The first real strike against the Chocolate Chip Brownie Bites is the lack of frequency of chocolate chips. Only one in about seven Brownie Brittle pieces in our bag actually had embedded chocolate chips in it.

Ease Of Preparation

Unlike making brownies from scratch, Brownie Brittle is easy to prepare. Simply open the resealable bag and remove six pieces and consume. There is no other preparation needed; this is a ready-to-eat product.

Taste

Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle smells exactly like fresh-baked brownies. Opening the bag takes anyone who has smelled brownies instantly back to a time and place when brownies were made fresh for them! The smell is distinct and chocolatey and inviting.

On the tongue, the Brownie Brittle is exceptionally dry. The flavor is only slightly chocolatey, as one might expect from a product based on overcooked brownie scrapings. As the saliva breaks down the snack, the flavor of chocolate comes out a bit and the Brownie Brittle takes on the flavor, but not the texture, of a very standard milk chocolate brownie.

The Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle leaves a slightly dry aftertaste in the mouth, much like what one gets when eating a cookie.

Nutrition

Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle is a baked sweet, so one ought not to be living off it. The Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle pieces are made primarily of sugar, enriched bleached wheat flour, and cocoa. There are, surprisingly, no unidentifiable ingredients in this food product. The bag of Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle carries an allergy warning for wheat, eggs, soy, and milk.

Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle has 120 calories per serving, 35 of which are from fat, though it is tough to stick with the somewhat nebulous serving size of 28 grams from just six pieces. The 4 grams of fat represent 6% of the recommended daily value of fat and 5% of the daily recommended saturated fat. As well, there are 95 milligrams of sodium and 14 grams of sugars (21 total grams of carbohydrates). There is a gram of protein in a serving of Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle, but there are no other real nutrients in these.

These are not nutritious, so if you were thinking of living off them, you might want to reconsider.

Storage/Clean-up

The Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle stores just fine in its bag and as long as they are kept in a cool, dry (preferably dark) place they ought to last for quite some time. That said, the bag that appeared in my stocking this Christmas had a late December 2013 expiration date.

Unless one really crunches down sloppily on these or lets the few chocolate chips in them melt, cleanup ought not to be an issue. If it becomes an issue, consult a fabric cleaning guide. Chocolate stains might be a problem, but again, it only becomes an issue if it gets melted. The rest of the brownie brittle very easily may be wiped up.

Overall

Sheila G’s Chocolate Chip Brownie Brittle are a redundant, somewhat pointless treat. The concept is easy to replicate on one’s own (simply spread out the brownie batter on a much thinner surface when cooking the brownies) and seems to be based on a cultural tradition of which I am not a part; the packaging mentions fighting over corner pieces of brownies – everyone I know fights over the soft, gooey center brownie and loathes the crispy outer edges when the brownies are overcooked inadvertently. Ultimately, there is no zest or purpose to these; they are not easier to eat than regular brownies, not more nutritious than the standard brownie and not easier to prepare than other prepackaged brownies. Ultimately, it is a culinary experience that is a severe letdown; it tastes like pan scrapings without anything distinctive or indispensible from this incarnation of brownies.

For other sweet snacks, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Cadbury Screme Eggs
Quaker Vanilla Creme Brulee Popped rice snacks
Special K Protein Dark Chocolate Granola Bars

1.5/10

For other food or drink reviews, please visit my Food And Drink Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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