Sustainable Pin: Brownie Mix

Like many people, I am addicted to the social pinboard site Pinterest, and I have discovered a lot of great ideas.  And, like many people, I am having fun testing these ideas to see what works for me.  So, I thought we'd start a new occasional column:  Sustainable Pin.  This feature will take a look at a popular pin and rate it on the Fast, Cheap, and Good scale.

Our first Sustainable Pin comes from Fake-It-Frugal, with her fake boxed brownie mix.  Let's show this blogger some love and click on over to her site for the recipe; I'll wait.

OK, welcome back.  The purpose here was to recreate boxed brownie mixes so you have the convenience of the box without the expense.  I can definitely rate this one a winner.  The mix is incredibly easy to make up in bulk and store; as you can see, I mixed up several jars' worth and put them in the pantry this weekend.  They are really easy to grab and mix with the wet ingredients to get a fresh batch of brownies when you are short of time.

The brownies bake up just a little thin, which is common with the boxed mixes too.  I extended the cook time to 25-30 minutes, which may be due to my oven or to the fact that I have clear glass brownie pans.

The Analysis

Fast:  The mixes are easy to make, and this makes a fresh pan of brownies a possibility even in a busy day. I would imagine this would be a nice school night treat for busy families with kids, too.

Cheap:  Our original blogger put the mix cost in at $0.30.  I did not recalculate, but that sounds about right. Even once you add your farm fresh eggs, oil, and organic vanilla (which is how we roll here at FC&G), you should be able to get a complete batch of brownies for less than half the cost of the mix alone at the store.

Good:  We have eaten 3 pans of these in the past four days.  All in the name of testing a pin for you guys.