« Dealing with the Spam | Main | Food Allergies - One More Thing to Blame on Mom and Dad »
July 16, 2006
Hooray for Cherrybrook Kitchen's Brownies!
Cherrybrook Kitchen did it again!!! You see, I have a daughter with food allergies and her absolutely favorite dessert is brownies. My home-made brownies are the standby that she takes to every birthday party, school party, potluck, neighborhood get-together, campout, friend’s house, etc. as her safe alternative. It seems to ease the jealousy she feels when everybody else is eating the “dessert of the hour.” I have become pretty good at whipping off a batch of brownies on very short notice. This makes my daughter happy and helps with the whole living-with-food-allergies thing. The problem is that I have another daughter who is allergic to eggs and cannot eat my “absolutely wonderful, you should enter them in a contest” brownies. She sees me bake them often and hears people comment on how good they are. (Trust me, though, I am not a great chef. I just happened to stumble across a good recipe that I tweaked a bit.)
So, I have been trying for years to make an edible, egg-free brownie for my other daughter. I’ve tried many recipes, including FAAN’s recipes, and I just can’t seem to make them work. Cherrybrook Kitchen now has a fudge brownie mix that is egg, dairy, tree nut and peanut free! I made them yesterday and everybody loved them, including my children without allergies and my husband. The look on my daughter’s face almost brought tears to my eyes when she said, “I get to eat brownies now too, just like you guys.” She spends so much of her life hearing, “No, I’m sorry honey, it has (insert allergy here), we’ll get you something else.” I feel happy to say, “Yes, of course you can have a brownie!”
The brownies were easy to make; just add water, margarine and vegetable oil to the mix. It suggested baking the mix for 16 minutes for fudge-like brownies and 18 minutes for cake-like brownies. The brownies seemed too wet after 16 minutes, so I baked them a bit longer. They did resemble cake a bit more than chewy brownies, but tasted good nonetheless. Next time I will try the shorter cook time, let them cool and see if they come out more like a true brownie texture.
For now, my daughter is thrilled that she gets to eat brownies “like everybody else.” I will continue to order from Cherrybrook Kitchen and recommend them to everybody living with food allergies. They are very professional and friendly on the phone and ordering off their website was easy. They continue to add new products all the time. Check them out on the web or call them at 1-866-I-LUV-CBK. I know you’ll find something you like!
Posted by Ann Marie at July 16, 2006 8:02 AM