Monday Missing Munchies - Duncan Hines Oven Ready Brownies

I love brownies.  Technically blondies are my favorite baked good, but brownies come a close second, mainly because of their abundance.  There's really nothing better than a great brownie.

But being a lazy person, the thought of actually making a batch of brownies is unappealing.  So when I first heard about Duncan Hines Oven Ready Brownies, you can imagine my elation.




Now the allure of Duncan Hines Oven Ready Brownies should be readily apparent; they're incredibly easy to make.  The product comes in a tray that you place in the oven and 30 minutes later you have brownies.

It's like Duncan Hines designed it just for me.

And you can determine the consistency that you desire.  If you want fudgey brownies, pull the out sooner and if you like brownies more cakey leave them in longer.  It's literally fool proof brownies, with no mixing, measuring or clean up.

I've had them in my life and they are glorious.  I've had the fudge and chocolate chip varieties.  Actually, when I lived in Las Vegas, I kept some stocked in my freezer along with ice cream pints.  It was part of my snack arsenal.

Something happened and I'd forgotten they existed.  For the past three years I hadn't thought of Duncan Hines Oven Ready Brownies ones.  And then, a few weeks back, they popped into my head.

I frequent three grocery stores regularly.  There's the Safeway that's in my neighborhood, there's a Giant where I run my weekly errands and there's a Whole Foods close to work.  I've literally scoured these stores looking for Duncan Hines Oven Ready Brownies, to no avail.

(And I know I was a fool to look for them at Whole Foods, but after I couldn't find them that Giant or Safeway, I got desperate.)

Of course I was searching for them before I knew what they were called.  I could remember the package and where in the grocery store I'd found them in Vegas, but I couldn't remember the name.

I searched the web, hoping that a) they did exist but b) were discontinued because the plastic tray in the oven caused cancer and c) I might be able to find someone who had a stockpile of the discontinued brownies they were selling at a reasonable price.

That's when I discovered not only their name, but that they were still being produced.  It was quite a depressing moment.

Sometimes the snack that you want the most is the one that you can't have.  it's one of the most frustrating experiences ever.  Being tantalized sucks period, but to know that something exists and being unable to find it is torture on the scale of Greek myths.  And that's where I am right now.