Mari’s New York Brownies:
Little Bites Of Heaven

CAPSULE REPORT: Mari gives you the go-ahead to indulge your brownie cravings in a refined and sensible manner. By making individually-wrapped brownies that are 1-1/2” square, you can have your cake and eat it, too. Mari offers happy restraint: Have one compact, deliciously satisfying piece. If you insist on eating the whole box, it’s of your own free will.

These are brownies as they should be: portioned in a manner that doesn’t break the calorie bank. How can you feel guilty eating something so petite? Yet you’ll definitely be satiated, because those few bites are all that one could ask for: rich, chocolatey, complex—and varied. Mari makes brownies in seven flavors, plus three seasonal varieties. You can have it your way with an assorted box or your favorite flavor.

All of the flavors are charmers. Jewel-like in their little cello wraps with colorfully beckoning labels, the brownies tuck into briefcases, pockets, gym bags (yes, you deserve it!) and lunch boxes. Use them as place settings and party favors. For a simple dessert, serve them with coffee. For a gourmet dessert, add a scoop of matching or contrasting ice cream.

In these days of financial uncertainty, Mari’s is a bright light in the gloom of holiday gift obligations. Give six brownie “jewels” in a beautiful box. It’s less than $20, but to a food lover, it dazzles as much as a Tiffany trinket. In fact, we repurposed the stunning coral and white boxes to hold jewelry. Read the full review and see more photos, as we describe each delicious bite.

• Read reviews of more of our favorite brownies and bars.
• Check out Product Pick #2: Mamie’s Famous Cheese Wafers.
• See the Table of Contents of the October issue of THE NIBBLE, plus the back issues archive and our most popular articles.
• All of the Top Pick Of The Week newsletters are permanently archived on TheNibble.com, in chronological order and by product category.
• See our daily notes of interest on Blog.TheNibble.com.

INDEX OF REVIEW

Click on the black links to visit other pages.

• Page 1: Introduction
• Page 2: Mari’s New York Brownie
  Flavors
• Page 3: Seasonal Gourmet Brownie
  Flavors

• Page 3: Buy Mari’s New York
  Brownies Online

MORE TO DISCOVER

• The History Of The Brownie
• THE NIBBLE’s Cookies & Brownies Section
• Other “Top Pick Of The Week” Brownies
• PRODUCT FIND #2:  Mamie’s Famous
  Cheese Wafers
  Make your holiday cocktail parties sizzle and
  discover a creative and inexpensive house
  gift.
• RECIPES: Twelve Takes Beyond Traditional
  Pizza
  October is National Pizza Month. Here are 12
  beauties you can make at home: no pepperoni!

Introduction

Like many people who become producers of artisan foods, Mari Tuttle’s first career was not in the food business, but with a stylish product design firm. It’s no surprise, then, that her brownies are so chic. They’re also complex and delicious—far beyond the Everybrownie simple mix of chocolate and sugar (and often, not even butter but margarine or [gasp!] oil).

Not only are these stylishly conceived (great flavors!) and packaged (wow!); there are some wonderful things about these brownies. First, in a moist, fudgy style, they deliver excellent chocolate flavor, en pointe. There’s just enough sugar to bring out the chocolate notes, without being “sweet”; just enough butter to create the perfect texture and flavor without being “rich.” As in, if you eat a few, you’ll know they were too sweet and too rich.

Second, in squares slightly larger than 1-1/2 inches, they are a perfect size: a small indulgence that won’t break the calorie bank, but four bites of heaven that more than satisfy with deep chocolate and a great hand in pairing other flavors, from coffee, fruit and coconut to gingerbread spice and chile heat.