polka dot suitcase

You know when you were a kid, and you’d mistakenly say to that annoying kid on the bus, “I really love Marathon Bars,” and he’d say in his annoying voice, “Oh yeah? Well, you gonna marry them?” And even though you were only ten you knew that was a really stupid thing for him to say, but it bothered you anyway?

Well, I’ve just met a piece of bakeware that I don’t think I’d mind marrying…especially if it were filled with brownies like in this photo. It’s a wonderful, wonderful brownie pan from Baker’s Edge. Its ambition is to rid the world of over-cooked brownie edges. You know how the middle of the pan of brownies are always harder to finish cooking than the edges? Well, this puts an end to that. See its funky maze shape? What’s missing? That’s right. The wide expanse of pan-in-the-middle. I’m in love!

Am I over-reacting to a pan? Possibly. But here’s a dark secret of mine. Years ago, I belonged to one of those mommy groups — the ones that are national with local groups? Anyhoo, one of the ladies had a baby and I signed up to bring her a meal one night. I baked something…can’t remember what…for dinner. Then added some rolls and a bag of salad. Then, because I had little kids at home, too, I baked two pans of brownies, one for my family and one for hers. I couldn’t get the middle to set up. Afraid of giving a new mom salmonella, I kept on cooking them. When they were finally done, I dusted on a pretty design in powdered sugar, stacked everything in a big bag, and hurried over.

Now, as it turns out, I stood knocking and knocking at their front door until the husband finally answered. He gave me a blank stare. I explained who I was, how it was my turn to deliver the meal she’d signed up for…and finally he kind of took my bag with an, “Uh…okay” kind of face. I felt foolish…but nothing compared to how I felt when, that night after dinner, we dug into our pan of brownies and my three-year old nearly chipped off a new tooth. It was a pan of brown bricks. So not only did I deliver a meal they’d forgotten they’d requested, but I probably turned them into toothless new parents, too.

Anyhoo. There’s my Brownies of Shame story. But that’s all behind me now with this new Baker’s Edge pan. No longer do my brownie recipients need to have good dental plans. If you’ve got brownie woes yourself — or even if you’ve just got a house full of edge-loving peeps — check out the pan. And then check back. Recipes coming!