Sunday, August 03, 2008

How to cut 100 brownies from 1 pan

When a relative mentioned the brownies she bakes for her shop, I peppered her with questions:
  • What is your cost per pan? About $6.

  • Do you make it all from scratch? No--3 boxes mix, plus add-ins.

  • How many servings? 24 jumbo squares or 100 tea-size bites when baked in a 2" deep pan.

I can't divulge her secret recipe, but I can share how she ensures a consistent yield:

A RULER.

This 11 x 15" Wilton baking pan is easily divided into 100 tall bites. For picture-perfect edges, use a plastic knife to saw with an up-and-down motion.

(Betty Crocker brownie mixes buy-one, get-one-free at Publix this week--not a bad price for chunks and nuts.)

24 comments:

Edi said...

I'm amazed that you could get one hundred pieces from one pan...more amazed that someone could eat JUST 1/100th of the pan.

Meredith said...

I was prepared to make TWO pans, thinking the size of 1/100th of a pan would be tiny.

But when you bake these in a 2.5" cake pan, they come out taller than they are wide--and they are so dense and moist, one is really all you could eat.

Especially at a dessert thing when there will be several items plus ice cream.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I could eat more than 1/100 of a pan - I don't care how dense they were! With ice cream! And tastes of other goodies!

May I ask why you are making so many brownies?

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

I'd love to show you how to eat 100 brownies from 1 pan. Mmmm. I've been so good lately and would love to be bad with those right now! : )

Steph

Christi said...

I just baked brownies this afternoon. I'm glad to know this secret; it'll come in handy this Christmas season when I host a desert party.

Amy said...

I always use a plastic knife- that is the only way to get clean edges. I would love to know that secret recipe though :)

Love me some brownies!

Alice Gunther said...

As always, you are a genius.

(I could really go for one of those neat little brownies right now!)

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this! I never get enough brownies from a pan - especially for church potlucks. This will come in very handy. :)

Shannon said...

A plastic knife - who'd've thunk it? :)

Meredith said...

Oh, this is all my husband's aunt's expertise! She is an accountant by trade, and I knew she would have figured out the cost & output exactly.

She also thinks the Wendy's plastic knife is superior for brownies : )

Anonymous said...

a plastic knife for clean edges Lord? THANKS Y'ALL!

Looks Delicious! GOT MILK?

Latrice
Working mama in the NW!

Nancy said...

Brownies are the reason you can always find a plastic knife in my silverware drawer. Works like a charm every time. I must admit that I too have been known to use a ruler when cutting desserts.

Anonymous said...

oh love that, I'm going to try it

love your blog, not sure how I got here now but am adding you to my sidebar, I too am very frugal and after 14 yrs of marriage and frugality am really starting to see the rewards, ie no debt and two houses...

happy blogging!

Sarah

Miss G said...

wow! Really, really cool! thanks so much for sharing! Kelly

Miss G said...

meredith, thanks so much for stopping by and commenting! Sadly I realized the other day that I may be returning those napkins to hobby lobby and hunting for different ones. They're the "right color blue" but when I held them up to the table runner fabric the other day I realized that those two "right color blues" actually clashed pretty badly! hmm . . . kelly

Cat said...

This could be a yummy trick to know! It's hard to beat boxed brownie mixes for taste and texture, IMO, for a standard brownie, at least. So it's neat to know that a bakery uses them, too. Now I need one of those size pans...what are the odds of finding it at Goodwill? (We're woefully short on other thrift stores in this area.) Thanks for sharing the plastic knife trick, never would have thought that!

Sarah @ Fiddledeedee said...

What a great idea!

Thank you so much for the link. I must tell you that I am a little starstruck, having loved your blog for a while now!

I think I'll be heading back to Publix for more brownies before the sale is over. When fall begins, it seems like there is always some event that I need to take brownies to!

Tom said...

A great tip! Thanks for posting this. It will be great for those bake sale fund raisers.

Diane said...

LOL - I'm also a CPA and never thought to use a ruler - I think another OCD-like habit has been born!

The plastic knives work great, but I think it's the up-and-down motion that really helps me.

An Adventurer in the World said...

A Wendy's knife! Who'd have thought?

Have you ever made cutting templates Meredith?

i haven't but always think I should.

Bought clearanced pre-made cookie dough, the kind that you break off squares, and wondered hmmmmm, how could I make a square template to press the lines into a sheet cake before cutting?...

deb meyers

An Adventurer in the World said...

A Wendy's knife! Who'd have thought?

Have you ever made cutting templates Meredith?

i haven't but always think I should.

Bought clearanced pre-made cookie dough, the kind that you break off squares, and wondered hmmmmm, how could I make a square template to press the lines into a sheet cake before cutting?...

deb meyers

Anonymous said...

if you turn them out on parchment paper or the counter top you can cut them cleanly with dental floss.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this great hint. I am on the look out for this pan. How long did you cook the three boxes of brownie mix for this size pan?

annies home said...

we had to do this just the other day for my sons class. Had lots of fun and teacher commented they were just the right size