Does It Really Work?

G2 loves pancakes. I told you that some time back. He also loves brownies. He loves to eat them and he likes baking them too.

A few months ago I was watching tv and saw a handy, dandy brownie pan advertised on one of those "as see on t.v." commercials. I can't remember how much the commercial said they cost but at the time it sounded like a pretty good idea - a "now why didn't I think of that" things.

When one of those info type commercials catches my attention I try to analyze the product's true usefulness because sometimes what looks like a good idea doesn't always turn out to be so great. One of our local news channels even has a series where they test out new things and gives them a rating somewhat like a school grade, but as far as I know they've not tested the brownie pan. They should. It would surely get an A+.

About a month ago I happened down the cake decorating aisle at Hobby Lobby and there on the shelf was a brownie pan much like the one I'd seen on t.v. The box didn't have the "as seen on t.v." logo on it so there must be other companies out there manufacturing them too.

On that particular day there was one of Hobby Lobby's 40% off coupons in my purse. I'd intended to use it on another item but that other item was on sale and the coupon is only good on regularly priced things. Hobby Lobby's regular price for the pan was $24.99 so the price with the coupon was $14.99. I walked around the store for awhile debating whether or not to purchase the pan. Eventually I gave in and bought it mainly because of G2's love of brownies and the fact that I love gadgets.

Since then I've made at least half-a-dozen - if not more - batches of brownies. With 2 teenage boys around a batch of brownies doesn't last long.

The pan works SO GREAT! I'd recommend it to anyone. Eventually I'm going to try baking some other kind of bar cookie in it to see how that works. I'll let you know.

About a week ago I was in Walmart and walked past their "as seen on t.v." section as I was leaving the store. There was the pan I originally saw advertised. The price was $19.99. In my opinion it's definitely worth $19.99 but if you have a Hobby Lobby near you, wait for the coupon. The $5 you save could be used for brownie mixes or the ingredients brownies.

On Monday I made yet another batch of brownies for G1 and G2 and took some pictures to share with you. (I did take the easy way out and used a box mix but the boys don't mind a bit.)



The pan -

In case you haven't seen the commercial, it has a removable bottom.

Here's the brownies ready to go into the oven. (I accidentally went a little heavy on the cooking spray.)

And the brownies just after they came out of the oven.

The brownies need to cool for a few minutes before you take the separator thing out.

The pan comes with a stand. Once the brownies are cooled you set the pan on the stand and

pop the bottom off. Brownies all nicely cut and ready to serve.

Although it's not happened to me I would recommend putting a piece of aluminum foil under the pan when you're baking the brownie in case any batter seeps through the bottom. It's just one of those things I've always done when I bake a cheesecake in a springform pan and I think it would be a good idea to do the same thing with this pan. Who likes a mess in the oven?