Tuesday Tips: How to Cut Brownies

Tonight Mabzie and I - OK, mostly Mabzie- baked brownies (I posted my favorite brownie recipe here) and gingerbread bars for our quilt guild picnic tomorrow evening.

I used to cut my brownies with a metal knife, rushing things, as I tend to do, by cutting them as soon as possible after removing them from the oven. Then someone told me to try cutting them with a plastic knife while still warm, but not hot. So I tried letting them cool a bit (a test of my patience) and using one of the little serrated plastic knives like you use at a picnic, or at McDonald's. Guess what? Not only did the brownies look better, but this method eliminated the problem of scratches on my brownie pan. Since then, I have discovered that the hard plastic spatula that came with my mini food chopper works even better! Another common suggestion for easier and neater brownie cutting is using a pizza cutter. I tried that and found it difficult to get the round blade into the edges of the pan.

You'll also notice that I like to cut the edges off because I think they look better on a platter that way. Plus, Mabz loves the edges and eats them right out of the pan!

Other great tips are available around the web:

• Amy of The Finer Things in Life shows a comparison between the metal knife and plastic knife methods. 
• Taste of Home offers troubleshooting tips for brownie baking and more, so much more that there's...
• page 2 of Baking Better Brownies, which includes readers' tips and links to recipes.
• About.com's All About Brownies offers some unique serving suggestions.
• Land O' Lakes Dessert Bar Tips include how to cut brownies into cute diamond shapes.

Here are our treats all wrapped up and ready to go:

The pink you see showing through is polka dot tissue paper. Instead of having seasonal platters, I use this cookie plate, which has a Christmas design etched on the back, all year long! I just change it up with tissue paper, doilies, fabric, or whatever makes it work for the occasion, and nobody knows the difference. Well, I guess they will now... Come to think of it, fabric would've been more appropriate for this picnic, wouldn't it?