How To: Prepare a Brownie Pan

I included this tutorial for preparing an 8X8 brownie pan in my Mini Cadbury Egg Blondies post, but this tip is so useful I think it deserves its own post. You can use this method for blondies, brownies, and bar cookies. It adds a little more time to your recipe preparation, but I promise it's worth the extra step. No more slicing through brownies while holding your knife at an awkward angle. No wasted, crumbled pieces because the first few brownies are impossible to get out of the pan in one piece! Simply line, lift, slice, and serve.

**You may read this and think, "What a waste of tin foil!" Feel free to reuse the foil more than once. I would not, however reuse the parchment paper. This tip works best on 8X8 pans, but will work well for a 9X9 as well. Any larger and you risk crumbling when lifting out of the pan.** 

Cut an 8x8 square of parchment paper. You can measure using a ruler or simply trace the bottom of your baking dish.

Spray the dish with cooking spray. Lay two long strips of aluminum foil in the pan, forming an X. I tear a long sheet of aluminum foil, cut it in half, then fold each half into thirds. This forms two reinforced strips. Leave a few inches of foil hanging off the sides to create "handles."

Lay the 8x8 parchment paper square over the foil. Spray the parchment with cooking spray. This parchment/foil apparatus will allow you to lift the entire batch of blondies, brownies, or bar cookies out of the pan (after they are baked and cooled), making it very easy to cut them into neat, even squares.

When cool, use the aluminum foil "handles" to lift blondies, bar cookies, or brownies out of the pan.

Transfer to a cutting board to slice...and sample:)