High Times

The local civic club of which I am a member sponsored an event Friday night for which I was required to bake a massive amount of dessert. I chose my go-to favorite: Brownie Bites. You take a box of brownie mix (I used four boxes, for a total of 80 Bites), follow the directions for "cake-like brownies," (usually means add one more egg), and pour the mix into mini-muffin tins.

So this time, I bought a different brand (store brands both times. They work great, as long as you don't overcook them.) But it was after a long day at work on Thursday, and I guess I was anxious to get it done. So I didn't read the box too carefully. I thought it was a little weird when it said to add three tablespoons of flour to the mix to make cake-like brownies. But hey, I figured, it all works out pretty good because I don't have enough eggs if I'm supposed to add three eggs to each box. It's a different brand, right, so maybe that's why?

My big genius move is to mix each box of mix up separately, then pour the mix into a big Ziploc bag till I have all four mixed up and ready to go. Then I cut a hole in the corner of the bag and use it like a pastry bag to fill up the muffins. It saves time on transferring the mix to the tiny tins and on cleanup, too -- works out great.

Once I'm done mixing the brownies and put the first batch in the oven (with the Ziploc bag securely in a bowl in the fridge, hole-side up, so it doesn't all leak out), I set about licking the bowl (and the extra that I didn't scrape out so I could eat it.) Mmm, tasty ... and thicker, more fudgey and delicious than usual.

Now, I like to read as I eat. The nearest thing to me is -- what else? -- the brownie mix box. And then I see it: "High-altitude directions (3,500-6,500 feet) ..."

Whoops. I think they ended up coming out none the worse for wear. They were definitely better than the ones I overcooked for this same event last year. These brownies actually looked really nice, with crackley tops. Fortunately the event on Friday was such a success that there were no brownies left over for me to try. But the mix in the bowl tasted awesome.