playing dress-up

I think there is nothing wrong with using the good box mixes.  I took cake decorating as a fun elective and the teacher said she used cake mix always because it was consistent at the way it turned out and she claimed that people liked them because it is such a familiar taste
(Side tangent - this is why the super chains.. which typically have consistent, decent food and standard atmosphere are taking over the US.  Unfortunately people aren't as adventurous as I'd like to imagine them being).  While it's strange to think her customers were spending tons of money on boxed cake, she justified it by stating they were really paying for the fact that those boxed cakes were dolled up awfully pretty.  

I really don't often buy the boxed mixes mainly because they really aren't that economical and like my friend Carlyle says "It's just the pre-measured powder ingredients".  They are convenient for times when you're in a hurry and there's the perk that they turn out consistently for a girl who hates measuring that's pretty awesome.  I do however think that like the pretty cakes the boxed brownies are more fun when they are dressed-up a little.  In a moment of hungry grocery shopping I passed the baked goods aisle and the Ghiradelli mixes (my personal favorite brownie mix) were sitting all nicely stacked with pretty pictures and a coupon hanging stating that they were on sale.  I couldn't help myself, I buckled under the advertising pressures.  

When I play dress-up with brownies I like to put any combination of the following: lavender, sea salt, peanut butter, jam, jelly, caramel, earl grey, bacon, maple, cinnamon, mint, chili, coffee and sometimes even bourbon if I'm feeling sassy.  There are probably plenty more addables I haven't even thought of yet.  One final note I really think that homemade whip cream is a nice touch and it only takes moment by hand as long as you have a bit of heavy cream, a dash of vanilla and a pinch of powder sugar..

I sense that there needs to be a brownie competition soon..

The following are photos of the sea salt, cinnamon, chili brownies I made recently.

blurry photos are making me sad

pie pan brownies get cut like a pie