The big 3-0

My sister turned 30 last month, and I was in charge of bringing the dessert to her (was-gonna-be-a-surprise) party. I wanted to make something people could just pick up and eat as they were walking around. I don’t love cupcakes and cookies seemed too basic. I know she loves brownies and really, who doesn’t? I thought I could make them look fancier by using a round or square cookie cutter to make the edges nice and straight. However, my brownies were very dense and did not want to be cut with a cutter. I had to use a knife and do my best to make uniform shapes.

I kept it very simple this time and make the brownies from a Ghirardelli boxed mix. This is the only boxed mix I would use for brownies - they are very chocolately, fudgy, and full of flavor. If I had made them from scratch, I would have used the recipe I posted about that comes from King Arthur Flour. I used a half-sheet pan because there was a large crowd. Before baking, I greased the pan and lined it with parchment paper for easy removal.

Once completely cool, I cut the brownies and transferred them to a parchment-lined counter. I had cut out a “30” stencil from some cardstock I had. I did it freehand, but printing out “30” in an interesting font would have been an even better idea.

I used a small sifter filled with powdered sugar, set the stencil on the brownie, and lightly sifted powdered sugar over the top. After carefully removing the stencil, there was the “30” I wanted – no frosting to make or messy piping bags and tips to clean. And I think it almost looks better than frosting (well maybe just my frosting, which never looks great).

I arranged the "30" brownies on a white rectangular platter in neat rows. I cut the scraps into bite-size squares and piled them on a white cake stand. They were a hit!

Happy birthday sis!