Portion Size Solution: Bite-Sized Brownie Pan from Wilton

Sarahrae's recipe a few weeks back for Brownie Bites To Go and her strategies for cutting the bars down to size reminded us of this pan from Wilton. Before you roll your eyes and point out that we are perfectly capable of cutting our own brownies, thank you very much, let us say a few words in defense!

Portion control: some of us are better at it than others. Since we're all friends here, we feel that we can admit that we fall solidly in the "others" category. Yes, you're right, we could definitely cut our own brownies down to size, but there's something about having them all perfectly shaped straight out of the pan that makes it seem less like we're depriving ourselves and more like a fun little treat.

Sure, what's to stop us from grabbing a few more brownie bites and negating the whole idea of a portion size? That's where portion control becomes self-control, and we're afraid no pan is going to help us with that! At least with the right portion size, we're halfway there.

All this health talk aside, this pan would also be great for those of us who have a special fondness for the chewy-crispy edge pieces. We also think these individually-baked brownies would end up being a lot sturdier and less messy on a dessert buffet or packed into a lunch box.

What do you think? Would this brownie pan be useful or would it just end up crowding our cupboards?

• Buy This Pan - Wilton Bite-Size Brownie Squares 24-Cavity Silicone Mold Pan, $9.99 from Amazon.com

(Image: Amazon.com)

Looks like a pain to clean. I hate cleaning muffin tins as it is. I think I'd end up using to freeze things, like tomato paste or pesto.

posted by lillies on September 3rd 2009 at 2:33pm
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I don't think the pan would help with portion control, but i do like that it gives you more "edge pieces"

posted by lsk on September 3rd 2009 at 2:47pm
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i was thinking the same thing, lillies! this would make a great pan to freeze purees for baby

posted by Supergaijin on September 3rd 2009 at 2:50pm
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Am sold on the edge pieces idea. I know from bitter experience I will just eat two instead of one though!

posted by Sian on September 3rd 2009 at 2:57pm
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i wish they would make a pan that makes only "middle pieces"!

posted by fardaesm on September 3rd 2009 at 3:03pm
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Looks like another good use for my silicone mini muffin pans. They are a pain to clean, though.

posted by ladidi on September 3rd 2009 at 3:04pm
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Lillies took the words out of my mouth. Great for freezing small portions like purees, soup broth, etc. It would never be used for brownies.

posted by ohiokavr on September 3rd 2009 at 3:12pm
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This makes a lot more sense than the perfect brownie pan. I've been seeing a ton of commercials for it on TV.

http://www.tvtimedirect.com/perfect-brownie-p-2783.html

posted by Comicgeek on September 3rd 2009 at 3:14pm
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I like the brownie from the middle of the pan. In other words, no edges. So, I don't think I'd like this pan.

I also agree that it looks like it'd be an incredible pain to clean!

posted by charise on September 3rd 2009 at 3:32pm
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I've never cooked with silicone before, but I've heard that it doesn't "brown" edges the same way glass or metal do. That may affect the edge quality of these brownies.

Then again, I would never use these for brownies because like fardaesm, I love the middle pieces of brownies and never understood all these gimmicky brownie pans that increase the amount of edges.

posted by wunami on September 3rd 2009 at 3:50pm
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Presumably cooking time would be less with one of these tins... However, if I just want Brownies that are easy to transport, and in small(ish) pieces, then I make them in muffin or bun cases - admittedly you don't get the edge pieces in the same way as you would in one of these pans, but it makes washing up very easy, and as the only exposed layer of the brownie is well cooked (the rest is encased in paper), they travel well without the clumping issues mentioned in the brownies coated in sugar post!

posted by Esther77 on September 4th 2009 at 3:29am
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I use these small silicone pans to make coffee ice cubes for iced coffee. They pop/push out perfectly.

posted by LulieGIrl on September 6th 2009 at 6:05pm
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I have this and it totally sucks. Even with a good spray of pam, the brownies stuck to it and it was a pain to clean...

I much prefer the king arthur flour tartlette pan that has little square holes with removable bases...

posted by jennywenny on September 9th 2009 at 2:30pm
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Wouldn't it just be easier to use a cupcake pan?

posted by Knerq on September 14th 2009 at 9:00am
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