It’s all in the presentation

I’ve struggled for years with my limited skill in the baking department.  This is only more evident in recent years as I have been obligated to contribute to school bake sales and class parties.  It was only last  year when I finally had a breakthrough – ok, laugh if you want, but sometimes the most obvious things are the most difficult to remember.

It was Halloween, my son’s school hosts an outdoor Halloween movie night – it is lots of fun, a movie projected on the side of the school, families scattered on the ground on lawn chairs, blankets and some snuggled in sleeping bags. I was on the volunteer committee for snacks.  I figured it would look bad if I didn’t bring something so  I tried my most basic, foolproof (and least amount of washing involved) recipe – brownies. 

Once baked,  I  sliced them into squares and put them into cupcake papers and they looked, well, unappealing.  I realized that these wouldn’t be big sellers at the bake sale table, so I decided to ice them.  I mixed icing sugar and some water and piped tiny skeletons onto each square using a plastic sandwich bag with a corner cut out.  I’m not an artist, and if you looked too closely, you probably would have seen how sloppy the icing job was. 

However, those that little touch of creativity did the trick.  They were one of the first things to go that evening!  I’m not sure if they tasted any good, because I never had a chance to try one, and my son was disappointed because he didn’t get one either.  My concern that night was to move product.  I learned that a little icing can go a long way.