“Oops! I Burned the Brownies”

My daughter love, love, loves to cook (she did NOT get this from me). She is addicted to The Food Network and watches cooking shows every free moment she has. So Saturday morning, she carefully copied down a recipe from our Barefoot Contessa cookbook for “Outrageous Brownies”. Personally, I love my homemade brownies that come from the box, but Haley wanted to start from the flour and the semi-sweet chocolate chips.... so off we went to the market.

I wasn't paying close attention as she mixed the batter with her sister, but when she asked me to help her get it into the floured pan I noticed the consistency was noticeably less, um... gooey than my “brownies from the box” recipe. It resembled thick, dark brown spackle (with walnuts) and we barely got it to cover the bottom of the pan. (I also forgot to taste the batter, so I have no idea if the recipe was followed correctly or not)

When the timer rang on the oven and I slipped the toothpick in, it came out with thick batter (er, spackle) stuck to it, so I reset the timer for another 5 minutes and went back to the party. Guess what happens next in this story?

Yep, black smoke and a horrible smell. I burned the brownies. The brownies my daughters had labored over for at least an hour or more. The brownies all of our guests had been smelling for the last 40 minutes. The brownies that now tasted like charcoal (with walnuts).

Here's what I learned that can help you:

1. Always check your progress. Taste your creation along the way. This means letting others taste your creation along the way too. Testing ideas out on your 'ideal clients' is a great way to see if your brownie-licious products & programs are what your customers are hungry for. That way you can make adjustments to the recipe, before spending too much time & money.


2. Timing is key. If you're super hungry & send your products/programs out into the world half-baked- your clients will get a stomach-ache (and maybe never buy from you again). AND just as important, if you leave your products & programs cooking for too long, they'll end up tasting like charcoal! Yuck! There is a “sweet spot” when it's juuuussssttt riiiiight. You'll get better & better at cooking up your creations and knowing exactly when they are just right.


3. Don't cry over burnt brownies. Luckily, some friends showed up with an Ahh-maaazing homemade ice-cream sandwich creation and hot fudge sauce just a few moments later and saved the day. No matter what happens, remember, don't cry over burnt brownies, you can still enjoy the party, even if your dessert comes out tasting like charcoal. You've learned something new that you can apply to your life. You can laugh about it. You can share your journey to save others from making the same mistake. Your hunger for life experience is what matters most!