Baker's Edge Brownie Pan

Most pans make you fight over the corners. This one is built around the idea that a brownie has more good surface than a square pan lets it show. The bottom of the Baker’s Edge is a zig-zag, sectioned layout, so each piece is shaped with two crisp, chewy edges instead of one lucky corner. The batter still goes into a single chamber rather than separate dividers, and the maker says that lets it spread and bake evenly, so every serving finishes at the same time.

It’s a 9 by 12 inch pan made of heavy-gauge cast aluminum with a double nonstick coating. The size is meant to work with most box mixes and with recipes written for a 9 by 13 inch pan. That last part deserves a little attention. The pan is a bit smaller than the one those recipes assume, so a full recipe may sit deeper, and you may need to adjust the amount of batter or the bake time. Watch the first batch instead of trusting the recipe’s clock.

The shape that makes the edges also makes the pan fussier to live with. The walls create narrow channels, so cleanup takes more care than wiping out a flat pan, even with the nonstick coating helping release. The pieces come out as odd, maze-like shapes rather than tidy squares, which is fine for a family pan and less so if you’re plating for guests. If you’re the person who goes straight for the crust and leaves the soft middle for someone else, this pan makes sense. If you love a gooey center, it will rearrange what you like best.