Featured Vendor of the Week; Dawn Lepere of Round the Corner Brownie Company

When seeking out the perfect, worth-every-calorie brownie, one needs to transcend the cake-ish dull flavor of so many brownie offerings and get right to the chewy edges and dense, decadent middle of a made-from-scratch brownie. Dawn Lepere, Owner, Baker and Creative Director of Round The Corner Brownie Company, has found a way to distill brownie goodness to its very essence.

Dawn relocated to Amherst with her husband and daughter 7 years ago. Although she quickly fell in love with the area, her new situation presented a frustrating dilemma on the job front. Her wish to be available as a mother while also providing additional income for her family resulted in stints at part-time jobs. Grateful for the work, but feeling like there must be something more satisfying, she considered a series of ideas for creative projects. Meanwhile, Dawn helped with fundraisers at her daughter's elementary school, and these experiences demonstrated an undeniable fact: people love baked goods. With this inspiration, Dawn set to work on a plan to focus her creative impulse on the culinary arts.

The trick was finding a niche in the vast world of baked goods. Brownies quickly rose to the top of the list as they were already a family favorite and seemed to provide a versatile platform for a variety of delicious flavors. Dawn spent 8 months test baking some of her “core” flavors, and additional flavors are offered seasonally. You can experience the results of her labors in offerings such as Chocolate Chip Brownies, Mocha White Chocolate Chip Brownies, Chocolate Raspberry Brownies and Flour-less Brownies.

It seemed to Dawn that the next obvious step was to create a line of "Blondies," which are similar to brownies except that they are made with a blond batter. You can think of them as deep dish cookies. Dawn tweaked the ingredients and baking time until they achieved the same dense and chewy inside texture as her brownies while remaining golden brown and crunchy on the outside. They are served up in decadent flavors such as Butterscotch, Peanut Butter, Toasted Pecan/White Chocolate and Caramelized White Chocolate.

For those who need to avoid gluten, Dawn has created a line of gluten-free brownies that are virtually indistinguishable from her traditionally baked collection. The gluten-free varieties include Flourless Chocolate Brownies, Caramelized White Chocolate Blondies and Peanut Butter Blondies.

Dawn has also answered the many requests from the vegan community by creating two delicious vegan AND gluten free options; a Chocolate Chip Blondie and a Chocolate Brownie Cake.

Looking to create interest in her indulgent treats, Dawn has proudly become part of the Amherst Farmers’ Market and brings most flavors with her each Saturday. Dawn also provides private baking and catering, so please feel free to stop by and talk to her about her ideas - including mini frosted brownies and chocolate dipped brownie bites - for your next gathering!

Dawn and her brownies have appeared on Mass Appeal, been featured in the food section of The Hampshire Gazette and been showcased on Brittany Murphy's Buzz Around Town on Western Mass News.

Maybe you didn’t know you were looking for the perfect, mouth watering, brownie or blondie masterpiece, but now you know where to find it! 

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