I often serve lemon bars as a counterpoint to brownies. Let me know if you need a recipe.

/tricia

Personally, I think cupcakes are messy. For a business meeting I prefer to serve cookies or some kind of brownie (lemon or chocolate). If you give them cupcakes that will necessitate having a fork, plate and napkin or otherwise they'll have frosting on their fingers and faces!

Lemon brownies would be really good along with the chocolate brownies.
I got the recipe here long ago and it is my favorite and easier to make than lemon bars, I think.

Recently I made mini "cannolis" using pre-baked mini phyllo shells. I filled them with mascarpone sweetened with powdered sugar, orange zest, and Amaretto. I topped them with chopped unsalted pistachios and mini chocolate chips. They are a one-bite size so they aren't messy to eat with fingers. And the phyllo cups stayed crisp for hours though I wouldn't make them too far ahead.

Eileen

Here is a link that might be useful: Frozen mini phyllo cups.

Instead of brownies or lemon squares, why not some type of blondie?

Just remembered, AnnT has a great recipe for Hello Dolly Squares, take a look...

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Hello Dolly Squares

I provide dessert for a monthly board meeting my husband attends. I usually send some sort of bar, mini cheesecakes or tarts, sometimes cookies. You could do a shortbread or caramel crumb bar - both would be a nice compliment to your brownies.

Oly

Ellen I agree that most cupcakes are messy, but maybe mini ones with just a dab of icing or a dusting of powdered sugar or a light glaze. And I also noticed a new poster...

I'd still go with a bar type cookie. I love lemon squares and lemon brownies, little shortbread tarts filled with lemon curd, peanut butter whoopee pies, tiny tarts.

Heck, I just like desserts!

I do have a recipe for apple pie squares made in a pan, they're good and different too. The recipe is from Midwest Living and I omit the cornflakes when I don't have them, they're good anyway.

Apple Pie Danish Bars

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1 egg yolk
Milk
1 cup cornflakes
8 -10 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced (8 cups)
3/4-1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 cup powdered sugar
3 -4 teaspoons milk

1.In a large bowl combine flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a liquid measuring cup, beat egg yolk lightly. Add enough milk to make 2/3 cup liquid. Stir well to combine. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture with a fork until combined (dough will be slightly sticky). Divide mixture in half.

2.On a well-floured surface, roll half of the dough to a 17x12-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Transfer to a 15x10x1-inch baking pan and unfold dough, pressing to fit into the bottom and sides of the pan. Sprinkle with cornflakes. Top evenly with apples. In a small bowl combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over apples. Roll remaining dough to a 15x10-inch rectangle. Fold dough crosswise into thirds. Place atop apples and unfold dough. Crimp edges or use the tines of a fork to seal. Cut slits in the top. Brush top with beaten egg white.

3.Bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 50 minutes or until golden and apples are tender, covering with foil after the first 25 minutes of baking time to prevent overbrowning.
4.In a small bowl combine powdered sugar and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk to make a drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm bars. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes 32 bars.

Here is the recipe for lemon brownies from Marilyn, a prior poster. I double the lemon juice because I like them very lemony, and I add a teaspoon of baking powder because I like them a bit lighter and I pour the glaze over while they are still warm because it sinks in and gets "crackly" and I like that. They're good both ways.

Lemon Brownies
Marilyn-Cooking Forum
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter; room temperature
4 eggs
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Zest from 1 lemon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Additional lemon zest for garnish

Preheat oven to 350�. Grease and flour the bottom only of a 9X13X2-inch baking pan. In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar and salt; add butter. Stir together eggs, juice from 1/2 lemon and zest from 1 lemon; stir into batter and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

When brownies are cool prepare glaze by stirring together powdered sugar and 2 tablespoon lemon juice; drizzle over brownies and sprinkle with additional lemon zest.

Annie

Dates are in season and relatively inexpensive at Trader Joe's right now (half the regular grocery store price). I would make date bars (see recipe below, which can be halved, using an 8x8 pan) or perhaps stuffed dates. I've been eating them plain, but I'm planning to make some date bars as well. I want to make Annie's recipes too! I'll save the apple one for when we have apples on our tree again. Lemon brownies sound nice and easy, and I do have lemons now. I liked almost all of Marilyn's recipes, and I have made quite a few of them, but I will use Annie's revision suggestions.

Lucky, it looks like your birthday was yesterday - Happy Belated Birthday! Hope you had a great day. Today is my mother's birthday, and so far I'm handling it better than I expected.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Date bar recipe from Food Network

A nice easy cake from Brittany is un quatre quart aux pommes - 4 quarter apple cake.
Basically, you weigh 4 eggs. Beat together the eggs, the same weight of self-raising flour, sugar and butter. Slice the apples and put them at the bottom of your cake or loaf tin. Pour the batter on top and bake at 180 for about 30 mins. A bit different, easy to eat and delicious.

Vasou, could you share your caramel crumb bar? Thank you. Love caramels.
Annie, will try your apple and lemon bars.

You might also consider Beth's Glazed Lemon Sour Cream Cake, or a fruit pizza, Chocolate Walnut Crumb Bars, Lemon Curd Bars, Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars....

Lots of options that are easy amd "mess free".

Linda

Here's the recipe for the Caramel Crumb Bars - its' slightly adapted from Nick Malgieri's book, The Modern Baker. (One of my favorite baking books)

Caramel Crumb Bar
Crust
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
8 oz (1 cup) cold butter, cut into cubes

1/4 cup flour (add to the reserved mixture)

Filling
4 Tbsp butter (2oz)
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 - 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the two short ends of a 9x13 baking pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil approx 12x16 inches. Lay the parchment or foil in the pan so that it covers the bottom and extends up and beyond the long sides of the pan. Fold down the extended ends.

For the dough, place the powdered sugar, 2 cups flour and butter in a food processor. Pulse to combine, then process until the dough comes together. Hold out 3/4 cup and press the rest of the dough mixture on the bottom and 1/2 inch up all sides of the pan. Bake for 18 minutes, or until lightly golden. Add the 1/4 cup flour to the 3/4 cup reserved dough, working with your fingers until it is crumbly, set aside.

While the crust is baking, bring the filling ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let cool until crust is done.

Pour the slightly cooled filling into the pan and sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over it. Return the pan to the oven and bake 20 minutes more, or until lightly golden. Cool completely before cutting, or chill in refrig or freezer. (You may lift the whole bar out of the pan using the parchment or foil that extends over the sides for easier cutting.) (You will get much cleaner cuts if the bar is chilled first.)

Note: For salted bars, sprinkle approx. 1 tsp of course sea salt over filling before adding reserved crumb mixture. Bake as usual.

Enjoy!
Olympia

At our business meetings, cookies were always a big hit as they were easy to eat and not too messy....peanut butter, choc chip, choc cookies with white choc chips, and my favorite white choc with macadamia nut cookies.

But more people are into health stuff so a fruit dessert might go over better...some kind of crumble or dowdy perhaps....or mascerated fruit over pound cake....

I make Key Lime squares - quick and easy and tasty, and low fat.

I use the recipe on the back of the bottle of Key Lime Juice

I crush a package of graham crackers (low fat), mix with a couple of tablespoons of melted butter, and press it into the bottom of a 8x8 pan.

14 oz can non-fat sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks or 9 T of egg substitute
1/2 cup of lime juice

Mix until smooth and pour into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, cool 10 minutes and chill.

I can get 16 servings from this.

Thank you, Olympia, those sound delicious. I will be trying them this week.

Stuffed chocolate dipped strawberries are always popular and easy to make.

I made these for the first time this week. They are really, really good.

Orange Blossoms

1 C. sugar
1/2 C. shortening
1 egg
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/8 C. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 T. orange zest

Frosting:

1 tsp. orange zest
2 T. frozen orange juice thawed
1 tsp. vanilla
4 T. butter, melted
1 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar

Cream sugar and shortening. Add egg and stir. Add sour cream and 1 tsp. vanilla. Stir and set aside. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add little by little to creamed mixture and stir well. Add 3.8 C orange juice and 2 T. orange zest. Drop onto greased cookie sheets by teaspoonfuls. bake 375 about 10 min. Frost when completely cooled.

Frosting: Mix together orange zest, orange juice vanilla, 4 T. melted butter and confectioner's sugar. Add more juice as needed for spreading consistency.These are very cake-like cookies and are like eating mini cakes.
Check cookies after 8 or 9 minutes.

Also like to make jelly rolls. When the cake comes out of the oven and you spread it on a confectioner sugared towel,, trim edges while warm and cut cake in half length wise pull cake back slightly at each end and then roll up each end so they meet in the middle and you will have mini bite-sized jelly roll slices. You can spread each half with a different jam.