Outstanding Baked Good, Baking Ingredient or Cereal 2009: Mari’s Caramel Sea Salt Brownie

Mari Tuttle of Brooklyn-based Mari’s New York always had a passion for food, but her first career was as an award-winning product designer, creating items for OXO Good Grips and L'Oreal. She was also design director for Cynthia Rowley and Ilene Rosenzweig's home line at Target.

Shifting her focus, Tuttle received her professional baking experience at Balthazar Bakery in New York City and eventually became Balthazar's director of bakery operations. In 2006, she launched her own company with her line of brownies.

The one-ounce, two-bite brownies are baked from scratch using a caramel sauce that is woven throughout the all-natural brownie. It is made using premium ingredients including Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract and topped with a sprinkling of Cyprian sea salt to create a sweet and savory treat. Also included, explains Tuttle, is “bittersweet chocolate, grade-A butter, white and dark brown sugars, plus lots and lots of love.”

The company’s signature baton boxes add a distinctive touch to the product. “We wanted the packaging to be as tasty as the brownies themselves and to be worthy of gift giving,” explains Tuttle. “To me, brownies have been the unsung hero of the chocolate world for a long time. Who doesn't love a brownie? We wanted to elevate their status and give them a platform on which to shine.” Suggested retail price: Ranges from $2/individual brownie to $60/2-dozen assortment. marisny.com.–S. Segrest