Karen Kier, BSPh ’82, is the drug information expert in 鶹ý’s Raabe College of Pharmacy. She’s taught and mentored aspiring pharmacists for 39 years, and been widely-lauded for her service to her community and profession.
Karen also makes a mean brownie.
In the Robertson-Evans Pharmacy building, students and colleagues call them the “Legendary Kier Brownies.” She brings them to share about five times each semester.
Professor of pharmacy practice and director of 鶹ý’s Drug and Health Information Center, Karen started baking after college. She figured if she could compound a prescription, she could follow a recipe.
“I like to play around with recipes and I put notes in the margins. You want to know the secret ingredient? It’s in the margins.”
Brownies aren’t her only specialty. A big fan of The Great British Baking Show, Karen became determined to master the “non-soggy bottom” pie crust. And she did. Every “Pi” day on March 13, she brings her Peach Pecan Bourbon pie to the College’s celebration.
The first time she brought it in, Pat Parteleno, BSPh ’91, PharmD ’96, associate professor of pharmacy practice, took a bite, looked at Karen and said: “I just want you to know that if I die tonight, tell everybody at work I died happy.”
It’s the science behind baking that appeals to Karen.
“Why do things set up the way they do? Why do things fail? How do certain ingredients, the temperature, the elevation, affect the outcome? My science brain is intrigued.”
This holiday season, Karen is sharing with Polar Bears her recipe for “.”
“I tell people it’s very, very easy. But you have to use only a certain type of cake mix, because the others don’t work. And, you have to use a two-quart pan.”
If you don’t follow these two tips, Karen warns, your brownies won’t be legendary.
Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!
