Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies
Published July 5, 2003
Romulo Yanes for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Vivian Lui.
- Total Time
- About 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
½ cup cocoa
½ cup butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
1 cup chopped or broken-up walnuts or pecans
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
Nutritional analysis per serving
22 grams carbs; 47 milligrams cholesterol; 226 calories; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 15 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 25 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 17 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
- Step 2
Melt butter in saucepan with cocoa and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.
- Step 3
In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt. Add to the cocoa-butter mixture. Stir until just combined.
- Step 4
Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch-square pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake; the brownies should be gooey. Let cool, then cut into bars.
Private Notes
Comments
This has been my go-to brownie recipe for 30 years, even after going to baking school! I agree that using the best cocoa possible makes a difference. These days, I use Callebaut. In the 80s, an acquaintence in Germany to whom I brought some of the brownies, and who considered herself a great cook, asked for the recipe but was never able to get it to work. She kept asking me what she was doing wrong and I was never able to solve her problem. Eventually, she moved to the US and stole my husband!
This is the go-to brownie recipe for so many people, including me, that I wasn’t planning on commenting. However, it seems like all the other people who love this recipe are swimming in a sea of Valrhona chocolate like Scrooge McDuck diving through piles of gold coins. Just wanted all the other bakers getting cocoa powder at Trader Joe’s and Walmart to know that everyone loves these brownies, even if made with regular ingredients. *Everyone* loves fat and sugar. Sincerely, a broke grad student
Bake it like Kate: Food & Wine published this recipe in a dessert book published in the late '80s. They left the method in Miss Hepburn's original rendition. Step 1 calls for the eggs and vanilla to be added to the melted cocoa/butter mixture, and then you "beat it all like mad." This you must do with perfect posture and cheeks sucked in, of course.
Not sure what it is I’m doing wrong but every time I make these, they turn out grainy!
I typically use the recipe I have in NY Times recipe book from late 1980's.. I make exactly as that recipe reads...note, the butter needs to be melted very slowly, like use a melt temp on the stove top. remove from the heat. add each egg and beat inbetween the 2nd egg. add the vanilla and stir well. combine the flour, sugar and pinch of salt and whisk until well combined, then add nuts and stir well. dump the whole thing in the pan used to melt the butt with chocolate. works every time
My son asked for birthday brownies with crispy edges. I had never tried this recipe before, but figured 14,555 of you couldn't be wrong with your five-star ratings. The ratio of crispy edge to gooey goodness was perfect. The ONLY drawback was my inability to remove the brownie from the pan for presentation on a pretty birthday plate. Next time, I will use a layer of parchment in addition to the buttered pan to -hopefully- aid in removal of the brownie in one piece.