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 monosaturated 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.
Delicious, and to those of you who are wondering(I was too) pecans also work, I haven’t tried walnuts but pecans are great so don’t worry if you don’t have walnuts.
I know this could increase the likelihood of making scrambled, chocolaty eggs rather than brownies, but I skip the step of transferring the butter and chocolate mixture to a bowl. Using low heat to melt the butter and chocolate, and allowing the whole kit and caboodle to cool a few minutes before adding the eggs and vanilla saves dirtying another bowl.
I'm so glad to be reading the comments about roasting the nuts and adding espresso powder. I like to make the brownies in muffin tins, the better to have lots of crispy edges! But whether in a non-stick pan or a generously oiled muffin tin, the cooked brownies won't release. They stick on the sides and bottom and tear up. Any suggestions? Should I "flour" with more cocoa in addition to oiling?