Skip to main content

Katharine Hepburn's Brownies

4.4

(105)

This image may contain Food Dessert Chocolate Bread Cookie Biscuit and Brownie

The best recipe I have for brownies comes from a friend who got it from a magazine article about Katharine Hepburn. It is, apparently, her family's.

Ingredients

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate and take the saucepan off the heat.

    Step 2

    Stir in 1 cup sugar, add 2 eggs and ½ teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well.

    Step 3

    Stir in ¼ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. (In the original recipe, 1 cup chopped walnuts is added here as well.)

    Step 4

    Bake the brownies in a buttered and floured 8-inch-square pan at 325°F for about 40 minutes.

    Step 5

    You can cut these brownies into squares, once they have cooled, and eat them out of the pan, but it is so much nicer to pile them on a fancy plate, from which people are going to eat them with their hands anyway. If you want to smarten up your act you can put a square of brownie on a plate with a little blob of créme fraîche and a scattering of shaved chocolate.

"A Harried Cook's Guide to Some Fast Food" by Laurie Colwin from Endless Feasts Modern Library

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Make these cookies for an after-school snack, midday treat, or gift for friends and neighbors.
With the sweet and nutty flavor of ube, these cookies taste like they’ve been dunked into a glass of milk.
These soft butter cookies are made with mooncake molds, reminiscent of block print stamps from Jaipur.
Serve a thick slice for breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up.
You can enjoy these madeleines with just powdered sugar—or decorate them with a colorful white chocolate shell.
Yes, brownies can—and should—be made with white chocolate.
A plant-based take on a retro Southern dessert.
These brownies feature a delightful combo of warm spices, black tea, and strong coffee.