Brownie Bake-Off: Katharine Hepburn's Brownies
Last Sunday, thanks to my new brownie bake-off acquaintance, Sherry, I made a batch of brownies from The Silver Palate Cookbook. Sherry told me this recipe was one of her two favorites. Today I tried the other favorite, Katharine Hepburn's brownies from Liz Smith's Dishing.
I have to admit that I was skeptical. Katharine Hepburn's brownie recipe had made the rounds, but I'd always assumed that the attention they received was more a result of good PR than true merit and great flavor. I was wrong.
Kate's brownies are marvelous. Her recipe is easy and requires just a single saucepan. Originally published in Ladies Home Journal in 1975, the recipe reminds me of my mother's saucepan brownies taken from the same magazine in 1959. But Kate's has a bit more butter, a lot less flour, and twice the nuts, walnuts instead of pecans. They are deservedly famous, just like Kate.
Kate's Famous Brownies
Ingredients:
2 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1/4 pound butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Melt unsweetened chocolate and butter over very low heat in a heavy saucepan.
3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar.
4. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
5. Quickly stir in walnuts, flour and salt.
6. Spread the batter in a well-greased 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the pan to a rack to cool.
Yield: 12 brownies
Dishing, Liz Smith, Simon & Schuster, 2005
--Tracy Schneider
Wayne Fiebick on July 27, 2009 at 04:16 PM
Any recipe that measures butter in units of lbs is going to be good.
Jorge on July 27, 2009 at 06:11 PM
As I recall, not only did she spell it "Katharine," with an A, she got snippy with people who mess that up.
Tracy Schneider on July 27, 2009 at 06:59 PM
Thanks, Jorge! I'll correct the spelling of Ms. Hepburn's first name. Good thing Liz Smith has titled the recipe Kate's Famous Brownies rather than Katharine's Famous Brownies. Or else I'd be in real trouble...
Ken Hahn on July 27, 2009 at 07:04 PM
Sorry, where do the flour and salt come in?
Tracy Schneider on July 27, 2009 at 07:21 PM
Ken, after you beat in the 2 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, quickly stir in 1 cup chopped walnuts, 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Then you're ready to pour the batter into your pan. I love that this recipe is prepared in a single saucepan. You don't even have to use a double boiler to melt the chocolate!
Shane on July 27, 2009 at 11:25 PM
My daughter's first name is also spelled "Katharine" and her feelings were hurt when her grade school teachers would misspell it. Her preference is "Katharine". She'll tolerate "Kate" or "Katie" from us but utterly detests "Kathy".
mary on July 28, 2009 at 04:07 AM
I have been making these brownies for years ever since I saw the recipe in Gourmet in an article by Laurie Colwin. When I make them without nuts, they are called Spencer Tracy Brownies!
J on July 28, 2009 at 05:25 AM
My mother used this recipe, it came from her Tollhouse cookbook (yes, that Tollhouse). When I really need a chocolate rush I add a tablespoon of cocoa and chocolate bits....that is my version of health and sanity food.
Doug on July 28, 2009 at 08:19 AM
I'm not sure what a "square" of chocolate is. Help?
Tracy Schneider on July 28, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Doug, the next time I use a general term such as "can", "packet", or "square", I'll be sure to include a more specific measurement. A "square" is one ounce.
Many of my older recipes use the term "square" as a measurement of chocolate. That's most likely a result of America's early chocolate history; it's earliest chocolatier, Dr. John Baker; and terrific marketing.
For more than 200 years Baker's has been producing chocolate in America. The company began as a small chocolate shop before the American Revolution and became established as Baker's Chocolate Company in 1780.
Baker's produces its baking chocolate in individually wrapped, one-ounce squares. Thanks to the company's extensive advertising in the late nineteenth century, Baker's became a household name, and American cooks began to use the term "square" to mean one ounce.
Today there are many brands of chocolate from which to choose. Most don't sell their chocolate in one-ounce squares, so the term is definitely outdated and confusing.
For the record, I did use Baker's "squares" here with excellent results.
Peggy on August 04, 2009 at 12:05 PM
These two recipes have identical amounts of the same ingredients...one recipe is double the other.
Slight difference in oven temp and baking time.
So aren't they the same recipe?
(Silver Palate and Katerine Hepburn)
Tracy Schneider on August 04, 2009 at 01:09 PM
You're right, Peggy. I'm so glad you brought up this interesting point. The two recipes have virtually the same ingredients. And yet the outcome of the two were not at all similar.
Kate's recipe calls for salt, which I think is an important addition. I've read that professional bakers feel that the use of salt is essential to the success of their chocolate recipes. Kate's recipe also has one full cup of walnuts, a lot more than the Silver Palate calls for. If you like nuts, Kate's recipe is definitely for you.
The small differences in pan size, oven temperature and baking time, surprisingly, seem to make a big difference in the final brownies. I found that the long, slow baking of Kate's recipe in the smaller pan made for a uniformly better brownie.
I hope you'll try them both and let me know what you think!
Kaye on September 08, 2009 at 06:43 AM
I always get confused about measuring flour...if it just says flour does it mean 1)just spooned gently and directly from container into meas. cup or 2)sifted and then spooned gently, or 3) sifted directly into meas cup. I know the sifting vs. spooning can make a huge difference in texture, espec in humid climates. Please address the way to correctly measure flour according to directions in a recipe. Thanks.
Tracy Schneider on September 10, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Thanks, Kaye. As Baking Illustrated notes, "Proper measuring can make or break a recipe." They use the "dip and sweep" method, "dip a dry measuring cup into the ingredient and sweep away the excess with a straight-edged object such as an icing spatula," rather than using a spoon to fill the measuring cup and then sweeping away the excess. For "sifted flour" they say to sift the flour into the measuring cup, then sweep away the excess. But for "flour, sifted," they recommend that you use the "dip and sweep", and then sift. Hope this helps!