Katharine Hepburn's delicious family brownie recipe: Take Five
There aren't many people I know - or care to know - who don't welcome adding another brownie recipe to their collection. This one, attributed to silver-screen legend Katharine Hepburn, appears on Epicurious.com with the following note: "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." If you're looking for something simple to take to the next cookout, or just to pass around after a weeknight supper, this fudgy treat is a good bet.
Katharine Hepburn's Brownies
Makes 8 servings
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Cook's notes: After this recipe appeared on the Web site epicurious.com, readers offered the following variations. If after trying the recipe you find that it's too sweet, next time include an ad ditional half-square of baking chocolate - "That will cut the sweetness and will increase the in tensity of the chocolate," the reader wrote. An other commented that if you prefer a fudgier brownie, reduce the baking time. "After 40 min utes of baking, these are like cardboard. I find that 20-25 minutes [depending on the size of the eggs] produces a chocolaty brownie with a moist, velvety texture. If you were not im- pressed by the original recipe, I recommend a second try with this adjustment."
Preliminary: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour 8-inch square baking pan; set aside.
Prepare the batter: Melt together 1 stick butter and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate and take the saucepan off the heat. Stir in 1 cup sugar, add 2 eggs and ½ teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well. Stir in ¼ cup all-purpose flour and ¼ teaspoon salt. (In the original recipe, chopped walnuts are added here.)
Bake the brownies: Scrape mixture into the pre pared baking pan in preheated oven for about 40 minutes.
Presentation: 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. If you want to smarten up your act, you can put a square of brownie on a plate with a little blob of créme fraiche and a scattering of shaved chocolate.
