Katharine Hepburn’s Brownie recipe… yep, the real deal! (Updated 10.07.21)

My mom sent me this recipe years ago… she had gotten it from the February 1992 issue of Gourmet magazine (still can’t believe that magazine isn’t still around). I didn’t eat fat, so I never made them. I filed it away in case I ever fell off the wagon. Then one day we were visiting Michigan, we arrived to a pan of piping hot brownies. Whoa… the best I ever tasted, with deep chocolate flavor, more fudgy than cakelike, I was in heaven! Then to read how simple these puppies were to make made my head spin (dramatic once again). Trust me, you won’t make these only once. You’ll NEED them, ha ha, and you’ll make them more often than you should (or perhaps I’m talking about my own problems here, hmmm). They couldn’t be easier, using only 1 pot and 1 8″ pan!

Melt together 1 stick of butter (I know… ugh, but…) and 2 squares unsweetened chocolate*, then take the saucepan off the heat. *See note regarding type of chocolate to use…

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

Stir in 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. (As Gourmet magazine Feb 1992 states, the original recipe added 1 cup chopped walnuts here… I prefer mine without, but that’s up to you)…

Butter an 8″ square pan (recipe says to flour as well, this time I forgot and they came out of the pan easier, so I leave that up to you… to flour or not to flour). Happy Hint: when I use a stick of butter, I put the wrapper in the freezer. When I need to butter a pan I pull the wrapper out and let it sit a minute to thaw, then use it to spread. It works perfectly every time!

NOTE: Update 10.07.21, this works great with an 11×7″ pan as shown below. It’s not pretty but I found it (thankfully) in the cupboard after the disappearance of my 8″ square pan.

Now bake these at 325 for about 40 minutes – When they smell done, they likely are (my oven doesn’t take the full 40 minutes)!

Someone got a little excited about the brownies coming out of the oven, so this is the best photo I can do at this moment, ha ha…

Note 10.07.21: I deleted a blip about substituting cocoa and butter for the unsweet baking chocolate. After trying it, I truly wasn’t happy with the substitution, too greasy. These brownies are good just like they are. Use the best chocolate for best results. I made it with Guittard Unsweet Chocolate Baking Bar, and it was a night and day difference. It was truly amazing!

Another way to take it over the top when serving, sprinkle (VERY LIGHTLY) with a good flaky sea salt like SALTVERK! Oooooo, Mmmmmm, Geeeeee! You just need a teeny bit!