Brownies

A person's preference in brownies can say a lot about that person.  Cakey, fudgy, with nuts, without, and the most important distinction - from scratch or not.  While I know people who swear by a boxed mix, I'm clearly going for a scratch made brownie, and I like them without nuts and the perfect balance between fudgy and cakey.  I made brownies today, mainly to satisfy a cute boyfriend who was sad that the cookies I made the other day were being shipped to a brother.  I've been making pretty much the same recipe for years, with minor changes here and there, and I'm not necessarily looking to change that routine.  But it makes me wonder: who came up with the (brilliant idea of) brownies, and what were they originally like?

Step 1: Heat butter, sugar, and water.

The brownie was first served in 1893 at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, and featured nuts and an apricot glaze, which I've never heard of for a brownie.  Apparently, they've since switched their recipe, perhaps to their detriment.  Anyway, brownies were first served during the Chicago World's Fair, when the owner of the hotel requested a dessert specifically for the 'ladies who lunch.'  The dessert was ordered to be smaller than a piece of pie or cake, and easily portable.  The name "brownie" was popularized in 1887, by the author Palmer Cox (apparently unrelated to the Palmers of the Palmer House Hotel.)  Cox was Quebecois, and his series of Brownie books consisted of verses and comic strips about a group of fairies named Brownies.  How this relates to the dessert I can only imagine.

The Palmer House recipe was a closely guarded secret for many years, although it is no longer, as I've included it below (thanks, internet!).  Interestingly, the earliest published brownie recipe I could find has no chocolate in it.  Instead, the recipe, from the 1896 Boston Cooking School Cookbook - later the Fannie Farmer cookbook, and which you can read online (thanks again, internet) - results in something more akin to a modern day blondie.  A scant ten years later, however, most brownie recipes called for chocolate, and are rather similar to a modern day recipe.  See this site for a little more background.

Stirring in the dry ingredients.

So you know what this means, right?  Besides that I am totally going to go through the Michigan State online library of old cookbooks?  As soon as Matthew and I polish off the Mexican chocolate brownies that just came out of the oven, we're going to try some historic brownies.  I'm interested in seeing how these recipes hold up over a hundred years or so, and also if the hundred-some years have offered much improvement on the original.  So tune back in for that. 

Yum! 

Though kept secret for over a hundred years, the original Palmer House recipe was published in the May 2007 edition of The National Culinary Review.  The recipe reads as follows:

Palmer House Brownies

1 lb., 2 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 lb. butter
1 lb., 8 oz. granulated sugar
8 oz. cake flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 lb. crushed walnuts
1 cup water
1 cup apricot preserves
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin  

In a double boiler, melt chocolate with butter.  Mix sugar, flour, and baking powder in mixing bowl.  Add chocolate mixture, mix 4-5 minutes.  Add eggs.  Pour into 9x12 baking sheet.  Sprinkle walnuts on top, and press down slightly into the mixture.

Bake at 300 for 30-40 minutes.  Brownies are done when they have risen about 1/4 inch and edges begin to turn crispy.  A toothpick will come out with some crumbs.  Remove from oven, let cool about 30 minutes.

In saucepan, mix water, apricot preserves, and gelatin.  Bring to boil, boil 2 minutes.  With pastry brush, spread thin layer of hot glaze on brownies.  Brownies will be easier to cut if put in the freezer for 3-4 hours.

1896 Boston Cooking School Cookbook Brownies

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup Porto Rico molasses (that's how they spell it)
1 egg, well beaten
7/8 cup bread flour
1 cup pecan meats, cut in pieces

Mix ingredients in order given.  Bake in small, shallow fancy cake tins, garnishing top of each cake with one half pecan.

Nestle's Super Easy Chocolate Fudge Brownies

This one is my go-to recipe, although I add a cup of chocolate chips instead of the 1/2 cup nuts.  The batch I made today used a chipotle chocolate mix from Theo Chocolates of Seattle instead of the unsweetened chocolate.  

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp water
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cup flour
1/4 baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat sugar, butter, and water in medium saucepan just to boiling, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  (You could also microwave on high for 4-6 minutes until the mixture boils, stirring once.  I started doing it in the saucepan and never looked back.)

Add chocolate bars, stir until melted.  Stir in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour, baking soda, and salt; stir well.  Stir in nuts / chocolate chips.  Pour into greased 13x9 pan.
Bake in preheated 350 oven for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out slightly sticky.  Cool in pan.  Try not to eat them all at once.