VERONICA HINKE
author • speaker • journalist • coach
Recipes & Food Styling
Bertha Palmer’s Brownies
The “Brownie” was born in Chicago!
The perfect snack on a Summer Sunday afternoon: Bertha Palmer’s gooey, chocolatey Brownies and ice cold lemonade!
It’s 128 years this summer since Bertha Palmer (yes, of the “Palmer House!”) debuted her fabulous brownie invention in Chicago during the “World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893!” Here is Bertha Palmer’s brownie recipe:
Bertha Palmer’s Brownies
1 pound butter
4 (3.5-ounce bars) semisweet chocolate
1 ½ cups white sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
8 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ½ (8-ounce) package crushed walnuts
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 9- x 12-inch rimmed baking sheet.
Place butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Stir frequently, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching, until chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes.
Combine sugar and flour in a medium bowl.
Add chocolate mixture to sugar mixture and mix well, about 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract.
Pour batter into the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle walnuts on top, pressing down slightly into the batter.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges start to crisp and brownies rise about 1/4 inch, 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove brownies from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
