Katherine Hepburn Brownies

This is one of the easiest desserts to make. I like to keep all of the ingredients on hand so I can make a batch of these whenever I need a quick dessert to take somewhere. It's a great dessert for dinner parties too because you can prepare the batter in advance, then bake them off when you're ready. As you can see from my pic, they're not the prettiest dessert as they tend to fall apart when I cut them. That is easy to solve though by serving them with a giant scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla on top. I guess I could try lining my brownie pan with parchment paper too. If you do that, let me know how it turns out. This recipe comes from Epicurious and has been re-posted on various blogs. I did add my own touch with a sprinkle of sea salt on the bottom of the pan. Enjoy!

Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate*
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• sea salt for sprinkling the pan

Prep

1. Preheat your oven to 325°
2. Butter and flour an 8-inch brownie pan. To do this, I use a paper towel to spread the butter around the entire surface of the pan. Then I add about 2 TBSP of flour and tap it around the pan until it's all coated, emptying the excess flour into the sink. If you're adding the extra sea salt, sprinkle it in the bottom of the pan on top of the flour. Just a touch will do - maybe 1/4 tsp total.

3. Set a medium-sized saucepan over low heat and melt together your 1 stick of butter and 2 squares of unsweetened chocolate. Once it's melted and smooth, take the saucepan off the heat.

4. Measure out 1 cup of sugar and make sure to level off the top of your measuring cup. Add the sugar to your chocolate and butter and stir.

5. Crack each of your eggs into a small bowl, then add them to the chocolate mixture.
6. Add your 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and beat the mixture well with a whisk.
7. Measure out your 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, making sure to level off like you did with the sugar. Add that to the chocolate and add your 1/4 teaspoon salt. (In the original recipe, 1 cup chopped walnuts is added here as well.)

8. Stir the batter until smooth and pour into your prepared brownie pan. You can stop here and bake it off when you're ready if you need to. Warm brownies are always better.

Cook

1. Bake the brownies in your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. Mine went for about 35 minutes but check yours after 30 by taking them from the oven and sticking a toothpick into the middle. If the toothpick comes out wet with batter, keep cooking. If it's pretty clean, they're ready!
2. Allow them to cool in the pan for 30 minutes or so, then cut them into squares and serve with vanilla ice cream.

Notes

* Unsweetened chocolate - I use the Baker's brand of this. You can find it on the baking aisle near the chocolate chips.