Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies

Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies
From Baking From My House to Yours

prep time: 10 minutes
bake time: 25-30 minutes
Cooling time: at least 30 minutes

Makes 12-16 squares (depends on you….)

ingredients:
¼ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter cut into 8 pieces
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp finely ground instant espresso (the book called for coffee, but….)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup, coarsely chopped pecans
4 oz/112 g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F/170°C.

2. Butter an 8”x8” square ovenproof cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust with flour. Tap out excess.

3. Whisk the flour, cinnamon and salt together.

4. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan over low heat. When the butter starts to melt sift the cocoa over it and add the instant espresso. Stir and continue to cook until it’s all well blended (a couple of minutes). Remove from heat and cool for 3 minutes or so.

5. Using a whisk or rubber spatula, beat the eggs into the saucepan one at a time. Next, stir in the sugar and vanilla – be gentle when adding – don’t beat too vigorously – you don’t want to add air to the batter. Add the dry ingredients, nuts and chopped chocolate. Scrape the batter into the pan.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, at which point the brownies will still be gooey but the top will have a dry papery crust. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the brownies cool for at least 30 minutes.

7. Turn the brownies out onto a rack, peel away the paper and invert onto a cutting board. Cool completely before cutting them into squares. The book says 16, but I like them big, so I made 12.

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