Some recipes are just perfection, and this brownie recipe from Katherine Hepburn, first published in  the August edition of Better Homes and Gardens is perfection...

Since then it has been consistently a favorite of food editors, bloggers, cooks and kids, too, because it is so simple to make.

But first, a little trivia about the great lady herself, often imitated but never duplicated, Katherine Hepburn...

Fact 1
Katharine Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut.

Fact 2
Katharine loved to play tennis and golf and was also an amateur artist. Some of her oil paintings were auctioned off in 2004.

Fact 3
Headstrong and spirited, Hepburn refused to conform to society’s expectations of women and she did whatever she thought was right.

Fact 4

This talented performer has won four academy awards for best actress in a film. Her first award was for her role in Morning Glory in 1933. It would take another 34 years before she would win another Academy award. The other movies for which she won Oscar awards as best actress were “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner”, “On Golden Pond” and “The Lion In Winter”.

Fact 5

Katharine Hepburn starred in her final film role in 1994 in the movie Love Affair.

Fact 6

Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were long time companions. Hepburn and Tracy starred together in many films throughout her career.

Fact 7

In 1932 this performer was paid $1,500 a week for her appearances on Broadway. At this time this sum of money was unheard of for young actresses.

Fact 8

She was a natural redhed and as a child, Katharine cut her hair off, wore boys’ clothes and made people call her Jimmy.

Fact 9

She was 96 years old when she died on June 29, 2003. She died at her old family home in Connecticut. She was buried in her family plot at the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford.

Fact 10

Before her demise she requested to be buried with no memorial service. Her wishes were upheld but to honor her long time film career and the impact she had on films, the lights of Broadway were dimmed for one minute during her burial service.

And now for that famous brownie recipe....

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

* 1 stick butter

* 2 eggs

* 1 cup granulated sugar

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

* 1 cup broken up walnut or pecan pieces (for better flavor, toast the nuts at 350 F for about 5 minutes)

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* Pinch salt

Preparation

* Preheat oven to 325F.

* Grease an 8-inch-square pan. (Line it with aluminum foil, overhanging on all sides.)  I used parchment paper instead of foil to make a saddle, spraying both the pan and the parchment paper with cooking spray so they won't stick.

* Melt butter in a saucepan with cocoa and stir until smooth.

* Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

* Whisk in eggs, one at a time.

* Stir in vanilla.

* In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt.

* Add to the cocoa-butter mixture. Stir until just combined.

* Pour into prepared pan and bake 30-40 minutes. (Do not overbake: Center should still be a little gooey.)

* Let cool completely before cutting into squares. If foil lining is used, lift from pan and cut into 16 squares on a cutting board.

Don't make this in a 9" pan, the brownies will be too thin, and if you bake in a loaf pan, they will be too thick.  You really do need an 8" pan for these.  If you don't have one, Nordic Ware makes a really nice commercial one, their quality is always excellent.  

If you have any interest,  here's a link to Amazon for you.