Recreating The World’s FIRST Brownie (Palmer House Brownie)

Illinois is my home state and I consider myself pretty versed in the famous foods that come from this area, specifically from Chicago, the city in which I reside. We all know about Italian beef, pizza, popcorn and hotdogs as staples in Chicago food tradition, so I was astonished when I recently learned that the ever-popular BROWNIE was invented right here in Chicago. That’s right... the brownie was invented in the Midwestern united states. I would have guessed it to be a product of European exploration/colonization when cocoa was brought back from the “new world,” but yeah, that’s not a thing.

Nobody is sure who actually invented the brownie, but the credit goes to Bertha Palmer for directing the production of the portable chocolate treat as a snack that was served during the 1893 World’s Fair. Five years later, after the recipe came to prominence and was shared by the masses, the first brownie recipe was published in the Sears Roebuck Catalog - a big deal at the time. Seeing as the O.G. recipe is over a century old, I felt that there was room for improvement.

Below you’ll find the original recipe that I’ve transcribed from the Palmer House website, the second recipe is my take on an updated, more “fudge-y” brownie. I prefer my brownies rich and dense, so we’re going to use a pastry chef trick to get that end result. Let’s bake. 🤘🏼 Adam

Yield: 12 Brownies

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Adam's "New" Palmer House Brownies

Ingredients

Brownie Mix

• 250g Dark Chocolate (1.5 cups)
• 150g Milk Chocolate (1 cup)
• 260g Unsalted Butter (1 1/4 sticks)
• 4 Whole Eggs
• 670g Sugar (3 cups 3 Tbsp)
• 250g Water (1 cup)
• 3g Kosher Salt (1 tsp)
• 4g Vanilla Extract (1 tsp)
• 170g Bread Flour (1 1/4 cups)
• 50g Cacao Powder (1/2 cup)
• 170g Walnuts, roughly chopped (1 1/2 cups)

Apricot Preserves

• 2 pounds Apricots (1000g)
• 1 cup Sugar (200g)
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice (60g)
• 1/2 cup Water (118g)

Apricot Glaze

• 1 cup water (236g)
• 1 cup Apricot Preserves *see above* (190g)
• 1 tsp Unflavored Gelatin Powder (3g)

Instructions

Brownie Mix

1. Preheat oven to 350F and let it charge with heat while you prep. At least 30 minutes.
2. Sift cacao powder and bread flour together.
3. Melt Dark chocolate, Milk chocolate, and Butter in a double boiler. Once melted, set the whole thing aside off the heat while we work on the next steps.
4. Place the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whisk until doubled in size and lightly frothy, turn the machine off and leave it in place.
5. Add the sugar to a medium sauce pan before pouring the water on top. On low-medium heat, take the temperature of the sugar water mixture to 250F. This takes time, but once the sugar begins to heat it jumps in temperature fast, be watchful. Turn the stand mixer back on medium-high then slowly stream the melted sugar into the eggs. Bump the speed up to high and whisk for 10 minutes, until the egg mixture is pale in color and looks like loose taffy.
6. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and pour in the melted chocolate mixture, vanilla extract, a pinch of kosher salt and mix until smooth with a rubber spatula. Add the sifted flour cacao mixture to the stand mixer bowl of chocolate then run the machine on medium just until the batter is smooth once more.
7. Pour then spread the batter into a greased and parchment-lined 9x13 baking dish. Evenly disperse then gently press the walnuts into the brownie batter and bake for 50 minutes.
8. Remove the brownies from the oven, brush a light layer of the apricot glaze and let cool completely before slicing. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and CRUSH!

Apricot Preserves

1. Wash the apricots under cold running water, half them then remove the pit. Slice the apricots into 8 pieces each.
2. Add the apricots to a large sauce pan, pour the sugar on top and mix until the fruit is coated fully the add in the lemon juice. Bring the apricots up on medium-low heat until simmering mixing constantly. Skim the foam from the top and discard as it rises. Cook down until the preserves pass the “drip test” on a cold plate.
3. Let the preserves cool slightly then store in a sealable container in the fridge.

Apricot Glaze

1. Mix together water, preserves and unflavored gelatin in a saucepan, mix thoroughly and bring to a boil for two minutes. USE HOT. Special Tip: The brownies are easier to cut if you place in the freezer for about 3-4 hours after glazing.

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Original "Palmer House" Brownie

Ingredients

• 14 ounces Semi Sweet Chocolate
• 1 pound Butter
• 12 ounces Sugar
• 4 ounces Flour
• 8 Eggs
• 12 ounces Walnuts, crushed
• Vanilla Extract

Apricot Glaze

• 1 cup Water
• 1 cup Apricot Preserves
• 1 tsp Gelatin

Instructions

Brownie Batter

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Mix the sugar and flour together in a bowl. Combine chocolate and flour mixtures. Stir 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs and continue mixing.
3. Pour mixture into a 9x12 baking sheet. Sprinkle walnuts on top, pressing down slightly into the mixture with your hand. Bake 30-40 minutes.
4. Brownies are done when the edges begin to crisp and has risen about 1/4 of an inch.

Apricot Glaze

1. Mix together 1 c. water, 1 c. apricot preserves, and 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin in sauce pan. Mix thoroughly and bring to a boil for two minutes. Brush hot glaze on brownies while still warm.

Adam's Notes

• When the brownie is properly baked, it will remain “gooey” with a toothpick in the middle due to the richness of the mixture.
• This recipe is not written the best, but that's how they rolled in the late 1800s. You got this!

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