Katharine Hepburn's Brownies

This is the brownie recipe Katharine Hepburn herself shared, and it’s famous for a reason. Six ingredients, no leavening, and barely any flour produce the densest, fudgiest brownies you’ll ever pull out of an oven.

A quarter cup of flour. That’s it. Compared to the cup or more in most brownie recipes, this tiny amount means the batter is almost entirely chocolate, butter, sugar, and eggs. The result is a brownie that’s more like a slice of fudge than a cake, with a thin, crackly top and a dense, gooey center that stays rich even after cooling.

Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together, stir in sugar, eggs, and vanilla, then fold in the flour and salt. The whole batter comes together in one pot with no mixer needed. Optional chopped walnuts add crunch, but plenty of people leave them out and let the chocolate speak for itself.

Pro Tips

• Don’t overbake. Forty minutes is the upper limit. The center should look slightly underdone when you pull them. They firm up as they cool, and overbaking turns fudgy brownies into dry, cakey ones.
• Use good quality unsweetened chocolate. With so few ingredients, the chocolate flavor has nowhere to hide.
• Beat the eggs and sugar well before adding the flour. That’s where the structure comes from since there’s no baking powder or soda.
• Let the brownies cool completely in the pan before cutting. Warm fudgy brownies fall apart (though eating them warm with a spoon is also a valid life choice).

Variations

• Use toasted pecans instead of walnuts for a richer, butterier nut flavor.
• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the melted chocolate for deeper, more intense chocolate flavor.
• Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top before baking for a sweet-salty contrast.