Five-Minute Brownies
Truly, madly, deeply chocolatey and! they just happen to be gluten-free
There are people who suggest that the first person to come up with a brownie recipe was a lady from Bangor, Maine, Mildred Brown Schrumpf, which is supposed to explain the name “Brownies.”
Since Mildred was only born in 1903, and brownies appeared at the end of the 19th century it’s not possible. Also, if that were true, I would hope Americans would have the good sense to have called them “Shrumpfies.”
Any smarty pants who tells you they know the origin story of brownies is misguided. Professional food historians have dug through archives for years to come up with the ur-brownie recipe to no real conclusion. Some claim brownies were a Sears Roebuck invention, but those brownies were more of a molasses candy. Others claim the recipe for brownies appeared in the first Fanny Farmer Boston Cooking School cookbook. It is true. There is a brownie recipe. However, those brownies were more like blondies, with nary a whiff of chocolate.
According to historian Carla Martin, the first brownie recipe found on record is from the Service Club of Chicago’s 1904 Cook Book. The recipe is called “Bangor Brownies,” and that’s where dear Mildred Schrumpf comes in, even though she would only have been 1 year old at the time. Another cookbook published by Leonor Quimby in New Hampshire in 1904 has a recipe for Bangor Brownies to which vanilla and salt first appear in the ingredients. The recipe looks similar to Katherine Hepburn’s famous brownie recipe (Kate’s have less flour), and most basic brownie recipes around today.
Take a look at Carla Martin’s deep dive into the history of brownies and the important role of late 19th and early 20th century home economists. It’s one of the best I’ve read.
Maybe one day we will find the original recipe tucked in some golden coffer buried under a 200-year-old oak tree, but in the meantime, let us thank the universe for the existence of brownies by baking some.
Today’s brownie recipe is naturally gluten-free, which I know will please many of you. I have been on a quest to find the perfect brownie recipe. There is no such thing of course. Especially in a world where one day you might crave a fudgey brownie and the next need a cake-y one. All my brownies however must be chocolatey: densely, richly chocolatey. Why else do we play this game?
If you couldn’t care less whether something is gluten free or not, fear not. The use of almond flour adds tenderness and protein and makes these delicate, but not wimpy. The almond flour may add a small amount of texture, but nothing any child I know has noticed. Maybe it’s because they are so deeply chocolatey.
Did I mention they can be ready in next to no time?
While the butter is melting, assemble all your ingredients on the counter. Measure, measure, measure. Mix, mix, mix. Add chocolate chips, add more chocolate chips, add a few more chocolate chips and about 30 minutes later you will have exceptional brownies.
Five-Minute Almond Flour Brownies
Yield: 16 small brownies or 8 larger ones or 1 really big one…
What You Need:
5 tablespoons (71 grams) unsalted butter, melted
1 3/4 cups (347 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup (64 grams) cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups (144 grams) almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 to 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (Go on. Don’t measure, just pour.)
What You’ll Do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 8 x 8-inch baking pan with Baker’s Joy (what I use), or grease with butter.
Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium bowl. Stir in the sugar, salt, vanilla, cocoa and the eggs until well-blended. You don’t want that slick the-eggs-aren’t-totally-mixed-in look. Shiny, yes. Slick, no.
Add the almond flour and baking powder. Stir to combine. Pour in the chocolate chips and mix.
Spoon the ingredients into the prepared pan. Spread the batter evenly to the edges.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until no longer jiggly in the middle, aka, the brownies are set and a toothpick comes out clean. If you’re worried that the edges are getting too dark, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and drop the temperature in your oven to 325 degrees.
Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. Resist the urge to eat them burning hot out of the oven as the flavors will not be as good. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, freezing them is a-ok.
I made brownies this week with my Secret Life of Cookies podcast guest, Evan Mandery, the author of Poison Ivy: How Elite Colleges Divide Us. We talked about thhe recent affirmative action decision and what it means for colleges and college applicants. Take a listen here.
What are you up to this week? Bosco the Dog has had enough of shaking along with the sky booms. From fireworks to thunderstorms, it’s been a hard week to be a dog. How’s it been for you?
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The brownie: The ultimate dessert. Make them any way you like. Cake-y, fudgey, gluten free, or not, with or without chocolate chips, and or dried sour cherries. Just keep your nuts and frostings for other recipes, please!
I enjoy your columns. A suggested edit: correctly it should be "if you couldn't care less" not could.