Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies (TWD)


This week's Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) recipe was chosen by my wonderful friend Lisa of Surviving Oz: Tribute to Katherine Hepburn Brownies. Although Lisa is not a member of TWD, she had the honor of choosing this week's recipes because she won our recent logo contest. If you look at my blog sidebar, you'll see the newly redesigned TWD logo! Isn't it cute? Even Dorie loves it.

These brownies are Dorie's tribute to Miss Hepburn's well loved brownies, which include very little flour compared to most brownie recipes. Dorie spruces them up a bit with the addition of cinnamon, coffee, and chopped chocolate.

I baked my brownies in a 9-inch square pan (instead of 8-inch) so these already thin brownies became even thinner. Consequently, my brownies were completely done after 30 minutes in the oven. Others seemed to have issues with their brownies being under-baked after 30 minutes, but that was likely due to the brownies being thicker in the 8-inch pan, so if you're using the 8-inch pan make sure you leave the brownies in the oven for a few extra minutes.


While these brownies were simple to make, I wasn't the biggest fan. My husband loved them, but the coffee flavor was a bit too strong for me. (Keep in mind I don't drink coffee anyway.) I'm not sure if that's because I substituted instant coffee granules for espresso powder, but I've done this in the past without any problems. Usually, the coffee just brings out a better flavor to the chocolate, but in this case it seems that the coffee flavor was in the forefront (which is fine as long as you like coffee). I'm sure that most people would love these brownies, as they were all gobbled up by my husband's co-workers. Me? My favorite brownies are still the Chipster-Topped Brownies we made back in May.


Thanks Lisa, for choosing this recipe. There are just as many variations in brownie recipes as there are chocolate chip cookies, and I enjoyed trying another brownie recipe. If you would like the recipe, you can find it here. Make sure you visit the TWD Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about these chocolately treats.

* Recipes notes:
- I used a 9-inch square pan and still baked mine for the full 30 minutes and the brownies were not overdone. If you are baking in an 8-inch pan, bake for about 35 minutes.
- I omitted the nuts from this recipe - sorry, don't like them.
- I also used semisweet chocolate chips in place of chopped bittersweet chocolate - not a fan of bittersweet chocolate.
- Wrapped well, these brownies will keep in your freezer for 2 months.
- For more tips, click here.
Posted by Jaime at 6:00 AM
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30 comments:

  1. A happy hubby is a good thing! I only used 1 tsp of coffee and a pinch of cinnamon. I'd rather taste chocolate.
    Your photos are lovely!
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  2. I'm not crazy about nuts in brownies either, so I would also leave them out. Were the brownies dense and fudgey? If so, I may have to give them a try!
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  3. I don't drink coffee either, but my taste buds are so strong, I can taste coffee in ANYTHING. I usually omit it from recipes or find something to substitute it with and make it my own :)
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  4. Sorry that you weren't too impressed with the brownies - but you're right! There are SOOO many brownie recipes out there, so no worries :-)
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  5. Brownies look chocolicious!
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  6. Sorry you weren't a fan of the coffee flavor! But the brownies look delicious! The texture looks perfect!
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  7. The brownies look great :)
    I'm sorry you didn't like them, but they seem perfect for what I like in a brownie!
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  8. These were sooooo good! Yum!
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  9. Your brownies look perfect on the cute little dish!
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  10. I've heard that a bit of coffee/espresso enhances the flavor of chocolate but I'm not a coffee drinker (or care for chocolate) so generally leave it out. I do though love the addition of cinnamon.
    ~ingrid
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  11. Delicious Brownies for the beautiful, talented and smart actress. Perfect Jaime!
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  12. I made mine in a 9x13 pan because I needed them to be very thin for my July 4th dessert creation, so mine were not too gooey either. I omitted the coffee and the nuts and absolutely loved these!

    Love the new logo, too!
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  13. Too bad they weren't your favorite - and even though I love coffee, I still left it out of this recipe.
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  14. Too bad you weren't a fan. They look great. I debated about baking them in my 9" pan, but worried they might be too thin.
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  15. Sorry you weren't crazy about these - I really enjoyed them, though they didn't overtake the top brownie spot!
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  16. I love when brownies have a bit of a coffee flavor, so I'm sure I would be a fan of these!!

    Sues
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  17. The new logo is really cute!

    Your Tuesdays with Dorie posts always has me wishing I baked out of Baking From My Home to yours more. Starting with these gorgeous brownies of course :)
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  18. I also left out the nuts (what can I say? no nuts, no raisins. that's the way I like it).

    Many people said the coffee was very strong - my taste buds must be dead cause I don't taste it at all. :)

    Sorry these weren't your fav. I'm going to have to try the chipster topped brownies one of these days!
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  19. While I liked this recipe, when I make them again, I will probably cut back on both the cinnamon and the coffee. I still ate them, though! Nice pictures.
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  21. I would go with the chipster topped ones as well (they look wonderful). Not a big coffee freak.
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  22. if the coffee flavor overwhelms the cinnamon flavor, that's simply unacceptable. :) they do look awfully gooey-good though.
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  23. You can't ever go wrong with brownies! They look gorgeous - I'm with you on leaving out the nuts. Perfect!
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  24. Well your brownies look terrific, even if they weren't your favorite. They were actually a bit too fudgey for me. I reduced the amount of coffee by half because I was definitely worried about the coffee overwhelming the brownies.
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  25. So glad your husband enjoyed these brownies. I made more last night and they are so delicious.
    AmyRuth
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  26. Sorry these didn't win you over, but those Chipster Topped Brownies are something else! =)
    I love these brownies and yours looks super good! I don't like coffee and used instant espresso powder and thought the overall taste was great!
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  27. Your brownies look just perfect!
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  28. I have made brownies using either cinnamon or powdered espresso but not both. I would think those two flavors might overwhelm one another. I will try the recipe as is to see. The guys who work at the courthouse where mr hubby's office is will eat anything, so they won't be a loss even if I don't care fir them. Beginning in August I will be hosting Crock Pot Wednesdays at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. I hope you will join us.
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  29. I think your brownies look really good! Yours look perfectly baked without being too gooey.
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  30. I loved these brownies, but I'm a big coffee drinker. I've yet to try the chipster topped brownies but they are definitely on my to bake list!
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