1950s Hepburn Brownies Recipe – An Old Fashioned Brownies Recipe with Walnuts

1950s Hepburn Brownies recipe is an old fashioned brownies recipe with walnuts. This gooey brownie recipe is reminiscent of grandma’s brownie recipe of the past. The original recipe belonged to the famous Katharine Hepburn.

If you are on the look out for an old fashioned brownie recipe with walnuts, then look no farther. This brownie recipe from the 1950s produces gloriously fudgy brownies with the perfect amount of nuts.

There’s no comparing this old fashioned brownie recipe with nuts to boxed brownies. I’ll take these every single time, and there’s really not much to baking them. I promise.

Homemade Brownies with Baker’s Chocolate

Ingredients

The chocolate flavor in Katharine Hepburn’s brownie recipe comes from unsweetened baking chocolate instead of cocoa powder.

• Unsweetened Baking Chocolate – Baker’s chocolate is found in the baking aisle at the grocery store in rectangular boxes. There are different varieties of baking chocolate, including unsweetened, semi-sweet, German, etc. Be sure to use the unsweetened version in this recipe. You won’t use a whole box of baker’s chocolate, just 4 ounces (break off 4 squares or 8 rectangles).
• Flour, sifted
• Walnuts, chopped
• Butter, softened
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract

Here’s a fun trick to play on your kids.

Go ahead and give your kids a little piece of the unsweetened chocolate to try, just for fun. Pretend it’s super delicious, and that you are being the nicest mom in the world for letting them try it. Give them a big piece too, if you’re extra wicked like I am.

It always makes for a good laugh. The look of their face when it hits their tongue and it’s unsweetened is priceless. My Mom played this trick on me too when I was young. She too is extra wicked.

How to Make Brownies with Walnuts from scratch

For the full ingredient amounts and recipe steps for 1950s brownies with walnuts made from scratch, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish well, or line it with parchment paper for easier removal of cooked brownies.
2. Melt unsweetened baking chocolate according to package instructions. I prefer to melt it over a double broiler or in a glass bowl sitting over gently boiling water. Set melted chocolate aside to cool.
3. Sift flour and chop walnuts; mix the two together and set aside.
4. Cream softened butter and sugar.
5. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until combined.
6. Stir in flour mixture to butter mixture by hand.
7. Add melted chocolate, and stir until evenly combined.
8. Pour brownie batter into prepared baking dish.
9. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in center is just barely dry.

Notes About Old Fashioned Brownies Recipe with Walnuts:

• This 1950s brownie recipe belonged to the famous Katharine Hepburn.
• Be sure to start with softened butter.
• Use unsweetened baking chocolate.
• Let the chocolate cool a bit so it doesn’t curdle the eggs in the batter.
• Pecans could be substituted for walnuts or omit walnuts completely.
• Don’t overcook these brownies; stick a toothpick in the center, and if it’s barely dry, then they’re done. You want them a bit gooey.
• If you want to share these brownies with others, I recommend lining the pan with a piece of parchment paper so that they come out of the pan nicely.
• To line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper, cut a piece just a couple inches larger on all side than the pan. Then take your scissors, and cut a 1 1/2 to 2 inch cut diagonally in all four corners.  That way, the parchment goes into the corners easily when you put the piece of parchment in the pan.

Background on 1950s Hepburn Brownies Recipe

This recipe for old fashioned brownies actually belonged to Katharine Hepburn. I acquired the recipe through my delightful neighbor Jerri. She’s a peach. Jerri actually left us a box of these Hepburn brownies hanging from the back door in a bag as a thank you to my husband for clearing snow from her drive.

We opened the box and instantly devoured the box. The brownies were the perfect amount of gooey which is the way I like them. There’s nothing worse than a dry brownie.

Jerri even put a little note in with the brownies about how Katharine always loves scraping the brownies from the pan. I will have to agree with Katharine and Jerri on this testament.

What makes these a 1950s brownie recipe?

A 1950s brownie is a thinner brownie in size with a dense, moist texture.  Plus, to make it truly a 1950s brownie recipe, you have to add the chopped walnuts. It gives just a little texture to counteract the gooeyness.

1950s Desserts

Vintage desserts are some of our favorite to make for family gatherings and holidays. We also like this Old-fashioned Strawberry Tapioca Salad too. Our grandmas and their generation had a unique vision when it came to desserts!

Lazy Daisy Salad 

Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

Watergate Salad

Grandma’s Three Layer Chocolate Squares 

Strawberry Chiffon Dessert

Grandma’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake