FOREIGN

Who Invented Brownies

Some claim that housewives in Bangor, Maine neglected to add baking soda to their
chocolate cake. Origin story looks like this: Bertha Palmer, wife of Potter Palmer, the owner of
the Palmer Hotel, was the chairman of the Women’s Committee for Expo Managers. When the
organizer of her event asked her to make a dessert specifically for packed lunches at the
women’s pavilion, Palmer went to the hotel pastry chef to make a dessert that was easier to eat
than a cake and smaller than one. The result is a brownie made with twice as much chocolate,
walnuts, and apricot glaze, which is still made in hotels today (you can make it yourself
according to this recipe).
Bertha Palmer, wife of Potter Palmer, the owner of the Palmer Hotel, was the chairman of
the Women’s Commission for Expo Managers when it was founded. When Palmer goes to the
hotel’s pastry chef and the organizer asks him to make a special dessert, she asks her to make
a dessert that is easier to eat than a cake and smaller than a layered dessert that can be easily
served in a packed lunch. The result is a brownie with twice as much chocolate, walnuts, and
apricot sauce that is still made in the hotel today (you can make it yourself according to this
recipe). Fannie Farmer was the first to put the “brownie” recipe in the cookbook.
Fannie Farmer, in the 1896 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, adjusted the
cookie recipe to bake in a rectangular pan. The first was the 1897 Sears and Roebuck catalog,
which advertised brownies under the heading “Fancy crackers, diskettes, etc. “, but these treats
are chocolate-based or molasses-based. However, there is no evidence that the Palmer House
treat was called a brownie, and it is unclear who coined the term.
Fannie Farmer, who changed the cookie recipe to bake in a rectangular pot and published it
in the 1896 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cookbook, first published the “brownie”
recipe. The first was the 1897 Sears and Roebuck catalog, which sold brownies in the category
“Fancy crackers, floppies, etc. “, but the treats could be chocolate or molasses-based.
Brownie’s Food, the earliest recorded recipe for chocolate brownies, was published in 1899 in
the Maine cookbook Machias Cookbook.
Brownie recipes require ingredients such as chocolate, flour, milk, and baking powder.
(However, the donor is from Wisconsin, and it’s unclear how the Wisconsin women’s recipe was
reflected in the Maine cookbook. ) Later, in 1904, the Chicago club published a cookbook
containing a Bango Brownie recipe. It’s weird because it’s about 90 miles away!) Finally, in
1906, Farmer used the Blondie and Brownie recipes (both called brownies)

History of Brownies
Bertha Palmer was the wife of Potter Palmer, a wealthy businessman who was
instrumental in the development of Chicago’s downtown area. Marshall Field, a mutual
acquaintance and Potter’s former business partner, introduced them (whose department store
acquired and popularized Frango chocolate truffles, by the way).
Potter gave Bertha an incredible gift as a wedding present: the Palmer House hotel. The
Palmer House became the hub for entertainment for Chicago socialites and well-heeled
travelers worldwide during the couple’s ownership, partly thanks to Bertha. Bertha had the idea
of making a tiny confection for the 1893 World’s Fair: Columbian Exposition, an event that would
bring powerful individuals from all over the world, for the World’s Fair: Columbian Exposition.
According to legend, Bertha ordered The Palmer House pastry chef to prepare a tiny cake
or confection for the World’s Fair that could be included in boxed lunches for the fair’s ladies. A
thick, rich, fudgy chocolate bar with walnuts and a sweet apricot sauce was devised by the
pastry chef. It was unlike any other dessert, and it quickly gained a large following.
Though it wasn’t named a “brownie” at the time, it was given that moniker after comparable
versions of the dish appeared in the Sears Roebuck catalog and cookbooks by Fannie Farmer
and others.
You may still have a warm chocolate square topped with ice cream cooked with the exact
recipe used in 1893 at The Palmer House more than a century later. If you can’t make it to
Chicago soon, you can make your own brownies using the recipe below, which has been
altered from the original.

FOUNDER OF BROWNIES
There are various legends about the origin of brownies, such as adding melted chocolate to
the cookie dough by the chef, or baking the cake by the chef but running out of flour. The story
of a housewife in Bangor, Maine is probably the most famous legend. One day, a housewife
made a chocolate cake, but forgot to add baking powder and baking soda, according to Betty
Crocker’s Baking Classic and John Mariani’s American Food and Drink Encyclopedia. Anyway,
mom cuts the cake and gives it to her family even if the cake doesn’t grow.
Learn more about how baking soda is used by others. Brownie recipes are believed to
have first appeared in Fanny Merit Farmer’s Boston Cooking School Recipe Book, published in
1896. However, it turned out to be a molasses-colored spicy cake in the shape of a daisy. The
first brownie recipe comes from the Boston Cooking School Progressive Cookbook, after being
validated by Jean Anderson in the American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of
the 20th Century.
According to culinary historians, the first “brownie” cake can be traced back to the 1906
Edition of the Boston recipe book. Brownie recipes don’t contain as much chocolate as modern
brownies. The brownie recipe uses a 17-inch baking pan with significantly reduced flour.
According to culinary historians, the first “brownie” cake can be traced back to the 1906 edition
of the Boston recipe book. Brownie recipes don’t contain as much chocolate as modern
brownies. The brownie recipe uses a 17-inch baking pan with significantly reduced flour.

LOCAL
Double Chocolate Pecan Bar from Starbucks
The brownies from this coffee shop made a previous Top 10 list, but the old version has
now been replaced with the much larger Double Chocolate Pecan bar—which doesn’t really
state “brownie” anywhere in its name but is definitely a brownie nonetheless. These are for
individuals who prefer it thicc, with a height of around an inch and a very fudgy consistency. The
brownie foundation is just dark enough but tastes flat, and it could definitely use more nuts for a
“pecan bar”—but the substantial number of chocolate chips blended in more than makes up for
it. Watch as the chips melt into their own lava-like layer, which is wonderful against the thicker
brownie foundation, as suggested by the counter personnel. Of course, the fact that there
seems to be a Starbucks on almost every corner of the Metro now makes it an extra convenient
alternative.
Chocolate Brownies from Bizu Patisserie (P450/box of 25)
Bizu makes fantastic brownies in addition to their famed macarons and other delights.
Don’t be fooled by their little size; each roughly 1x1 inch square packs a punch of chocolate
taste that starts off mild but progressively intensifies to provide a powerful chocolate flavor with
a roasted note and a hint of salt. Though it starts off light and cakey beneath the paper-thin,
crinkly top, as you chew, it reveals a thick, fudgy backbone, giving you the best of both texture
worlds.

Reference
Foreign
Who Invented Brownies. [Link]

One History of the Brownie - Plus the Original Recipe [Link]

WHO IS THE FOUNDER OF BROWNIES? [Link]

Local
Top 10 Brownies in The Philippines [Link]
10-brownies-metro-manila-2019-a3284-20191228-lfrm

Top 10 Brownies in the Philippines [Link]