Miss Confection

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Inspired by Palmer House Hotel 🇺🇸 Chicago, United States

The Original Palmer House Brownie

The 1893 Chicago original, crowned with walnuts and a glossy apricot glaze

Prep
25 min
Cook
50 min
Total
3 hr 15 min
Yield
16 brownies
Level
Intermediate
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The legend behind it

The brownie, by most accounts, was born in Chicago. In 1893, as the city prepared to host the World's Columbian Exposition, socialite Bertha Palmer asked the pastry chef at her husband's Palmer House Hotel for a dessert that ladies attending the fair could tuck into boxed lunches: something smaller than a slice of cake and easy to eat by hand. The kitchen produced a dense chocolate square studded with walnuts and brushed with apricot glaze.

The hotel, now the Palmer House Hilton, still bakes its brownie from the historic recipe, and it is often called the first brownie in America. The name brownie did not appear with chocolate in cookbooks until the early 1900s, but the Palmer House square is widely credited as the original.

It is richer and denser than most modern brownies, almost a fudge confection, with a crown of walnuts and a sweet-tart apricot glaze that keeps it moist. This is our home version inspired by the Palmer House Hotel's famous recipe, scaled down to fit a home baking pan. Chill it before slicing for neat, glossy squares.

This is our own home recipe inspired by the dessert served at Palmer House Hotel. It is not the official recipe and we are not affiliated with Palmer House Hotel.

Tips for success

  • The hotel's original recipe uses a full pound of butter and makes a large sheet pan; this version is halved for a 9x9-inch pan.
  • The low oven temperature keeps the brownies dense and fudgy without drying the edges.
  • Cut with a hot, dry knife for clean edges through the glaze and walnuts.
  • Store in the fridge for up to 5 days; they are delicious cold.

The Original Palmer House Brownie

Bake the original Palmer House brownie at home: dense, fudgy chocolate, walnuts and a shiny apricot glaze, inspired by the Chicago hotel where the brownie was born in 1893.

Prep
25 min
Cook
50 min
Total
3 hr 15 min
Yield
16 brownies
Calories
~330/serving

Ingredients

For the brownies

For the apricot glaze

Instructions

Bake the brownies

  1. Heat your oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a 9x9-inch (23 cm) baking pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides.
  2. Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over barely simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat.
  3. Stir the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Pour in the warm chocolate mixture and stir until combined, about 1 minute.
  4. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until the batter is smooth and glossy; avoid whisking in extra air.
  5. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the crushed walnuts evenly over the surface, pressing them lightly into the batter.
  6. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick inserted 2 inches from the edge comes out with moist crumbs; the center will still be soft.

Glaze

  1. While the brownies bake, combine the water, apricot preserves and gelatin in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 minutes. Strain if you prefer a smooth glaze.
  2. Brush the warm glaze generously over the hot brownies.
  3. Cool the brownies completely, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set the glaze before lifting them out and cutting into 16 squares.

Tools we use

Recipe from Miss Confection · https://missconfection.com/recipe/original-palmer-house-brownie

Questions, answered

Where was the brownie invented?

The brownie is widely credited to the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, where it was created in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition.

Why does the Palmer House brownie have apricot glaze?

The glaze added shine and kept the brownies moist in the boxed lunches they were designed for, and its tartness balances the rich chocolate.

Can you make Palmer House brownies without nuts?

Yes. Skip the walnuts; the brownies will be just as fudgy, though less like the historic original.

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