Meet Palmer House Brownies: The 130-Year-Old Dessert You Can Still Buy Today

If you’ve been to Chicago, then you know that we love our food in this city. Our vibrant neighborhoods are home to some of the best restaurants in the world, and we have a long roster of iconic foods born right here in the Windy City. Deep-dish pizza, the jibarito, and the malted milkshake are examples—but did you know that the brownie was also invented here? With connections to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the Palmer House Hotel, the birth of the brownie is a pretty interesting tale to tell.

The History of the Brownie

I love history, especially the history of my city and how it came to be. I’ve read countless accounts of how the early days here were rough—people worked hard and the living conditions weren’t great. Eventually, though, investors saw potential and bought up land to develop downtown Chicago, creating a place for successful business that drew visitors who enjoyed theater and museums as well as shopping and dining. The Palmer House was a popular place to stay; a magnificent hotel given as a gift from Potter Palmer to his wife, Bertha Honore Palmer, on their wedding day. The original hotel opened on September 26,1871, only to burn down thirteen days later. But with Bertha’s encouragement, Palmer rebuilt the hotel, and the second Palmer House opened only two years later in 1873.

Bertha Palmer was a socialite and philanthropist who frequently hosted events at her hotel. Her love of the arts and her social activism led to her appointment as Chairperson of the Board of Lady Managers for 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.

She played a pivotal role in securing money for the Woman’s Building, which would showcase the creations, work, and inventions of women over the centuries. During one of her meetings, she asked the pastry chefs at the Palmer House to create a dessert suitable for box lunches. She didn’t want pie, which could be messy. Instead, she asked for something hand-held and chocolate, not quite cake, more like fudge, but not as sticky.

The result was the brownie (which wasn’t given that name until some years later). Palmer’s version was buttery and rich, topped with walnuts and apricot glaze. It was perfectly sweet and easy to eat.

How to Make Palmer House Brownies

Several iterations of Palmer’s brownie recipe can be found in cookbooks and across the internet. Here at Allrecipes, we even have one of our own! It's a simple 7-ingredient brownie recipe with a 3-ingredient apricot glaze.

When you visit the Palmer House in Chicago and purchase a brownie, you’ll be enjoying the same dessert that was invented over 125 years ago.

The brownie has become so well-known and coveted that the hotel now sells the popular sweet treat in their Lockwood restaurants. If you can’t get to the Palmer House Hotel to sample one in-person, don’t worry, the brownie is now available for order through Goldbelly.

Try our recipe: The Palmer House Brownie

Read the original article on ALLRECIPES