Maida Heatter, lovingly known as the “Queen of Cake,” was never caught without one of her iconic baked goods, be it brownies, bars, or cookies. (She famously carried them, wrapped, in her purse to hand out to people she met.) Over the decades, the James Beard Award-winning cookbook author and pastry chef was beloved as much for her desserts as her personality. When her cookbook, Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts, was inducted into the cookbook hall of fame in 1998, she threw a few dozen brownies from the stage to the food world’s most iconic faces, including Julia Child and Jacques Pépin.
Though her recipe for Palm Beach Brownies was not included in that first 1974 edition of her desserts cookbook, she did add it in 1999, because everyone wanted to try the brownies she’d thrown.
These brownies aren’t for everyone—they have both walnuts and peppermint patties. We’ve found over the years, the nuts versus no nuts camp of the brownie world is pretty devout. But you can make yours with both, either, or neither. And even if you’re skeptical, we think you should give them a try, for the sake of tasting dessert history.
The real treasure of Palm Beach Brownies is in the distinct crust. Beating the eggs and the sugar together creates that crackly top. The sugar dissolves in the eggs, not the butter, creating that perfect crackle. Even if you skip the candies or nuts, don’t rush through these steps of this recipe.
Recipe Tips For The Best Palm Beach Brownies
- Leftover brownies can be sealed in an airtight container in a refrigerator for up to one week.
- The goal before pulling the brownies from the oven is to see a few cracks developing across that firm top layer and to see the edges slightly pull away. If they haven’t appeared at the 32-minute mark, keep baking, a minute at a time, for up to three more minutes.
- Do not overbake. Pull the brownies out when you see a couple of small cracks on top.
- Overmixing can lead to tough brownies; stop mixing as soon as flour is just combined.
Editor’s Note: This recipe was developed by Renu Dhar; the headnote was written by Kimberly Holland.
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