The Chicago hotel that invented the brownie in 1893 is still serving the original recipe. It was nothing like a boxed mix

"But a Chicago hotel serves one 1893 recipe that will be a lot more familiar to today's tastes: the brownie. The Palmer House hotel, which is still open today, developed the first-ever brownie in its kitchen as part of the preparations for the World's Columbian Exposition, or Chicago's 1893 World's Fair. The decadent dessert was inspired by a Gilded Age socialite's quest for a treat that could be easily transported."

"The brownie, which cost $13, was served with a rich chocolate topping, strawberries, and a side of brownie crumbs. When I took my first bite, I was surprised - it tasted very different from other brownies I've had in the past. It was chocolatey, rich, and nutty, with a tart-like and fudgy texture that felt almost gritty at points. Rather than being cake-like, I thought the original recipe leaned a lot more on the dark chocolate."

The Palmer House hotel created the first brownie recipe in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition to provide an easily transported lunchbox dessert. The hotel reopened in 1873 after the Great Chicago Fire and became a symbol of the city's recovery; it still operates today as a Hilton. The original brownie is dense and chocolate-forward with little flour, producing a tart-like, fudgy texture with nutty notes rather than a cake-like crumb. The hotel serves the recipe with rich chocolate topping, strawberries, and crumbs, and the plated version tastes richer and nuttier than many modern brownies.

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