One of America’s Most Loved and Easy to Make Desserts was Invented in Illinois

You ask anyone if they'd like one of these for dessert tonight and nobody would turn it down. I had no idea they were created in Illinois in the late 1800s.

WHAT IS AMERICA'S FAVORITE DESSERT?

That is an impossible question to answer. I'm not even sure how you'd survey to figure that out. Like being asked what your favorite song is, it's hard to pick just one.

My feelings are that this dessert may not be your favorite, but you'd never turn it down.

A recent survey named the Best Dessert in Every State and not only was it named for Illinois, but there was also one specific place where you should have it. Turns out that the recommended place to have this incredibly simple to make and delicious dessert is where it was made for the very first time, 17 E. Monroe Street in downtown Chicago.

THE LEGENDARY PALMER HOUSE HOTEL IN CHICAGO

The very first recorded mention of this desert favorite was in 1898 when it was featured in a Sears Roebuck catalog but the story began five years earlier in the Palmer House kitchen.

Bertha Palmer wanted something special to be served during the World’s Fair in 1893 and under her specific direction,

the first-ever Brownie was created.

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THE FIRST BROWNIE WAS CREATED IN THE PALMER HOUSE KITCHEN

Clearly, the Palmer House kitchen staff knows a few more things about the presentation than the rest of us.

For close to 130 years, we have never turned down a pan of brownies and I believe we never will. Brownies are so easy to make and can be modified in ways to fit everyone's taste.

The same recipe Bertha created in the late 19th century is the same recipe still used today to make the Palmer House Brownies.

HOW TO MAKE THE PALMER HOUSE BROWNIE

My brownie history lesson also led me to Bertha Palmer's recipe. Click HERE to print a copy of the recipe.

If you're heading onto Chicago to get an authentic Palmer House brownie you should also get a Chicago Dog.