In Fannie Farmer’s 1896 recipe, molasses appeared in brownies before chocolate was added in a later version. That early recipe also included a nut at its center, making it unlike the chocolate brownies most people know today.
The recipe appeared in the 1896 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. At that stage, “brownie” could refer to a molasses-based cake or sweet rather than a chocolate dessert. The modern chocolate association developed gradually as cooks and cookbooks refined the form.
Farmer’s 1906 edition modified the recipe to include chocolate. That change helped establish the brownie as a recognizable American chocolate treat, although other early recipes were appearing around the same period. The exact origin of the brownie remains debated: some historians point to several regional cookbooks, including recipes called “Bangor Brownies,” rather than a single inventor.
A common mistake is assuming every early brownie recipe contained cocoa or chocolate. Farmer’s 1896 version shows that the name and basic dessert concept came first; chocolate became central later.