July 7, 2009

TWD- Katharine Hepburn Brownies and a name debate

Another week, another brownie. I've made several lately, it seems- Ina's Outrageous Brownies and Dorie's Chipster Topped Brownies, not to mention some that didn't get photographed. I've decided that while an over baked brownie is hardly worth eating, an under baked brownie is practically impossible to eat. I've had a few rivers of chocolate instead of sliceable brownies and so I'm recommitting to cooking my brownies a little bit longer.

As for flavoring, I love the chocolate chips and the pecans. I don't do coffee, so I just omitted that and and added a little extra vanilla. I also skipped the cinnamon (though I loved it in the French Brownies) for the sake of my guests.

These brownies are quick and easy to throw together and if you are a slacker and avoid sifting, you will only need to dirty one little pan. I like that. I put off making these for a while before I read the whole recipe and realized these would come together in 10 or 15 minutes. I'll be making these again, and even baking them all the way. :)

Thanks Lisa for the fun choice and for the beautiful new TWD Logo. Grab the recipe at her blog or here.

For my favorite brownies yet, check out these links:
Oreo Cheesecake Brownies with Mint Ganache
French Chocolate Brownies

Don't miss next week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe... Brioche Plum Tart. I haven't even looked at it yet but I'm sure I won't miss anything with the word "brioche" in it!

Now for the name debate... since these are Katharine Hepburn brownies, I'd love some opinions on the name. This name is topping the list right now for our little girl but we can't decide what to do. Do you think she should be named Katherine if the intent is to always call her Kate? Or should Kate just be Kate and be spared the need to correct it all the time? Spill people. With a name like Anne (pretty much free of options) I need some good opinions.

49 comments:

  1. I love both - Kate or Katherine. I say go with Kathrine. I think it's nice to have the option of going with either, esp. as your little girl gets older. Example - my friend Julia was always called Julie by her parents, but elected to be called Julia once she reached college.

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  2. Both names are beautiful. But for versatility maybe Katherine. I've had a few Katherines in my life and they've gone by many... Kathy, Katie, Kat.
    It's a name she can grow & change with. Katie being cute & girly, Kat seems more like a nickname used by close friends like her bff and then Katherine when she's all grown up and doesn't want to "cute" anymore lol

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  3. Great looking brownies!

    I say you go with Kate. It is cute and to the point. IFyou call her Katherine, then every time she gets called on in school she will have to correct the teacher, which can be a pain :)

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  4. I LOVED these brownies and made them four times this past week with different add-ins. They came out perfectly fudgy everytime.
    Hmmm, Kate or Katherine? I'm Katrina (ooh, go with that. jk) I've had many nicknames all my life with plays on the name. I've thought it's kind of fun. For some reason, Katherine seems like a name that you'd use if it was a family name, not sure why. I like both. My vote is for Katherine, or Katharine, or Kathryn, or any of the like with a K! ;)

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  5. My vote is Kate if you are always planning on calling her that. But either is good!

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  6. I say Katherine and call her Kate, but that's just me. I like names that are classy, but can be shortened into something fun and cute.

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  7. I don't do coffee either - but I do do it in my baked goods! And the cinnamon barely added a little kick - I'd give it a try!
    They look great! And I agree - so easy!

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  8. The brownies look delicious! I chilled mine so they would cut easier, and it was enough to tame the gooey factor (which didn't return once they were at room temperature).

    I love Kate, and having a name that people like to shorten against my will (I am NOT Les!), I say give her the name you want her to be called by. Saves confusion, plus I like short, easy to spell names. No creative spellings to battle, is it with an "e" or an "a"... etc.

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  9. Kate - all the way. Face it, she'll be a hip, cool kid, and Kate just sounds so with it!

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  10. Definitely Kate! It is just the cutest.

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  11. I happen to love the name Katherine...one of the main reasons being the option of using Kate! I say go with Katherine so you/she has the option of either Katherine or kate...but either way you can't go wrong!! So exciting! PS - the brownies look awesome!

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  12. I love using the entire name.

    Katharine is just gorgeous.

    I heart these brownies too.

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  13. Ditto on the versatility. If she grows up and doesn't want to be a "Kate", she has the option to change it. Both are beautiful names, though!

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  14. I like Kate.

    Your brownies look delicious!

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  15. I prefer Kate. I know a lot of people are citing versatility as a reason to go with Katherine, but as Kate she can still call herself Kat, Katie, and everything short for Katherine if she chose. Naming her Katherine just in case she wants to go by that as an adult seems like a bad reason when you prefer Kate anyway.

    Good looking brownies too! :)

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  16. Great brownies!
    I agree that opting for the longer name allows the option of choosing either name.
    Any boy name suggestions for me?!!

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  17. Anne - just an FYI.. i adore Katharine Hepburn and her version of her name was with an A not an an E.. ;) maybe you should add Katharine to your list of possibilities..a little more unique

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  18. Our daugh is a Catherine, but middle name ( only used to emphasize when she was in trouble.) But I love Kate too. too bad you can't let her decide her name when she is older - like the Native American's do. But with Katherine, she has a choice.

    And the brownies look good.

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  19. Your brownies look wonderful. You managed to get the dry, flaky top that I did not. As far as the name debate is concerned, I'd go with Katherine even if you plan on calling her Kate. She may choose to go by Katherine later in life...it's always good to have options. Congratulations!!

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  20. First, I love the way the brownies look. I didn't want a river of goo in mine, so I definitely made sure that they were more on the done side.

    As for the name, I am so on the fence about this one. I do love both names, though. I guess if you are always going to call her Kate, then just go for it. But, for me, I've liked having the versatility to use my name how I wanted to. I was always Pamela in my family, Pam to my friends. Grew up hating Pamela and now, I'm back to it. I guess it just depends on the person.

    Either way, Kate or Katherine, she'll be a cutie and keeper!! Good luck!

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  21. Definitely Katherine. The name has an air of dignity about it, and she can always have the option of letting people that she chooses to call her Kate.

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  22. I'm partial to Katherine, such a classic name!

    If I ever have a little girl she will be Katherine, but be called Kitty. If she objects as she gets older, it will be Kate. NO KATIE.

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  23. As the mom of a Katherine (who has been called Katie since birth - her dad's favorite name), I love your name choice. Although we always planned to call her Katie, I love the name Katherine and want her to be able to use Katherine, Kate, or Katie in the future. She's only 4 so I don't know what she'll choose to put on her business cards...

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  24. We liked these brownies too. Very easy!

    As for the name. I like Katherine. Then you can figure out the short name later! Very pretty, by the way.

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  25. Anne Strawberry, I love your site! I just made some cupcakes and used the peanut butter icing you gave a recipe for. Yum!!

    Both names are pretty. Whichever you choose will suit your daughter perfectly, I'm sure.

    I'm a huge fan of names which are slightly unusual, though. I like some of the alternative spellings because they set people apart a bit. The Gaelic variations are just so pretty and there's a million options for 'Katherine' based names. Cait, Caity, Katherine, Caitlyn, Kathryn, Catharine, Kathrine, Katerina.

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  26. I vote for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Katherine, call her Kate . . . . or maybe just kate . . . . heck I don't know!!

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  27. First of all, the brownies looks gorgeously yummy.

    Second, I'd go for Katherine.

    Have a great day!

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  28. I like Katherine because then she'll have more options to be called! Also in my opinion Katherine is more elegant! :)

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  29. I've got a sister and a niece Catherine, plus a niece Katie as well. I love all the associated names! I like the idea of leaving it wide open with Katherine.

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  30. I like Katherine ... with the option of being called Kate. My name is Deborah ... called Debbie a lot of the time .... kind of neat to have 2 names!

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  31. Love your brownies. On the name, it is a beautiful name and I would go with Katherine and call her Kate. That gives her an option when she gets older as well. Plus, on the other side of your thinking, if you name her Kate people will always be asking her if her real name is Katherine. So I would go with Katherine. I have that myself as my name is Peggy which is short for Margaret so I am always asked about Margaret. Hope this helps.

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  32. Katherine because of all the short endearments you can make with it.
    Glad you enjoyed the brownies!

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  33. I like Katherine, a lot more options with that name. Brownies look delicious! : )

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  34. Your brownies look terrific! These were really simple, which I thought was the best part of the recipe.

    As for the name, I like Kate.

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  35. Ann, my name is Kathyrn Rose and when I was a little girl I was called Katie Rose. Then I was called Katie in school and now I am called Kate. I will most likely get to Kathryn when I am older.
    I love having the liberty of changing my name when I want and I love having all the options of spelling my name (Kate, Katie, Katy, Kaytee) What ever you chose, it is a great name! congratulations!

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  36. Go with Katherine - then you get the best of both worlds! :-)

    Beautiful brownies, too!!

    -Amy
    www.singforyoursupperblog.com

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  37. So that's what the brownies were supposed to look like! Mine were a gooey underbaked mess but they were tasty. Yours look great though! I'll have to back mine a little longer next time!

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  38. We named our daughter Katherine and we call her Katie. She is 6. I love that she can switch to Kate as she matures or maybe she'll go by Katherine. I love having options and I love Katherine!!

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  39. Your brownies look great. I love the name Katie.

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  40. I love the cracked top! I like Kate better, but see how Katherine might give you more options for either.

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  41. Your brownies look awesome!

    I would say Katherine...that gives your daughter-to-be a chance to choose whenever she's old enough.:)

    Thanks for including your blog fans in your naming process...how special to be included in something so personal.:)

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  42. I am a fan of Katherine and calling her Kate. Then if she wants to be called Katherine later, she has the option. Both are really nice names.
    Brownies look wonderful and so does your key lime tart/pie!

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  43. Well first of all I think they are both great names! I think I would vote for Katherine though so that she can use it when she's older if she wants. Plus it's just so pretty and classic. Congrats again!

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  44. These look yummy! I like my brownies a tiny bit underbaked for that gooey chocolate feeling. MMmm... chocolate.

    I would go with Kate, since this is what you like best. It's a beautiful name.

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  45. Definitely Katharine...pretty and does KatharineHepburn proud

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  46. My husband and I are in the midst of the very same discussion - too weird!! My vote is to name her Katherine & just call her Kate. It annoys me when people go ahead & name their child the shortened version for some reason (Like naming them Nick/Chris/Matt/etc.)

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  47. Your brownies look delicious! As for the name question, my youngest sister is named Kathryn. I don't think anyone actually calls her that. When she was younger, we called her Katie. Then about the time she started college, she started going by Kate (and still does). And even if you go with just Kate, she'll probably end up correcting people. I have a friend named Alex. He says he's spent a lot of time explaining that his name is just Alex, not Alexander. =)

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  48. I'm a Kate (just Kate) and I like it. I've gotten used to the questions (and misspellings). I'd say 90% of the time, people say "Are you actually Katherine or Katelyn?" or "Short for Katherine or Kathleen?". Some people just assume Katherine without asking, so I've had to correct that on forms before.

    Still, for what it's worth-- I prefer being just Kate.

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