Brownies are the LeBron James of desserts. Similar to how nobody can pinpoint exactly what position the Los Angeles Laker plays, brownies lack a clear dessert designation: Are they cookies? Cakes? Fudge? Who’s to say. Of course, nobody really cares. Brownies, like LeBron, transcend categorization because they’re so damn good. Whether you’re grabbing one as an afternoon treat or using it as the foundation of an ice cream sundae, the brownie has limitless potential.
With that—and LeBron—in mind, here are seven of our all-time favorite brownie recipes.
1. Alice Medrich's Best Cocoa Brownies
By only using cocoa powder (and abandoning chocolate chips or chunks), Alice Medrich was able to fine tune the consistency, texture, and flavor of her brownies. Through the additions of butter, sugar, and natural cocoa powder, she produces a brownie with a soft center, candy-like exterior, and deep chocolate flavor.
2. Flourless Walnut Brownies
Inspired by the recipe above, these flourless brownies from former Food52 editor Emma Laperruque capitalize on the walnut’s immense culinary range. Some walnuts are toasted and added directly to the batter, while the others are “whooshed” in the food processor, eventually becoming a zero-gluten “flour” responsible for the brownies’ ganache-like texture.
3. Magic Espresso Brownies
These support the tried-and-true brownie-baking heuristic: If you want to amplify your confection’s chocolate flavor, add espresso powder. As if these treats didn’t already have enough going for them, these brownies are topped with a cognac-laced chocolate frosting.
4. Double Chocolate Weed Brownies
According to recipe developer Vanessa Lavorato, “[these brownies] whip up in a snap,” and “make everything taste good, even weed.” If you opt to use regular butter instead of cannabutter, these fudgy brownies are as delicious as any on this list.
5. Brown Butter Blondies
Phyliss Grant’s brown butter blondies have received over 130 positive reviews from our community. Here’s our favorite, from Estelle: “This is one of my all time favorite recipes! I don't know how anyone can give these any less than 5 stars.”
6. Actually Good Black Bean Brownies
These vegan, gluten-free, almond-laden, chocolate-chunk-studded, black bean brownies from Rebecca Firsker strike the right balance of sweet, moist, and crunchy. For even more flavor, consider adding nut butter to your batter.
7. Salted Toffee & Coffee Blondies
One of our most-saved recipes of the year, these blondies leverage our all of our favorite brownie-making techniques: the espresso powder enhances the chocolate, chopped toffee candy bars introduce texture, and a flaky salt topping balances savory with sweet.
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