After Years and Years of Searching, I’ve Finally Found the Brownie Recipe of My Dreams

There are two things you should know about me: Brownies are my absolute favorite dessert (fudgy, preferably with chocolate chips, and no walnuts), and I’m extremely loyal. With that said, earlier this year I cross-tested our recipe for fudgy brownies — and at the risk of sounding dramatic, these brownies were life-changing. 

I spent years baking through a ton of brownie recipes to find the perfect one for me, and once I found it, it was the recipe I stood firmly by, shared with everyone who listened, and baked for every event. In fact, I even wrote about these pantry brownies on The Kitchn several years back. For me, they are the ideal balance of chewy and fudgy, and with few exceptions (like the occasional batch of chocolate peanut butter brownies, mint brownies, or box brownie mix), I basically planned to stick with those pantry brownies indefinitely. 

But one bite of Sarah Holden’s fudgy brownies changed everything. I was instantly smitten, and knew for certain that I had a new go-to brownie recipe.

Get the recipe: Fudgy Brownies

These brownies surprised me in the absolute best way. Here’s why I was skeptical the first time I baked these: The recipe calls for using a 9×13-inch baking pan, the bake time is a little longer than I anticipated, and there’s not a lot of batter, so it’s a relatively thin layer when added to the pan. Maybe I’m just scarred from baking too many boxed mixes in a 9×13 as a kid, where the result was thin, dry brownies, with crunchy, brittle edges.

Instead I was blown away when I pulled the baking pan from the oven. These brownies are absolute perfection. They’re rich, super-chocolaty (bonus points for chocolate chips in the batter!), and decadent but not over-the-top (it’s all too easy to eat two in a sitting). Sometimes fudgy brownies can be too dense, but not these. They’re ultra-fudgy, and slightly chewy, with a nice crackly top. And, best of all, they’re quick and easy to mix together by hand.

And it turns out I love that these are baked in a 9×13 pan because it means more brownies in every batch. I save some to eat right away, and cut the remainder into bite-size pieces and stash them in the freezer for later. It’s the best treat.

Get the recipe: Fudgy Brownies