the best chewy, fudgy brownies

Did any of you ever watch The Vampire Diaries? I know, I know, I am so late to the party. My flatmate got me into it in October and we just finished it last week, as a little treat for finishing our final projects. Unfortunately for me, this turned out to be less of a treat because a character I really liked met a sudden and grisly end. Obviously, I needed some intensely chocolatey homemade brownies to make up for it. Dessert fixes everything, right?

It’s surprisingly hard to make brownies in the UK (but so much easier to make a sponge!). My usual recipe rises too much and gets too cakey here, so I had to come up with a new one. The best thing about brownies is that it’s pretty easy to adapt the ratio of ingredients to get the texture you prefer. The brown sugar makes them rich while the white sugar helps form the crisp, crackly skin on the top. An extra teaspoon of vanilla brings out the chocolate flavor, and so does the fact that they’re made with cocoa powder, half a cup of melted milk chocolate, and dark chocolate chips. We’re serious about chocolate around here!

These made-from-scratch fudgy brownies are so dense they’re nearly black in the middle and have maximum intense chocolate flavor. They also provide maximum joy when you need a pick-me-up.

This recipe is simple. Nothing fancy or complicated, just a lot of chocolate. And you don’t have to melt any butter! I loathe melting butter (it’s so tedious, and all the grams to ounces to cups math here is a nightmare). Using olive oil is easier and healthier and doesn’t make a difference in taste. Use a nice mild one, nothing too fancy or too strong, and don’t let how green it is alarm you. All you have to do is mix all the ingredients together until you have a smooth, shiny batter, pour it in a pan, and you’re good to go. The hardest part is waiting for them to set and resisting the urge to eat them straight out of the pan.

These are so easy to make, even in a semi-dark kitchen while trying to follow the absolutely bonkers plot of the last season of The Vampire Diaries. Which, honestly, is saying something.

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and line a metal 9×9 pan with parchment paper. I used a cake tin, because that’s what I have.

2. Pour olive oil into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in sugar until combined. This should only take about 30 seconds.

3. Add eggs and vanilla extract, and mix. Then add the melted chocolate and mix until combined and smooth.

5. Use a rubber spatula to stir in flour, cocoa powder, and salt until just combined. Add milk and stir until the batter is smooth and pourable. I prefer adding it at the end because it’s easier to see if you need more or less milk after you add all the dry ingredients. Once it’s the right consistency, stir in the chocolate chips. Don’t be alarmed if the batter smells a little of olive oil. That will bake out.

6. Pour into prepared pan and smooth out.

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife comes out mostly clean (but not totally). ). (Ovens vary widely and mine runs hot, so don’t be alarmed if yours take longer). Let cool in pan 30 minutes before slicing. This is important for fudgy brownies; it allows them to set so you don’t have to eat them with a spoon, though there’s nothing really wrong with that approach.

While these are great warm and soft out of the oven, they’re also great after a spell in the fridge if you like your brownies a little firmer.