Three desserts are sitting on a table with a measuring cup in the background.

There are plenty of brownie recipes—and then there is the one that lives in memory.

This is the only brownie recipe I bake, from Julia Child, whose influence reached far beyond French cuisine and into the home kitchens of passionate bakers like my mother. A devoted admirer, she baked these brownies often—usually for the dessert trolley at my restaurant. We featured a brownie freeze... brownie cubes with homemade vanilla ice cream, warm melted chocolate and freshly whipped cream-amazing!

For me, this recipe is more than a classic—it’s a reflection of how great cooking is passed down: through admiration, repetition, and a deep love of craft.

The Best Brownies

Recently I've noticed cupcakes and brownies being made as single-serve, microwave mug cakes and brownies. These quick versions have become popular for their convenience—offering a warm, chocolate dessert in minutes with minimal equipment and cleanup. While they differ from traditional baked brownies in texture and depth, they remind me of the enduring appeal of chocolate and the modern desire for convenient, on-demand indulgence.


Brownies are a relatively modern addition to the pastries and baked goods. One of the earliest documented versions appeared in the 1896 Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Farmer—though notably, it did not yet include chocolate.

As the story goes, brownies were possibly the result of a happy accident—forgetting to add baking powder to a chocolate cake.

By the 1920s, brownies had firmly established themselves in American baking, evolving into two distinct styles: fudgy and cake-like.

Brownie recipes have a short list of ingredients—chocolate, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and flour—each having a precise chemical role in the final texture. The ratio of fat to flour determines whether the result is dense and fudgy or lighter and cake-like, while eggs provide structure. Sugar contributes not only sweetness but also moisture and that characteristic glossy crust, and the quality and type of chocolate ultimately defines the depth and complexity of flavor.

“Best-Ever Brownies”

taken from Baking with Julia

 Time: 25 min

Cooking Time: 25 min

Yield: 4 small breads


Ingredients

1 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs


How to Prepare Brownies

Step 1

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350° F.

Collect the mise en place for the recipe.




Sift the flour and salt together and set aside in a bowl.   



Melt the butter & chocolate together in the microwave, with 15 second heating times, if the scraper is wet, the chocolate may 'seize' or harden. You would need to discard and start over.

You can also melt the ingredients in a double boiler-place the chocolate & butter into a dry, metal bowl sitting over a pot of simmering water.

note: I see people melting chocolate in a pot, directly over the heat-this is very challenging and usually the chocolate scorches!


Add 1 cup of sugar to the melted chocolate, stir for half a minute, then stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into a large bowl.


Step 2

Place the remaining 1 cup sugar and the eggs into the bowl of a mixer (or a mixing bowl if you’re using a hand-held mixer) and whisk until doubled in volume and thick-about 3 minutes.





Slowly pour the chocolate in to the sugar and eggs, stirring gently but constantly with a rubber spatula so that the eggs don’t scramble from the heat.




When the eggs are almost completely incorporated, gently fold in the dry ingredients.







Pour and scrape the batter into an unbuttered 9-inch square pan-a heavy ceramic or glass pan is ideal.





Step 3

 Bake the brownies for 25 to 30 minutes; the brownies will rise a little and the top will turn darker and slightly crack.



You can insert a wooden skewer or tip of a paring knife into the center at about 20 minutes of baking to check if the brownies are baked.


This recipe is best when the brownies are barely set and a little gooey.  The brownies will continue to cook as they cool in the pan on a rack on the counter.


Enjoy warm or room temperature-I like to drizzle with melted chocolate for a fancier presentation. 

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