23 Next-Level Brownie Recipes to Keep in Your Back Pocket

These incredible brownies are filled with a layer of gooey salted caramel, which can be made two weeks in advance.

By swirling chunks of white, milk, and bittersweet chocolate into a batter made with unsweetened chocolate, and then melting and drizzling more all over the top, San Francisco chocolatier Michael Recchiuti says this recipe has "all the chocolates I like in one brownie."

Former Food & Wine editor Kate Krader has been making these fudgy, sweet-salty brownies since she was 10 years old. As a kid, she used regular table salt. Now she recommends a flaky sea salt like Maldon, because the flavor is less harsh and it melts so nicely into the batter, accentuating the chocolaty sweetness.

These brownies from pastry chef and cookbook author Stella Parks pack in a ton of flavor thanks to hazelnuts, instant coffee, brown butter, and of course, chocolate (in this case, bittersweet chocolate).

Food & Wine senior editor Kat Kinsman tops her rich brownies with bacon and pecans. To enhance the smoky flavor, she mixes some of the bacon fat into the batter.

"Like all great desserts," says F&W Best New Chef 1995 Anne Quatrano, "these brownies have only three pertinent flavors: chocolate, butter and walnuts."

Pastry chef Kelly Fields makes these delicious fudgy brownies with brown sugar, dark chocolate, and cocoa powder, and studs them with crunchy bites of nutty pecan praline.

These wheat-free, butterless brownies are rich and dense. "It's really, really hard to make a good vegan brownie," says pastry chef Erin McKenna. Her first efforts using applesauce and vegetable oil were cakey or fluffy. It took her six months of making small adjustments to perfect them.

Pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith tops fudgy peanut butter brownies with bananas caramelized in dulce de leche, and serves them with scoops of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and peanut brittle.

These brownies have a secret ingredient—applesauce, which gives them extra moisture and a little sweetness, too.

Pastry chef Cheryl Burr loves candy, as is obvious from her homage to the Almond Joy. Her luxurious take consists of a supremely fudgy brownie topped with a layer of chewy, flaky, exceptionally tender coconut. She dots each bar with a crunchy roasted almond, then coats them in silky bittersweet-chocolate ganache.

Andrew Zavala discovered the recipe for these gooey brownies in a kids' cookbook by Pamela Gwyther called Let's Cook! when he was seven years old. A self-professed kitchen scientist, he likes to revisit the recipe often, substituting ingredients and noting the results. "My favorite version uses two ounces each of dark, milk and white chocolate," he says.

Brownie meets cake in this fun dessert from renowned cookbook author and pastry chef Emily Luchetti. She bakes the batter in muffin cups so the edges turn crispy and chewy like a brownie, but the inside becomes soft and fluffy like a cake.

Former Food & Wine editor Grace Parisi brings the beloved combination of coffee and chocolate together by using a pleasantly crumbly espresso-flavored shortbread as a crust for fudgy brownies.

This deeply dark-chocolaty brownie has a sophisticated touch of salt, plus notes of molasses and anise from black licorice, and the combo makes a brilliant treat that is irresistibly chewy and not too sweet.

These fudgy brownies are laced with mascarpone and served with sweet-salty clusters of peanuts and popcorn.

These fudgy, gluten-free brownies are baked in a graham cracker crust, then topped with marshmallows and broiled.

Instead of making his brownies in one big pan, Atlanta chef Ford Fry bakes them in muffin cups, so each one has the perfect ratio of crusty outside to moist, fudgy interior.

Chef Valerie Gordon (of Valerie Confections in Los Angeles), who shared her recipe for this grill-baked dessert, likes to make it in a lavishly buttered cast-iron skillet using the ambient heat of a Big Green Egg. Top them with ice cream for a showstopping dessert for your next cookout.

While many recipes call for creaming the butter and sugar before adding the eggs, pastry chef Lee Lee Reid whips eggs and sugar together to aerate them, leading to the ultimate brownie consistency.

Editor's Note: This recipe has been modified from the version developed by Anya Von Bremzen to include cannabis-infused butter in addition to regular butter. You'll find the original non-cannabis recipe, included earlier in this gallery, here. As cannabis regulation continues to evolve across the United States and around the world, please consult your local laws.

With the help of an air fryer, these gooey, fudgy brownies—baked in ramekins and reminiscent of a molten chocolate cake—are less than an hour away. Adding espresso powder to the batter helps bring out the chocolate flavor, as does the crunchy sea salt garnish at the end. Serve them on their own, or with your favorite ice cream. Better yet, top them with berries, whipped cream, chopped nuts or caramel sauce to make a brownie sundae.

"In the recipe, I counsel you to let these guys cool completely before drenching them with caramel sauce, but I'm definitely guilty of cutting them while they're still warm and covering them in caramel sauce," cookbook author and F&W Cooks contributor Vallery Lomas says. "Trust me—they're just as delicious, and pulling this trick out of your hat for eager guests is a move they won't soon forget."