Name: Malted “Forever” Brownies
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, plus time to cool and 1 hour for chilling
Yield: Makes 16
Ingredients: Butter for the pan; ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder (0.7 oz / 20g); 5 ounces (142g) semisweet chocolate (preferably 64 to 68% cacao), coarsely chopped; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3 oz / 85g), cut into pieces; ¼ cup neutral oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed (2 oz / 56g); ½ cup granulated sugar (3.5 oz / 100g); ½ cup packed dark brown sugar (3.5 oz / 100g); 1 large egg (1.8 oz / 50g); 2 large egg yolks (1.1 oz / 32g); 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract; ¾ cup all-purpose flour (3.5 oz / 100g); 2 tablespoons malted milk powder (0.63 oz / 18g) (optional); 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (0.11 oz / 3g); 6 ounces (170g) milk chocolate, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

Photo of Claire Saffitz's malted forever brownies on a plate.

Photo by Alex Lau

Claire Saffitz named these her “forever” brownies because it took so much work to get them right that she’s vowed to never develop another brownie recipe again. (Selfishly, we hope that conviction doesn’t hold.) One of the hardest aspects to nail was the chewy-and-fudgy texture, which she eventually achieved by chilling the baked brownies in the fridge for at least an hour. Sprinkle flaky salt on top of the batter prior to baking if you’re a salty dessert person.

Cooks' Note

If you don’t have an 8 x 8-inch pan, double the recipe and bake these in a 13 × 9-inch. If doubling the recipe makes more than you need, freeze the rest!