The fudgy brownie we all need now.

Saturday morning, August 1, Ayelet Waldman and I will be live on Substack talking about everything and anything. Definitely included in the discussion will be the upcoming nuptials of Ayelet’s son, I will sing “Sunrise, Sunset” to try and make Ayelet cry and we’ll have a wedding and romance-themed reading list for your August delectation, so you can hide yourself away in the dying days of America summer.

We will also be making brownies because I want to make sure Ayelet and family have something decent to snack on to keep their energy levels up, up, up during pre-wedding festivities.

(If you could reward the algorithm fairies by clicking the “like” button, we would be very grateful.)

You’ll get an invite Saturday AM just before the live event begins, but if you like to plan ahead, here’s the link you need to join us August 1, 2026 12:30 ET/9:30 PT.

This brownie is related to my fudgy raspberry brownies from earlier in the year, which use nut flour and our gluten-free. For Zeke’s Brownies, the recipe was tweaked to keep its fudginess while using all-purpose flour and chunks of Tony’s Chocolonely milk chocolate bar.

I’m not sponsored by Tony’s, although, I’d be more than happy to be their ambassador. They are one of the few milk chocolate bars you can find in the supermarket that doesn’t use odd ingredients and added flavors (I’m looking at you, Lindt.) And, of course, they taste very good.

Notes:

• Whisking the butter, oil, sugar and eggs together until the ribbon stage is key in creating a crackly top. You achieve the ribbon stage by whisking the butter, oil sugar and eggs together until thick, lighter in color, and voluminous, creating a ribbon-like trail that sits on the surface for a few seconds before dissolving, which indicates enough air is incorporated.

• I add a little hot coffee at the end to help the cocoa “bloom,” in other words, to bring out the cocoa’s flavor. You can add hot water if you’d prefer.

• Fudgy brownies are not raw brownies, but how do you know when a brownie is baked and ready? A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out with a few moist crumbs, not a slick of gooey batter. It’s not the end of the world if these over-bake—they’re still brownies after all—they’ll just be cakier. And yes, this is what happens to me when I don’t set a timer.

• These brownies are even better the next day. But that shouldn’t stop you from eating them warm with ice cream.

The Recipe:

Makes approx 16 2” x 2” brownies (5 cm x 5 cm)

What You’ll Need:

12 tablespoons (170 grams) butter, melted

3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil (such as Canola, or vegetable)

3/4 cup (149 grams) white sugar

3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup (84 grams) Dutch-process cocoa (unsweetened)

2/3 cup (80 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (Diamond)

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon hot coffee (or hot water)

1 1/2 cups (255 grams/9 ounces) milk chocolate chunks (I used Tony’s Chocolonely)

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease an 8 x 8” (20 cm x 20 cm) metal baking pan (do not use glass). Line with parchment paper to create a sling.

2. In a large bowl, and while the butter is still warm, whisk together the butter, oil and sugars until uniform. Add the eggs and egg yolk and continue to whisk until the mixture has gained in volume, is lighter in color, and holds a ribbon of batter (see notes above). Whisk in the vanilla extract. Stir in the cocoa, flour and salt until blended. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) and stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 28 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownie comes out with a few moist crumbs, but not wet batter. Cool and cut into squares. Brownies freeze nicely if you can’t eat them all at once (or want to hide them so you don’t eat them all at once).

When I explain this newsletter to people not already in the know, I tell them it’s all about baking, cooking, some kitchen history and a liberal dose and discussion of politics and what’s going on in the news. And it’s been a week—from the aftermath of the farce that was the White House Correspondent’s Dinner to Todd Blanche’s nomination hearing postponed. However, I was knocked sideways by my own fury at the hearing of Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.

Earlier that morning I’d posted on Threads in a most teacherly tone that we shouldn’t let ourselves be distracted by the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s interrogation of Dr. Fauci. Those Senators, I reminded us, were doing it to curry favor with the president, to bait liberals and stoke MAGA-types.

But then I watched some of the hearing. I saw Dr. Fauci’s lawyer get forcibly removed from chambers, listened as Josh Hawley taunted the doctor like a 5-year-old playing lawyer, and Bernie Moreno yell “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

I can’t say I did anything clever at that point. I did, however, cry. Maybe it was the whole week’s/month’s/years’ news catching up with me. Or maybe I couldn’t bear to watch the grotesque injustice of an 85-year-old scientist and physician who devoted his entire life to helping people have to sit through such a disgusting self-aggrandizing performance by politicians who have done nothing for anyone but themselves.

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I had a wonderful time talking with Anushay Hossain about the vagaries of publishing a cookbook, thoughts on a next book and the state of women’s rights in the U.S. Please give it a listen.

I also listened to two other uplifting pods this week that had NOTHING to do with me. Conan O’Brien’s conversation with comedian Leslie Jones involved a lot of quite funny talk of s-e-x, but near the end of the podcast, Leslie shared some inspirational ideas on how we should strive to live together.

Amy Poehler interviewed Anne Lamott who was pure Anne and shared baskets full of encouraging words for writers and non-writing humans alike

And here is Clyde, sadly newly diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which requires medicine twice daily. Please keep him in your good thoughts that the meds go to work fast!

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