My Mom recently made the Pineapple Angel Food Cake, a family favorite in the summertime. And she’s gearing up to make a big batch of lemon squares for a party in a few short weeks. But this weekend I was headed to a party in New Hampshire, and wanted to bring something sweet. I looked at countless recipes, but tried to avoid anything that needed refrigeration (because hosts always have a packed refrigerator when there’s a party in the summer) and anything that required utensils to eat. I settled on classic brownies, made with this recipe.

These are the most intensely chocolate brownies I’ve had in a long time. They’re almost fudge-like, as if I undercooked them, although I don’t think I did. The edges were actually a little burnt, so I had to cut them off because you can’t subject party guests to things like that. (However, you can feel free to eat the burnt edges in the privacy of your own home.) Although judging the baking time is tricky, the rest of the recipe is fairly easy. If you have flour, butter, sugar, and eggs in your house, all you’ll need to pick up is the unsweetened chocolate squares and you can make homemade brownies for a party, or just for yourself.