In my headphones, The Marshall Tucker Band croons “Six long months on a dust covered trail/They say heaven’s at the end but so far it’s been hell/And there’s fire on the mountain, lightnin’ in the air.”

Music, like this song that I’ve long loved, can do so many things for us. It can inspire. It can educate. It can lift us up. Or, sometimes, it can wrap up in a warm embrace of comfort.

Sometimes, music can be a salve on our souls. And other times, it’s the jolt we need to get moving.

When I cook, I often listen to music. A little P!nk while chopping veggies? Sure! Some Bruce Springsteen while tossing the salad? Yes, please! A little Bob Dylan with baking? Ok. The Eagles, Eminem, The Rolling Stones, Mumford & Sons, REM, Sam Smith, Third Eye Blind, Carly Simon, Dr. Dre, David Bowie … my kitchen playlists span decades and genres. Sometimes fast, sometimes mellow, sometimes loud, music energizes me through recipe after recipe.

How about you? What’s on your kitchen playlist?

These rich, decadent brownies call for whipping them up to a mellow but soulful tune like Hozier’s “Take Me to Church,” or something by Pretenders like “Don’t Lose Faith in Me.”

Why not turn up your favorite tune and make these? First, you melt chocolate and butter, and, in the case of this recipe, water in a pan, whisk it with sugar, salt and vanilla, then with eggs one at a time and then stir in a little flour … and you have a dark, rich brownie batter waiting to be baked.

So bake it. Use a square pan, lined with foil, and bake it until the top is dry — a crust has formed. Lift out the foil, peal it back and let the brownies cool. Like really cool. You might even pop them in the fridge to finish up.

Then cut them. They will be so fudgy, so moist, so decadent.

And eat them. Perhaps even sharing them with friends.

This recipe comes from the Guittard Extra Dark Chocolate Chips bag, though I have shared my own instructions, which are slightly different. It was so good, I had to share it.