Brownies, that rich, decadent, purely hedonistic blend of cake and cookie that feels amazing in your mouth and leaves you craving more. There are a million different derivations of how to make these delicious treats, but there’s one thing they all have in common. Levels of chocolate so thick and rich they should be illegal.

So popular are they that you can find them served as the foundation for sundaes, they can be found in milkshakes, and there’s even been breakfast cereal based on them. Brownie Day is your chance to get in and indulge in all that decadent goodness you’ve avoided the rest of the year, or at least an opportunity to go into some serious brownie overload.

The first brownies ever made set the bar for the hedonistic indulgence that was to follow, created for a fair luncheon in the late 1800s, the first variety of these was found bedecked in an apricot glaze and inundated with delicious walnuts. To this day the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago serves the same recipe as that served to these ladies well over a hundred years ago.

Brownie Day was established by the millions of fans of this chocolatey-cakey treat, and the recipes that have cropped up over the years have been legion. From Chocolate Mint brownies to those made with rich swirls of caramel, the variations of brownies are limited only by the extent of your imagination.