Everyone loves a brownie. Simple to make, they're chocolatey, gooey, squidgy and incredibly moreish. Plus you can play around with a basic recipe and add nuts, fruit, make it vegan and swirl in cheesecake mix. These are our favorite brownie recipes – with some blondies included for white chocolate lovers too.

Dulce de leche is a caramelized milk jelly from Argentina and don't say we didn't warn you – it's highly addictive. Make it at home with our recipe or to save time, buy it from the supermarket and add sea salt. This brownie has a soft gooey center with a handful of crunchy hazelnuts or pecans. It's wonderfully rich, so a small piece will hit the spot.

Get the recipe for chocolate brownies with dulce de leche here

This brownie is both gluten-free and vegan, so it ticks the boxes for special dietary requirements without losing the fudgy, sticky texture. It's made with soft brown sugar instead of caster sugar, so you get a more intense, slightly caramelized result. The walnuts and pecan nuts combine perfectly with the richness of the dark chocolate.

Get the recipe for gluten-free chocolate nut brownies here

It will be difficult to resist tucking into this brownie. Make a simple creamy salted caramel sauce and swirl it into the brownie mixture. The result is pockets of squidgy caramel and brownie. They're sprinkled with sea salt before baking to really enhance that salted caramel and dark chocolate combination. 

Get the recipe for salted caramel brownies here

A classic brownie is combined with cheesecake mix, made from cream cheese and vanilla, to make a great dessert. Serve with a side of ice cream to make it super indulgent. You can add to this recipe too, folding in sour cherries and white chocolate, or some peanut butter.

Get the recipe for fudgy cheesecake brownies here

With a dense, sticky center, you'd never know this was a vegan recipe. Instead of butter and eggs, it contains soya milk and oil – sunflower oil or olive oil would work well. Wonderfully chunky with chocolate chips and almonds, a dusting of cocoa powder adds a final flourish.

Get the recipe for vegan chocolate brownies here

The addition of spice and sticky dates adds a Middle Eastern-inspired twist to this brownie recipe. You could also substitute the cardamom with ground cinnamon if you prefer, and the dates with chopped prunes. These are really easy to make and ready in just 40 minutes.

Get the recipe for date and cardamom chocolate brownies here

White chocolate and raspberries are a match made in heaven – the sharpness of the fruit cuts through the sweetness of the white chocolate. The brownie base is made with dark chocolate, then chunks of white chocolate are stirred in. The raspberry cheesecake mixture is then swirled through the brownie base. Serve with fresh raspberries on the side, if you like.

Get the recipe for chocolate and raspberry cheesecake brownies here

Grated beetroot keeps these brownies wonderfully moist. You can buy ready-cooked vacuum-packed beetroot to save time, and we'd definitely recommend grating it wearing kitchen gloves! It's a lighter style of brownie which would make a really great dessert served with vanilla ice cream.

Get the recipe for chocolate and beetroot brownies here

Stirring crunchy peanut butter into a brownie mixture is such a great idea. The peanut butter adds a pleasing savory note and crunch. Buy a jar of caramel and mix with the peanut butter for that salty, sweet taste we all love so much.

Get the recipe for peanut butter caramel brownies here 

This is a perfect brownie to serve after a meal with coffee. The coffee in the mixture provides a pleasant bitter contrast with the sweetness of the chocolate. It's egg and dairy-free: the butter is substituted with oil so you don't lose that fudgy texture.

Get the recipe for fudgy espresso vegan brownies here

This super cute topping of mini chocolate eggs would be great around Easter but you can mix and match the candy depending on the time of year. It's a dark chocolate brownie with vanilla cheesecake swirled in. The recipe calls for dark muscovado sugar which gives it an intense depth of flavor with hints of caramel and treacle. 

Get the recipe for swirled chocolate egg brownies here

There aren't many brownie recipes which are more intensely chocolatey than this one! Fresh raspberries and hazelnuts make it a real special occasion brownie. Rich and decadent, just a small serving will hit the spot.

Get the recipe for raspberry and vanilla brownies here

Love brownies? Love meringue? Why not combine the two to make a show-stopping cake. The brownie base is baked, then topped with the meringue and baked again. This recipe also includes whipped cream, fresh strawberries and nuts but you could use any berries you like.

Get the recipe for chocolate brownie meringue cake here

For all the white chocolate lovers out there, this blondie is made with mashed bananas, peanut butter and lashings of white chocolate. It's topped with a simple glacé icing. Put your timer on for this one – if you overcook it, it will turn into a brick, not a blondie!

Get the recipe for white chocolate, peanut butter and banana blondies here

You don't have to make a tricky praline for this blondie. It's simply a nut butter topped with pecans for crunch. The prunes add a lovely stickiness to the mixture and mean once baked, the blondies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week – if they last that long...

Get the recipe for prune and pecan blondies here

There's not much you can't love about this blondie, with chunks of white and milk chocolate, and crunchy peanut butter. The mixture takes just 10 minutes to make and the blondies would be perfect served with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Get the recipe for peanut butter and chocolate blondies here

A healthier but still decadent brownie, this recipe incorporates grated zucchini which adds a moist texture. The mix also includes warming spices like cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. Once you whip up a batch, you'll want to make these again and again.

Get the recipe for chocolate and zucchini brownies here

This easy-to-make brownie is everything you want a brownie to be – a gooey center and crunchy topping. You could even spread some melted milk chocolate over the top once baked, for extra wow factor.

Get the recipe for classic brownies here

This is your go-to recipe if you love a classic brownie – chewy, chocolatey and dense. And if you love a chocolate overload, you could add a big handful of chocolate chips before baking. With just five ingredients, plus a dusting of icing sugar, this is a really simple recipe to make with the kids.

Get the recipe for traditional American brownies here