This Matt’s Crazy Brownie recipe makes the best barely baked, gooey brownies by cooling freshly baked brownies in an ice bath. This method makes the perfect brownie -rich, fudgy, and insanely chocolatey.
Full disclosure: brownies are not usually my thing. If I am going to eat something indulgent, it needs to be worth it and unfortunately, brownies have a tendency to be hit or miss. Needless to say, these brownies are a hit.
They are the most delicious, intensely chocolate brownies I’ve ever had and the texture is out of this world incredible. By submerging the freshly baked pan of brownies in an ice bath, the baking process is quickly stopped.
The results? Nothing short of amazing.
This brilliant method is originally a “Matt Bites” recipe I stumbled upon in search of secret Santa treats for my son’s kindergarten class. I wanted something quick and easy and “Matt’s Crazy Brownies” fit the bill.
If you’re a brownie skeptic like me, do yourself a favor and make these brownies to see just how crazy delicious brownies can truly be.
Ingredients //
- Butter – is melted over a double boiler with the chocolate to create a smooth and flavorful base for the brownies.
- Unsweetened Chocolate (or bittersweet) – 100% premium cacao baking bars or 70% bittersweet chocolate chunks will give you the deepest chocolate flavor.
- Sugar – granulated.
- Eggs – adds moisture and help create a “crackly-top.”
- Vanilla – adds sweet, caramelized flavor.
- Salt – enhances the sweetness and deepens chocolate flavor.
- Flour – is the agent that holds everything together.
- Chopped Nuts (like pecans) – for added crunch; optional
EQUIPMENT
This is really important:YOUNEED to use an 8″ METAL baking pan. You’ll be submerging the hot pan into an ice bath. Using any other material baking pan runs the risk of it cracking and breaking.
How to Make // The Steps
- Step 1: Melt chocolate and butter: In the top compartment of a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter together.
- Step 2: Continue melting until silky and smooth (it’s only going to get better). Then, remove from heat.
- Step 3: Add sugar, salt, and vanilla to the bowl with the melted chocolate and butter. Mix together well with a wooden spoon.
- Step 4: Add eggs, flour, and nuts: One at a time, add eggs to the bowl. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, incorporate the first egg completely before mixing with the second egg. Mix in the flour. Stir flour together with remaining ingredients until the batter starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl (about 1 minute). Gently fold in chopped pecans.
- Step 5: Prepare baking pan: Line an 8″ inch METAL baking pan with parchment paper or foil.
- Step 6: Bake: Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the brownies pull away from the sides of the pan with ease.
- Step 7: Stop Cooking Process: While the brownies are baking, fill a pan that will fit the 8″ baking pan with ice and cold water. Remove the brownies from the oven promptly and submerge the baking pan in an ice bath; be careful not to get the brownies wet. Let cool completely.
- Step 8: Slice and serve: Once brownies have cooled, cut into even squares and enjoy!
Tips for Fudgy Brownies
- Don’t skip the salt and use good quality vanilla to achieve the most decadent and deep chocolate flavor.
- Don’t overbake. As soon as the edges are firm but the center is still soft remove the baking pan from the oven and place it in the ice bath.
- Be very careful not to let the baking pan submerge completely into the ice bath. If the brownies themselves are submerged and get wet, there’s really no coming back from that.
- If you don’t have a double boiler to melt chocolate, place a metal bowl over a simmering pot of water and let the heat from the hot water underneath the bowl melt the chocolate and butter.
Why are Matt’s Crazy Brownies So Good?
- Simple ingredients and easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions.
- If you like your brownies DENSE, you’ll love these super moist and fudgy brownies.
- Chocolate lover’s dream come true. These brownies are perfectly sweetened and insanely chocolatey.
- Customizable: The ways to make this recipe your own are endless.
Variations //
Matt’s Crazy Brownies recipe is a great foundation for adding different mix-ins and toppings. Check out the tasty ideas below:
- Baking Chips – Fold chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, white chocolate, etc. chips into the batter before baking.
- Candy – M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, Snow Caps, Cookie Dough Bites. Mini Reese’s Cups or any chopped candy bar.
- Salty Stuff – potato chips, pretzels, salted nuts, etc.
- Cookies – Crush up your favorite cookie and sprinkle crumbs on top of the brownie batter before baking.
- Other – sprinkles, marshmallows, chopped nuts, peanut butter, etc.
How to Store//
Storing: Cool brownies completely in ice bath and keep in an airtight container at room temperature. Homemade brownies are best enjoyed within 1 to 2 days, but will keep up to a 4 days. To keep brownies as moist as possible, do not refrigerate.
Make-Ahead and Freezer Options
Freezing: Likewise, these brownies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
FAQ
What makes brownies fudgy?
Dense, fudgy brownies have more added fat than cakey brownies. These crazy brownies are fudgy in part because there is more butter than flour in the recipe.
Oil and butter both create a dense, tender texture, but butter gives brownies a richer flavor and a bit more rise than brownies made with oil.
Fudgy brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with some pieces of loose crumbs stuck to it. It should appear soft but not wet.
Yes, so if it seems like your brownies aren’t quite done when you pull them out of the oven then they’re most likely perfect. They will continue to firm as they cool.
Fresh from the oven, submerge baking pan (without submerging the brownies) in an ice bath to quickly stop the baking process and cool the brownies quickly.
More Chocolate Dessert Recipes
Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
The Most Amazing Chocolate Fudge
Matt’s Crazy Brownies
This Matt's Crazy Brownie recipe makes the best barely baked, gooey brownies by cooling freshly baked brownies in an ice bath. This method makes the perfect brownie -rich, fudgy, and insanely chocolatey.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 ounces unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2/3 chopped nuts (I like pecans)
Instructions
- Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter..
- Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon to mix it together.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Make sure the first egg is completely incorporated before you add the second.
- Mix in the flour.
- Stir for one minute. The mixture will be ready when it starts to pull from the sides of the bowl.
- Stir in the chopped pecans.
- This is really important – Use an 8-inch METAL baking pan. It has to be metal because you are going to put a hot pan into a pan of ice water. Anything other than metal could crack and break. Line the pan with parchment paper or tin foil.
- Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The brownies will be ready when they pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Before the brownies are ready to come out of the oven, fill a pan larger than the 8-inch pan (I use a 9×13) with ice and cold water. Take the brownies from the oven and put them in this ice bath. Be careful not to splash. No one likes a wet brownie. Let them cool completely.
- Cut into squares and enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 251Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 124mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 21gProtein: 3g
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This Post Has 84 Comments
These brownies looks amazing, especially that crust on the top! I’m tempted to make these right away as well, I have everything on hand too 🙂 Just a guess, but I think the ice bath stops the cooking process quicker, so you end up with fudgier brownies.
Something magical happens, whatever the reason, they become perfection.
What happens when ice bath overflows in brownies? This happened to me! Help!
FYI..this is the BEST way to cool brownies!! Just don’toverflow. Lol
Ooops! Hope they were saved!
We are intrigued – the ice bath?! And we’re brownie lovers – so you as a non brownie lover saying these are amazing is enough of a reason for us to make these…!
you have been warned. they are that good.
OMG !!!!
They are CRAZY good !!
The recipe is very easy to follow, thaaaaaaaaaaaaanks for the pictures.. It helps to see if I’m doing right !!
The ONLY bad thing… they didnt last 30min… everybody ate them !! hahahaha
They really are CRAZY aren’t they?
I love and ooey gooey brownie…heck, I love any brownie. 😉 Great job!
thank you Amanda! I love your black and white cake.
That looks more than delicious. I need to get a metal pan. And print this recipe. And make this recipe. And eat it. Yummm.
LOL… yes, you need to do all of those things.
they look great! what chocolate did you use?
I guess I’m really lazy because when I originally saw his post on this, I read “ice bath” and thought, Meh. I really love a good brownie. But I didn’t know if all the must-dos were musts. Now that you’ve given this a rave review, I’m going to have to try it.
It is worth the extra step. I promise.
I am a HUGE brownie fan, so I will definitely need to make these soon!! YUMM I wish I had one right now…
Wow, those look amazing!
they are.
I’ve never seen brownies baked this way…it definitely looks like its worth a shot to try! I have never had a pan of brownies turn out how I want them….I always end up messing them up somehow. Hopefully I don’t mess this one up too 🙂
these are so good, I hope that these are the ones for you.
My husband might just die when I make these. They look amazing! I love that you use a metal bowl over boiling water. I use a glass Pyrex bowl over boiling water.
I hope that he likes them.
My husband (Matt!) loves brownies. Baking a batch reminds me of bake sales and growing up…Even though they’re not the most sophisticated dessert, I think we’ll never grow out of it!
They can be sophisticated and they are always delicious.
Mmmm each picture looks so delicious. I want to lick my computer screen
Just make sure that no one is watching…
Made these this afternoon. Wonderful, divine fudginess with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside! Thanks again for sharing!!!
so glad!
That ice bath step does sound interesting, but it looks like it must cause something wonderful to happen because those brownies look amazing. I’m sorry, but I guess I won’t be able to take your advice because after seeing these, I’ll have to try them.
Now I want to try the ice bath with other things… like a chocolate chip cookie bar.
looks so delicious…. I like brownie so much, now I’m going to try it myself.
Please do!
I featured this today on Today’s Top 20!
Amanda
todaystoptwenty.blogspot.com
thanks Amanda!
These look delectable.
And you take a mean photo.
If you have a moment this weekend please link up to Creative Juice! {Entries close Sunday night}…
<3
nicolette @
https://momnivoresdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/01/creative-juice-thursday-6-features-and.html
lol… thank you Nicolette!
I was craving chocolate last night so i made these. One word Fabulous! They are definately chocolatey goodness!
good to hear!
I thought these were too sweet, I would definitely use unsweetened chocolate instead of semisweet next time, but otherwise they were pretty good! Thanks!
I actually recommend using unsweetened or bittersweet and that is what is listed in the ingredient list.
Dang you – just looking at those pictures adn I MUST go find chocolate NOW. They look so absolutely yummy!
Thank you fro sharing with the Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Blog Hop.
thank you Maggie!
Thanks so much for the recipe I am trying to make it as we speak!
By the way I really enjoy all your recipes and your detailed instructions on how to make them!
Thank you again
Brenda
thank you so much Brenda!
What a fun new method to try. I may just have to go buy a 8×8 metal pan.
it is worth a trip to Target.
Oh my heck – these look tasty! We love brownies!!!
I don’t and these are amazing!
These look great! I am always on the hunt for the perfect brownie recipe. These look right up my alley!
I hope that you like these as much as I do.
I made these last night and they were gooey and chocolatey and yummy! I only had semi-sweet chocolate, so I cut back on the sugar by 1/4 cup and left out the nuts because I have a teenager that doesn’t like them. They turned out brownie-licious! Thanks for sharing!
great Jennifer!
How big is that stick of butter? From the photo, it looks a lot smaller than the sticks of butters I get from my grocery store.
Sticks of butter are standard in size, they are all 8 Tablespoons.
So I’m not much of a brownie fan either and these look delicious! Think I’ll make today, but I only have tiny diced Walnuts or roasted peanuts. My hubby LOVES those peanuts, but not sure how a peanut would taste in a brownie… have you tried? Any ideas?
So I wasn’t patient enough to wait for a response. Oh My Yum! Really I may have already gone up a pant size. They are truly crazy good (and remember I don’t like brownies much) They were great with the Planters Roasted Peanuts– especially because i used semisweet chocolate (all I had). I like sweet though. Yum Yum Yum going back for just one more small taste 😉
I net peanuts were great in these. I will have to try that.
Man, they do look awesome- I tried and somehow failed to make these. I waited until they started to pull away from the pan, but I guess I should have waited longer because mine weren’t done. Hopefully the 2nd time will be the charm…
oh no!
I’m making these right now, they just went in the oven. I have to say though, I followed the directions perfectly but my batter seemed much thicker than yours. It didn’t pour into the pan like your image, I had to scoop and spread. I’m crossing my fingers that they turn out ok! Nothing worse than putting all that effort into something and then finding out it’s ruined : /
I wonder why?
I made these brownies yesterday, I didn’t add the nuts, but did add some left over easter chocolate and they were FABULOUS! Thank you for the recipe!
these are divine! Easy and rich and chocolatey. I am glad that you liked them too.
AMAZING!!!! My kids are CrAzY about Brownies, made these, and WOWsie wowZERS!!! Thanks for an great brownie update!!!
so glad Marti! They are called craxy for good reason.
I have made a different brownie recipe every time in the hopes that I will come across a winner. This is the winner! I promise I don’t say that lightly because I swear we have had at least 100 not quite right brownies on the quest 🙂 Thank you, thank you and thank you!
wow! What a compliment Amy! I am glad that you found your perfect brownie.
I found this link on pinterest; these brownies look amazing!
Will have to give them a try this weekend 🙂
I found this link on pinterest; these brownies look amazing!
I can’t wait to give them a try on the weekend 🙂
I hope that you love them as much I do.
Omg those look so good.
But do you think they’ll turn out good without the nuts? Half of my friends and families have crazy nut allergies (no lie) so if we exclude nuts should we alter the cooking time or anything?
Absolutely. These would taste good with just about anything.
This brownies really look delicious, I am gathering brownies recipe since I am planning to put up a sweets stations for parties. Hope to hear from you more.
They really are Tesa!
These look lovely! How well do they last over night, do you think? If I needed to make them the day before?
I think that they would be great.
Hello, I’ve made this brownies a couple of times and they are always a hit!
One quick question though — I’m a huge Nutella fan and I just wanted to know if I were to make a Nutella brownies using this recipe as my base, how much Nutella should I add without ruining the brownies?
Thank you!
I really have no idea, I have never tried it. You should try it and experiment.
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice. An even easier way to melt the chocolate and butter is to put them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. No need to bother with boiling water at all 🙂
I didn’t own a microwave for many years, so it never even occurs me to use it.
ThSee brownies aren’t crazy they stink
Wow. I’m not a big brownie fan, but these are amazing. I received rave reviews. Thank you for sharing Bree!
I am so glad that you got some brownie love.
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