I have to admit, brownies are not my thing. If I am going to eat something that may or may not end up on my thighs, I am very selective about what it is. Normally, I can pass by a plate of brownies and keep going. This is not the case with these babies. These are the most delicious, chocolatey, concoction I have ever put in my mouth. The texture of these brownies are what brownie dreams are made of. The method is certainly strange, but believe me, whatever the ice bath does to these brownies is nothing short of brilliant.
A few weeks ago, my son’s former Kindergarten teacher asked me to help her out with her Secret Santa treats. I was happy to help her out, (it did not hurt that we love the person that was going to be receiving these treats), and I opened my Google Reader and there was this recipe at mattbites.com staring at me. I needed something quick and easy and ready to deliver in less than 2 hours and this recipe fit the bill. I had everything on hand, made them, baked them, cooled them, and packaged them with time to spare.
Do yourself a favor. Do not make these brownies. You will make them over and over again. How do I know? Don’t ask. Don’t ask my thighs either.
1 stick of 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)
Over the double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter.
I do not have a fancy double boiler. I put a metal bowl over a sauce pan with simmering water underneath. DIY double boiler.
Silky and smooth. It is only going to get better.
Add the sugar, salt and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon and 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.
Here is where it gets weird. 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. But seriously, don’t make these. They are crazy good.
Print
PinIngredients
- 1 stick of 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 the double boiler, melt the chocolate and butter.
- I do not have a fancy double boiler. I put a metal bowl over a sauce pan with simmering water underneath. DIY double boiler.
- Silky and smooth. It is only going to get better.
- Add the sugar, salt and vanilla. Use a wooden spoon and 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.
- Here is where it gets weird. 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.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:11 am
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.
January 7th, 2011 at 11:11 pm
Something magical happens, whatever the reason, they become perfection.
June 18th, 2017 at 9:26 pm
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
July 23rd, 2017 at 1:24 pm
Ooops! Hope they were saved!
January 6th, 2011 at 5:26 am
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…!
January 7th, 2011 at 11:10 pm
you have been warned. they are that good.
April 4th, 2012 at 10:50 pm
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
April 5th, 2012 at 5:11 pm
They really are CRAZY aren’t they?
January 6th, 2011 at 5:32 am
I love and ooey gooey brownie…heck, I love any brownie. 😉 Great job!
January 7th, 2011 at 11:09 pm
thank you Amanda! I love your black and white cake.
January 6th, 2011 at 7:05 am
That looks more than delicious. I need to get a metal pan. And print this recipe. And make this recipe. And eat it. Yummm.
January 7th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
LOL… yes, you need to do all of those things.
January 6th, 2011 at 7:51 am
they look great! what chocolate did you use?
January 6th, 2011 at 9:41 am
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.
January 7th, 2011 at 11:08 pm
It is worth the extra step. I promise.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:45 am
I am a HUGE brownie fan, so I will definitely need to make these soon!! YUMM I wish I had one right now…
January 6th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Wow, those look amazing!
January 7th, 2011 at 11:07 pm
they are.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
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 🙂
January 7th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
these are so good, I hope that these are the ones for you.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
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.
January 7th, 2011 at 11:06 pm
I hope that he likes them.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
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!
January 7th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
They can be sophisticated and they are always delicious.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
Mmmm each picture looks so delicious. I want to lick my computer screen
January 7th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Just make sure that no one is watching…
January 6th, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Made these this afternoon. Wonderful, divine fudginess with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside! Thanks again for sharing!!!
January 7th, 2011 at 11:03 pm
so glad!
January 7th, 2011 at 12:31 am
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.
January 7th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Now I want to try the ice bath with other things… like a chocolate chip cookie bar.
January 7th, 2011 at 1:59 am
looks so delicious…. I like brownie so much, now I’m going to try it myself.
January 7th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Please do!
January 7th, 2011 at 7:32 am
I featured this today on Today’s Top 20!
Amanda
todaystoptwenty.blogspot.com
January 7th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
thanks Amanda!
January 7th, 2011 at 6:56 pm
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
January 7th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
lol… thank you Nicolette!
January 8th, 2011 at 6:03 pm
I was craving chocolate last night so i made these. One word Fabulous! They are definately chocolatey goodness!
January 10th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
good to hear!
January 9th, 2011 at 10:09 am
I thought these were too sweet, I would definitely use unsweetened chocolate instead of semisweet next time, but otherwise they were pretty good! Thanks!
January 10th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
I actually recommend using unsweetened or bittersweet and that is what is listed in the ingredient list.
January 9th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
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.
January 10th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
thank you Maggie!
January 10th, 2011 at 5:13 am
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
January 10th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
thank you so much Brenda!
January 10th, 2011 at 6:13 am
What a fun new method to try. I may just have to go buy a 8×8 metal pan.
January 10th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
it is worth a trip to Target.
January 10th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Oh my heck – these look tasty! We love brownies!!!
January 10th, 2011 at 9:17 pm
I don’t and these are amazing!
January 11th, 2011 at 10:47 am
These look great! I am always on the hunt for the perfect brownie recipe. These look right up my alley!
January 17th, 2011 at 7:52 pm
I hope that you like these as much as I do.
January 12th, 2011 at 5:21 am
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!
January 17th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
great Jennifer!
January 12th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
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.
January 17th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
Sticks of butter are standard in size, they are all 8 Tablespoons.
January 14th, 2011 at 11:06 am
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?
January 14th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
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 😉
January 17th, 2011 at 7:26 pm
I net peanuts were great in these. I will have to try that.
January 17th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
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…
January 17th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
oh no!
February 16th, 2011 at 8:56 am
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 : /
February 16th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
I wonder why?
April 28th, 2011 at 9:33 am
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!
April 28th, 2011 at 10:23 pm
these are divine! Easy and rich and chocolatey. I am glad that you liked them too.
May 11th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
AMAZING!!!! My kids are CrAzY about Brownies, made these, and WOWsie wowZERS!!! Thanks for an great brownie update!!!
May 13th, 2011 at 4:41 pm
so glad Marti! They are called craxy for good reason.
May 17th, 2011 at 7:14 am
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!
May 26th, 2011 at 12:07 am
wow! What a compliment Amy! I am glad that you found your perfect brownie.
January 18th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
I found this link on pinterest; these brownies look amazing!
Will have to give them a try this weekend 🙂
January 18th, 2012 at 8:14 pm
I found this link on pinterest; these brownies look amazing!
I can’t wait to give them a try on the weekend 🙂
January 23rd, 2012 at 11:37 pm
I hope that you love them as much I do.
May 13th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
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?
May 22nd, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Absolutely. These would taste good with just about anything.
June 4th, 2012 at 2:13 am
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.
June 4th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
They really are Tesa!
October 6th, 2012 at 8:58 pm
These look lovely! How well do they last over night, do you think? If I needed to make them the day before?
October 8th, 2012 at 8:56 pm
I think that they would be great.
February 20th, 2013 at 9:28 pm
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!
February 21st, 2013 at 11:14 pm
I really have no idea, I have never tried it. You should try it and experiment.
March 2nd, 2013 at 8:20 pm
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 🙂
March 4th, 2013 at 8:52 pm
I didn’t own a microwave for many years, so it never even occurs me to use it.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:28 pm
ThSee brownies aren’t crazy they stink
November 16th, 2015 at 12:54 pm
Wow. I’m not a big brownie fan, but these are amazing. I received rave reviews. Thank you for sharing Bree!
★★★★★
November 17th, 2015 at 11:34 am
I am so glad that you got some brownie love.