Heat oven to 350. Spray a 13×9 pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan on medium heat, melt together the butter, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. (I let the butter almost melt then add the sugar, cocoa and salt and continue to stir until everything is just melted together… don’t let it boil.)

Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit for a few minutes to allow it to cool slightly until it is JUST warm.

Once your mixture has cooled a bit, beat in your eggs. (If you add these before it is cool enough you will scramble the eggs.) Beat vigorously by hand for 1-2 minutes, or at least 60 strokes.

Stir in your vanilla and flour and mix until combined.

Add in your chopped pecans, (or don’t if you aren’t a brownie with nuts person.)

Scrape the mixture in to your prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it.

Let your brownies cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.

For the glaze: In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the milk and the cocoa powder until completely melted and combined. Stir in the powdered sugar and beat with a whisk over low heat until it’s completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour a good amount of glaze over the top of the brownies. (You won’t need all of it, so save the remaining glaze in a small container for people to add to their brownie OR serve a la mode with a spoonful of the glaze over the top of the ice cream.