homemade brownie ice cream sandwiches
Homemade brownies, cold vanilla ice cream…a perfect cure for the Dog Days of Summer.
These treats, ones you might shell out $8 or so at the store for four teeny, sad bars, couldn’t be easier to recreate at home. And nothing beats a fresh fudge brownie produced from your own oven, pals.
This spiel is how I will try to convince you that Homemade Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches belong in your weekend baking rotation, before all y’all folks with seasons transition into cozy fall mode.
I got to thinking about these primarily after buying Trader Joes’ coffee brownie ice cream sandwiches. They are stellar, folks, so if you’re around a TJs I encourage you to try them out. And then come home and give these a go. Even though I chose vanilla as my filling, you can definitely switch up the ice cream, and I think coffee or espresso would be just swell as alternatives.
Or peanut butter. Or funfetti. Literally anything.
The wait for these is well worth it, I promise. And then you have a stash in your freezer for sweet tooth emergencies. I recommend hiding a few from your kids or your spouse, in the furthest throes if the drawer, just in case they go snooping for a midnight snack.
Big Fudge
These brownies will be familiar to you if you’ve ever indulged in an FMG brownie recipe. They’re thick, rich, chocolatey, and crinkly atop. The only difference in method here is that we divide the batter into two 9 x 9 inch baking pans, so be sure to grab a couple and line with parchment paper.
Only have one? Not a problem. You’ll just need to complete these in batches, which will take longer, but works fine.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate chips (I use dark chocolate but semisweet are good too. Melt for 1 minute, stir, then melt an additional 20-30 seconds until perfectly smooth. Immediately whisk in sugar and a touch of brown sugar.
In a separate bowl with your mixer, beat a few eggs until very foamy and fluffy. Lower the speed and stream in the chocolate mixture as well as some vanilla and, if you’d like, instant coffee or espresso. Deepens the chocolate flavor, the coffee does.
Mix in flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Stir until just combined. The batter will be THICK and that is what we want!
Evenly spread the batter in your two baking pans. Or, measure half and spread into your one pan. To make the spreading a bit easier, lightly grease a spatula.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until set up and no longer gooey. Let cool completely in the pans. I highly recommend some pre-planning and to put the brownie layers in the fridge overnight. They become even fudgier and more cohesive for better layering and slicing.
Plain Vanilla
Though, let’s be real, there’s nothing vanilla about these bad boys, except the literal ice cream flavor.
To assemble your sandwiches, first set out a quart of ice cream for about 10 minutes or so to thaw enough to scoop. Doesn’t need to be liquid, just pliable and spreadable.
Take one of your brownie layers and invert so the crinkly side faces down. Place back onto your parchment and the parchment back into the baking pan. Dump and spread the ice cream all over this layer. I like to use an ice cream scoop and then a frosting knife to accomplish the job. Peel the second brownie layer off the top and set on the ice cream, pressing gently to even things out.
Freeze at least 6 hours to let the ice cream properly firm up, but again, overnight is best. When you’re ready to serve, use a very sharp knife to slice out your sandwiches. You may need to pop the sliced bars back into the freezer for another hour or so to firm up again.
Yes, a lot of back and forth in the chiller, but again, patience pays off!
I say you deserve to treat yourself this Thursday, and all weekend long. Or, if you’re feeling nice, give one to your kid(s) as a celebratory dessert for getting through their first day of school without trouble.
And if there was trouble? I’d argue their allotted sandwich now belongs to you. Hehehe.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Ice cream paint job:
No Churn Hot Fudge Vanilla Ice Cream
No Churn Bourbon Salted Caramel Ice Cream
No Churn Cookie Dough Ice Cream
No Churn Espresso Kahlua Ice Cream
Strawberry Cocoa Krispie Ice Cream Bars
homemade brownie ice cream sandwiches
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant coffee/espresso (optional)
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 quart vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9 x 9 inch square pans with parchment, leaving some to overhang the sides.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate chips for 1 minute. Stir until the bowl is no longer warm. If needed, heat 20-30 seconds longer until the mixture is very smooth. Whisk in the sugar and brown sugar.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until very frothy and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes. Lower the speed and stream in the chocolate mixture. Whip in the instant coffee (if using) and vanilla.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined.
- Divide the brownie batter between the two pans, spreading it from edge to edge. It will be thick!
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the center is set and an inserted toothpick emerges with just a few moist crumbs. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. If you have the time, I highly recommend refrigerating the brownies, in the pans, overnight to firm them up and make them even fudgier.
- Set the ice cream on the counter for 10-15 minutes until very thawed and easily scooped.
- Pull one of the brownie layers out of the pan and invert so the shiny, crinkly top is facing the bottom. Set back onto the parchment and return to the pan. Scoop the ice cream onto this layer, spreading evenly. Remove the second brownie layer from the parchment and press on top of the ice cream. Cover and freeze at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Use a sharp sharp knife to carefully slice the brownies into 12 bars. Freeze again if needed for about an hour to firm up. Enjoy!
