Using extra rich homemade brownies and your favorite flavor ice cream, you can make brownie ice cream sandwiches at home. My #1 tip: Give the assembled brownies plenty of time to freeze so they slice into neat squares or rectangles.
Complete with 8 ingredient homemade brownies, these brownie ice cream sandwiches are inspired by the store-bought version we all know and love. In addition to letting the assembled brownies freeze overnight, I recommend slightly under-baking the thin sheets of brownies so they aren’t rock solid after freezing. What a difference it makes!
I have a full list of success tips, as well as a video tutorial and step-by-step photos, so make sure you browse this post before getting started. I can’t wait for you to try these at home!
These Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches Are:
- Fun to make
- Inspired by the store-bought version
- Made with extra rich homemade brownies
- Awesome with vanilla ice cream, but you must try coffee or strawberry!
- Like chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, they’re a wonderful make-ahead treat
- Great in the freezer for up to 1 month
Video Tutorial
**Though the full detailed instructions are written below, let me walk you through the process so you understand what you’re doing.
Overview: How to Make Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
I found this recipe idea on Tasty and was thrilled to try it with homemade brownies. The most difficult part of recipe testing was finding the perfect brownie recipe that would (1) be thin enough (2) be soft enough and (3) taste good enough. A hard code to crack, but I started with my seriously fudgy homemade brownies and built on that foundation.
- Make homemade brownie batter. Using my homemade brownies as the base, I increased the butter, left out the melted chocolate, and added a bit of baking powder. I left out the chocolate so these brownies could be softer and, well, more convenient. (They’re made with only cocoa powder, so if you ever need a 9×13-inch pan of brownies that uses just cocoa powder, here’s your recipe—and you can use the same baking/cooling instructions as my homemade brownies. I don’t recommend a 9×13-inch baking pan for making these ice cream sandwiches, though. See next step.) I also added butter to make up for the loss of liquid chocolate and added baking powder to give the brownies a little lift and extra softness.
- Bake in two 9-inch baking pans. Use 2 9-inch square baking pans for the correct thickness. I only have one 9-inch square baking pan, so I bake the batter in batches. I do not recommend one 9×13-inch pan for this recipe. Though the brownie batter will fit and you could cut the cooled sheet of brownies in half, the “sandwich” will still be too thick. An 8-inch pan is too small. You could try two 9-inch round pans of brownies, but you won’t have even ice cream sandwich squares. Before baking, place a piece of parchment directly on top of the batter—this helps the brownies stay flat and prevents the brownies from puffing up too much.
- Under-bake. A quick 15-16 minutes per thin square sheet of brownies. As the brownies cool for a few minutes, remove your ice cream from the freezer so it slightly softens.
- Scoop ice cream on top of one layer of brownies. Carefully spread into an even layer.
- Place 2nd square sheet of brownies on top.
- Freeze. Place the whole pan in the freezer for at least 12 hours. I find 12-18 hours is the perfect amount of time. Any less and the ice cream will still be pretty soft and squish out when you try to cut them. The longer after 18 hours, the harder the sandwiches are to cut.
- Cut. Use a very sharp knife and some arm muscle!
Step-by-Step Photos:
The brownie batter is thick, so do your best to spread it into your lined pan(s). Lining with parchment paper is imperative so you can easily lift the brownie square out of the pan as a whole. Bake with parchment paper directly on top, too. This prevents the brownies from puffing up too much.
You’ll have two square sheets of super thin and soft brownies.
Soften ice cream, then spread it on top.
Cover with 2nd square sheet of brownies.
Freeze, then cut into squares or rectangles.
Success Tips (Follow These Closely)
- Use parchment paper: You need parchment paper to line the square baking pan(s) with enough overhang on the sides so you can lift the warm brownies out as a whole for assembly. You also need parchment paper placed directly on top of the brownie batter to keep them flat. I swear by these pre-cut sheets of parchment.
- Use 9-inch square pans: Best thickness for these ice cream sandwiches. See recipe notes below!
- Under-bake the square sheets of brownies: To prevent the brownies from turning break-your-teeth hard in the freezer, slightly under-bake them. Pay very close attention to this bake time. They will be very soft coming out of the oven.
- Freeze for 12-18 hours: As mentioned above, any shorter than this and your ice cream will squeeze out of the sandwich as you cut. Any longer and they’ll be delicious, just very hard to cut.
- Use your sharpest knife to cut: A super sharp knife and arm muscle works. At 8 months pregnant, this was a workout!
These are always so much fun to serve when the weather begins to warm up, especially for pool parties, Father’s Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and every gathering in between! For more summer dessert inspiration, see my roundups of favorite Memorial Day recipes and BBQ cookout dessert recipes.
See Your Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintBrownie Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 13 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 8-12 sandwiches
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Using extra rich homemade brownies and your favorite flavor ice cream, you can make brownie ice cream sandwiches at home. My #1 tip: Give the assembled brownies plenty of time to freeze so they slice into neat squares or rectangles.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (400g)Â granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (82g) unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder*
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 quart container (1/2 gallon) vanilla ice cream (slightly softened—you can use any flavor and you’ll have a little leftover)
Instructions
- Preliminary note: For best success, I recommend reviewing the recipe notes and video tutorial above before beginning.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on the sides to lift the warm brownies out. Set aside. (If you have 2 identical 9-inch square baking pans, you can line both and bake the batches of brownie batter at the same time.) I don’t recommend other size baking pans. See my recipe note.
- In a microwave-safe bowl or a saucepan on the stove, melt the butter. After melting, whisk in the sugar until completely combined, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla. The batter will be a little dull looking.
- Add the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Fold it all together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. It will come together, I promise! Batter will be very thick. You will have about 4 cups of batter.
- Spoon and spread half of the batter (about 2 cups) into prepared pan. (Lightly cover remaining batter and keep at room temperature.) The batter is thick and heavy, so do your best to spread it evenly in the lined baking pan. I find the back of a spoon is most helpful. Place a small sheet of parchment paper directly on top of the brownie batter, smoothing it down as pictured in the photos and video tutorial above. The top parchment paper helps the brownies stay flat and prevents the brownies from puffing up too much.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes. I find any longer over-cooks the brownies, making the ice cream sandwiches difficult to cut and eat. Remove brownies from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Carefully, using the overhanging parchment paper on the sides, lift the warm and soft square sheet of brownies out of the pan as a whole. Remove top piece of parchment. (You can reuse it for the top of the 2nd sheet of brownies in the next step, if desired.) Set aside.
- Line the warm pan with another sheet of parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on the sides to lift the warm brownies out. Give the remaining brownie batter a stir. It will be very thick at this point. Add a teaspoon of water to thin out if necessary. (No more.) Spoon and spread the remaining brownie batter in the pan. Place a small sheet of parchment paper directly on top of the brownie batter, just as you did before.
- Bake for 15-16 minutes. Remove brownies from the oven and cool for 15 minutes in the pan. During this cooling time, I remove the ice cream from the freezer so it has a chance to soften.
- Scoop the softened ice cream onto the warm brownie layer in the pan. You’ll use almost all of the 1/2 gallon of ice cream. Using the back of a spoon or your ice cream scoop, gently spread it into an even and thick layer.
- Carefully pick up the 1st square sheet of brownies and place on top of the ice cream layer. Gently press it down into the ice cream to help it stick. Cover the entire pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze for at least 12 hours and up to 1 week. I find 12-18 hours is the perfect amount of time. Any less and the ice cream will still be pretty soft. The longer after 18 hours, the harder the sandwiches are to cut.
- Remove the pan of ice cream brownies from the freezer. Carefully lift them out as a whole using the parchment paper overhang on the sides. Using a very sharp knife and some arm muscle, cut into 8-12 squares or rectangles. Enjoy immediately.
- Wrap each leftover sandwich individually and store in the freezer for up to 1 month. They get a little harder the longer they sit in the freezer—if they’re super solid, let them sit out for a few minutes before enjoying.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Rubber Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Ice Cream Scoop
- Two 9-inch square pans of extra thin brownies is best. I only have one 9-inch square baking pan, so I bake the batter in batches. I do not recommend one 9×13-inch pan for this recipe. Though the brownie batter will fit and you could cut the cooled sheet of brownies in half, the “sandwich” will still be too thick. An 8-inch pan is too small. You could try two 9-inch round pans of brownies, but, obviously, you won’t have even ice cream sandwich squares. For success, I recommend following the recipe.
- Cocoa Powder: You can use either natural or dutch-process cocoa powder.
- Best Ice Cream to Use: Homemade ice cream works wonderfully, but avoid homemade no churn ice cream (made with heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk) because it’s too soft. I usually use store-bought such as Breyers vanilla (or any flavor) or Dreyers/Edys classic or slow churned varieties.
Inspired by Tasty
My family’s new favorite summer frozen treat! Seriously so delicious and simple! My batter was not quite as thick as Sally’s, and the brownies still turned out amazing! Thank you Sally for another terrific recipe. We’ll definitely be adding this to our dessert rotation.
This recipe is the perfect summer treat! It was very easy to make and I even made some homemade ice cream for it! The brownie recipe was delicious too! I will definitely be making this recipe again with other experiments of ice cream! Thanks Sally for another winner recipe!
Amazing! I used butter pecan ice cream, per my husband’s request, and they were great! I’d love to try either coffee or mint chocolate chip next.
Sally’s fudgy brownies are one of my favorites. The only thing that could have possibly made those brownies more delicious was the addition of ice cream! We made two batches and while the first came out perfect at 15 minutes (soft but not too soft), the second was slightly under done. As a result, it fell apart a little when assembling, but the melted ice cream served as the glue and once frozen, came out perfect. So tasty!
Made gluten free using Bob’s. The brownies fell apart a bit but were delicious! Strawberry ice cream was a good choice!
So good with peanut butter chocolate ice cream! Thanks for the recipe Sally!
These were delicious! The brownies are so fudgy which pairs so well with ice cream. I will definitely be making these again.
These were a hit! I was a little nervous about some of the technique/finesse it would take. While they do not look as pretty as yours, they turned out great and are so so yummy! Already daydreaming about the different ice cream flavors I can use next time!
These were amazing! I made them for my dad for Father’s Day and he loved them!
Wow! What a fun and very delicious challenge! It’s one I’ll be making over and over again! It was definitely a family favorite!
They are delicious…. Can try with so may different flavours of icecream
I made these over the weekend and they turned out great! I don’t have a 9″ pan and didn’t want to use an 8″ for fear they would be too thick, so I ended up using 1/4 ” sheet pan. I cooked them for 15 minutes, as instructed and they were a little underdone but not gooey, which is how you want them! I have 2 of these pans, so I was able to cook them at the same time. This size turned out perfect! It was a warm day, so the ice cream was melting as i was spreading it on the brownies, but I worked quickly and put them in the freezer and they were perfect. These tasted just like the ben and jerry’s brownie bars, which are delicious! Thank you for another great recipe, Sally!
I loved this recipe! Super easy to follow, and it tasted great! It was easy for me to make, even though I am a teen. Thank you so much Sally!
Loved these! So fudgy & so delicious! I went the classic route & used good vanilla bean ice cream. When I took the pans out of the oven, I was concerned that the brownies were too soft, but you were right, Sally! Baking them longer would’ve resulted in brownies made of granite & would’ve been an epic mistake. Like some people mentioned, my top layer broke when I attempted the transfer, but I smushed it back together & you honestly couldn’t tell once they were cut up the next day. My sandwiches didn’t turn out nearly as perfect looking as yours, but they were devoured nevertheless. Thanks for such a fun recipe! My first baking challenge in the books! 🙂
Perfection! They were absolute deliciousness
This was so rich I almost couldn’t finish it! But of course I did!
These were a lot of work and I had a hard time waiting to enjoy them. I recommend baking an extra 5 minutes at least and letting them cool a bit before filling with ice cream. We tried to work quickly with filling but a lot of the ice cream melted out by the time it refroze.
This recipe was delicious my coworkers loved it, I loved it. Definitely will make again with other ice cream flavors, I just used vanilla this time.
Very easy and delicious! I had success with an 8×8 pan- I just used 80% of the batter by weight (since 8×8 is about 80% of the area of 9×9 pan). I used mint chip ice cream, but it would be great with any flavor. The brownie was a great texture and taste, and it’s not too sweet. I didn’t have trouble cutting the brownie, but I’ve found the ice cream in England is softer than US brands.
These brownies are so yummy! I cut them after 12 hours this morning and the kids wanted one right away after breakfast! I’ve made a version of these before but the brownie was rock hard, so I’m thankful these were not. I did decide to use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper and that didn’t work out well for the top layer while baking, so I would not recommend that. I also cut them into 16 pieces which is a good size for us, plus you can always have another if you want more!
This is such a fun, easy, and delicious recipe! The brownies are very chocolatey and perfectly soft and chewy. I kept it simple with vanilla ice cream, but so many flavor possibilities. Definitely plan on making these again!
These ice cream sandwiches were super easy to make and super yummy!!!! I used chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream( my family’s fav flavor). They will be the perfect addition to our Father’s Day meal- a kid favorite and a dad favorite!!!! Thanks Sally for the recipe!
Super easy to make! Made the ice cream too because I was too lazy to go to the store. It was really soft like you said but it worked! Loved the taste of the brownies so much, I think in the future it will be my go to brownie recipe. So easy and yummy!!
Browne’s were moist and perfect for ice cream sandwiches. Love your recipes.
Another baking challenge success! I’m seriously surprised that all the recipes have turned out so far. Thanks Sally and staff for testing recipes to ensure that happens
Super easy and delicious recipe!! My top layer also cracked when transferring but once I froze it and cut it up, you can’t really tell. I also cut the edges off to have a cleaner cut – more snacks for the chef haha 🙂
Easy and yummy! Made them for my husband who always wants Ice Cream with anything I bake. I appreciate all the tips and details of your recipes that really help navigate through any potential bumps in the road. Thanks for the great idea and recipe!
Sally’s recipes always have the best tips and advice . Everything I’ve tried so far is the best dessert I’ve ever had ! This ice cream sandwich was super fun to create , I used WAY less Icecream though and it worked out just as well
We loved making these as a Father’s Day treat! They were really easy. Definitely follow the rule of 12-18 hours in the freezer. I was pressured by my husband to take them out early and the ice cream got all melts! We put them back in the freezer and plan to enjoy these again tomorrow. Love the brownie flavor with the vanilla ice cream!
These came together so well! I used Tillamook’s Oregon Strawberry ice cream for the middle. Thanks for the recipe and great instructions!