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!
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. 🙂
Print
Brownie 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 (2 sticks; 230g) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (400g) 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 (spoon & 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
- 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
Keywords: ice cream, ice cream sandwich, brownies
Hi! I was hoping to make small brownie sandwiches with cream cheese frosting in the middle – do you think this brownie recipe would work or it is better frozen?
These are delicious! The brownies are amazing and obviously ice cream just makes it that much better. That second brownie layer is NO JOKE though. Mine fell apart into 5-7 pieces. I think next time I might try to flash freeze it while the other bakes and I spread the ice cream on in hopes that I It stays in one piece during transfer.
★★★★★
I just made these for my nephews. It worked perfectly, thanks to the detail in your instructions. Fantastic recipe- thanks Sally as Always xxx
Try using ice cream in a rectangular shaped carton makes it easier to cut and insert between brownie squares. Love your ideas and recipes. Thanks for all you do.
★★★★★
This was a perfect dessert for my family. Easy to make, store, and serve. I used vanilla ice cream and peanuts in the middle and it was delicious!
I have made these twice, once with mint chocolate chip and with a cherry cordial. My question is, would store bought, frozen yogurt work?
Thanks
★★★★★
I don’t see why not, Sheila. Enjoy!
Hi Sally!
I am going glamping soon and am working on preparing a bunch of treats that will travel well for my pals. I was just wondering – do you think it would be okay to prepare the brownies in advance so as to not be travelling with a bunch of different ingredients, and then add the ice cream once we get to the campsite (still leaving them in the freezer for 12 hours before serving, of course)? So excited to receive your feedback – I have been keeping busy with your recipes for almost all of the quarantine!
How fun, Megan! Yes that should work just fine. Have fun 🙂
I really wasn’t sure about the consistency of these “baked” brownies…they are VERY soft and seemed half baked when the timer rang, but they are perfect after they cool – resist putting them back in the oven for longer than 16 mins. Super rich, soft, creamy ice cream sandwiches!!! I couldn’t wait the 12 hours for my first piece, but I wish I had. The ice cream was still soupy after 2 hours, so wait….as tough as that is!
★★★★★
I’ve made these twice already and they are a huge hit. HUGE. My question though… Am I doing something wrong that my parchment is SO frozen to the bottom layer that it’s almost impossible to peel off? Is anyone else experiencing this?
★★★★★
Great recipe! The tips, video and instructions make baking up these brownies and assembling the sandwiches about 99% fool proof. I enjoyed this fun and delicious challenge. Already planning on making another batch next week! This time with Coffee ice cream. Thanks Sally!
★★★★★
This was a great recipe! The whole thing was a snap to make, and made a refreshing 4th of July treat. I used my biggest, sharpest knife to cut the frozen bars and did not find it too difficult after 12 hours in the freezer. I will be making these again!
★★★★★
I thought the flavor of these were outstanding, but putting the top brownie layer on did not go as smoothly as I would have liked. I’ve made ice cream sandwiches before and they followed a different process, which I found easier and the end product was nicer looking. I am still on the fence about trying again (which is not something I usually say about a Sally recipe!).
★★★★
Do you think it will affect the integrity of the brownie if chocolate/butterscotch, etc morsels were added? I’m super extra and like my desserts a little over the top.
Hi Nichole, not at all! When you slice them/bite into the assembled sandwiches, those chips or morsels will be pretty frozen though.
These were very fun to make!
These were so easy to make an assembly, which was great because I’ve always been intimidated by homemade brownies. My kids have already asked me to make them again, so I’ll definitely be making them again soon!
★★★★★
This was so easy and delicious! My family loved it. I will be making it often!
★★★★★
These brownie ice cream sandwiches were easy to make and really tasty! Took them to a social distance bbq and they were a hit!
★★★★★
This recipe was easy and great for summer months! Our brownies came out a bit thin but tasted delicious!
★★★★
These were an instant hit! Taste similar to the classic ice cream sandwich, only better! And they weren’t too difficult to make. The only hard part was trying to flip the second brownie over on top of the ice cream.. mine fell apart slightly, but turned out okay in the end.
★★★★★
Brownies are one of my favorite desserts! This was easy and delicious and will definitely be my new go to brownie recipe!
Love all your recipes Sally!
★★★★★
I’m sure this has been referenced before, but I had to bake these for like 25 minutes (my oven always takes far longer than the listed time on Sally’s recipes). I also used a metal bench scraper to cut them, which worked really well. Not sure how I would have navigated doing this with a regular knife. In all, it was a fun baking challenge.
This recipe was delicious! The fudgy taste of the brownies went really well with the ice cream! It was a great recipe and only required basic ingredients. This was my first time participating in the challenge and I can’t wait to do more challenges!
★★★★★
Holy YUM. This is the most incredibly easy to come together recipe ever! The brownie is so fudgy and delicious and with that ice cream in between….Good Lord, help us all. THANK YOU SALLY for yet another amazing and delicious summer treat recipe!!
★★★★★
These were so good!! All 3 of my girls LOVED them. I used 8 in pans because that’s all I had. I cooked them an extra 10 mins and they came out perfect. We used cookies n cream ice cream since it’s what we all could agree on. My 13 yr old is already asking me to make them again. So many flavor possibilities. Perfect treat for these hot summer days!
These were really good! It was hard to wait for them to fully freeze in the freezer and not eat one right away.
★★★★★
These are incredible. The brownie is perfect, fudgy, rich and soft. I did have to cook it a little longer (I know my oven) but still underbaked slightly as directed. I used store bought vanilla ice cream. I personally would not add more chocolate as ice cream flavor – but if you are a chocolate fanatic, you might love that. We will be eating these for a while – a perfect summer treat. I’ve never done one of the challenges the same month so was excited to do it finally! (Need to get a photo – tonight!) Thanks for another fantastic dessert. Your recipes are insanely good!
★★★★★
These were so good and easy to make! Have you ever tried putting a layer of fudge or caramel over the ice cream before you put the top layer on? I think I may try that next time but was wondering if you had any tips on that. What do you use to wrap them in? I used parchment and let them freeze a little longer, then put the wrapped sandwiches in a ziploc. The parchment was sort of hard to handle. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Pam, I haven’t tried adding a layer to these but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! You can wrap them each in plastic wrap if parchment paper is too difficult.
Wow! These brownie ice cream sandwiches are the best ever! I’ve shared with many family members and everyone loves them! Perfect cool treat on a hot summer day! I’ll be making these all summer long!
Ellen
These turned out amazing!! I made the full recipe but before I spread the ice cream on top of the warm brownie layer, I put an aluminium foil divider in the middle. That way I could spread one flavor (coffee) on one half and another flavor (walnut) on the other half! I removed the divider before putting the first layer on top and the two flavors didn’t blend so that worked really well! I was definitely surprised by how soft the brownies still are after freezing. This really is the perfect summer treat.
★★★★★
Ice cream sandwiches are my fav and now this recipe lets me make my own. Love it chocolate cake brownie with vanilla ice cream wow! I’m going to make hot fudge and whipped cream for topping it. 5 stars more if needed. @sallysbakeblog #sallysbakingchallenge