Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Nothing screams summer like a waffle cone piled high with scoops of homemade chocolate ice cream. 

I must admit that I've been more of a vanilla girl my entire life. Chocolate is good, but I've always been partial to vanilla. 

Austin's favorite-beyond-favorite-would-do-anything-to-get-it ice cream flavor is chocolate fudge brownie. Most brands at the store don't have it. 

So we pull out one of our favorite wedding gifts (our ice cream maker!) and make our own chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. 

There are so many variations for this recipe. I make the chocolate ice cream and the hot fudge from scratch, but I make the brownies from a box mix. 

I'm still not convinced that from-scratch brownies are any better than boxed mixes. 

You can use store bought fudge and it will still be awesome! You can also be a hero and make brownies from scratch, just don't expect me to do that!

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

Yields: 1 quart

2 cups heavy cream

3 tbsp dutch-process cocoa powder

4 oz semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate*

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

5 egg yolks

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla 

Chocolate fudge, see below (Add as much as you want)

Brownies, chopped, from a box mix (Add as much as you want)

1. Combine cream and cocoa in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir with a whisk. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, then add chocolate and stir until melted. Pour into a bowl. 

2. In that same (now empty) pot, combine milk, sugar, and salt over medium-high heat. Beat together egg yolks in a small bowl. Temper the egg yolks with warm milk by ladling some warm milk into the egg yolks, then pour the yolk-milk mixture back into the pot. 

3. Stir the milk mixture constantly over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches 170-175 degrees fahrenheit. Pour into the cream-chocolate mixture and add the vanilla. Stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly cooled. 

4. Mix according to your ice cream maker's directions. Add chocolate fudge and brownie bits, then freeze until the ice cream is set. Enjoy! 

*roughly 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Chocolate Hot Fudge

Yields: 2 cups 

2/3 cup cream

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chips

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream, corn syrup, brown sugar, cocoa, salt, and half of the chocolate until melted. Reduce heat to low, and let cook for 5 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and add butter, vanilla, and remaining chocolate. Let cool before eating.

Brownie Chunk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Leftover brownies. Sounds like an impossible concept, right? How on earth could anyone ever have leftover brownies?

Before you think I'm too crazy, I didn't actually have leftover brownies. I made a 9 x 13 pan of brownies for me and Austin last week, and after 24 hours, there were 2 brownies left. 

Technically, I guess that means we had leftover brownies. But with only 2 people eating 80% of a 9 x 13 pan of brownies in less than a day, I'm not sure if I'd count that as "leftovers."

When I saw a recipe for brownie chunk chocolate chip cookies on Pinterest, I knew I had to try it out with our two "leftover" brownies. 

Man, am I glad I did!! These are INSANE. They're the perfect combination of brownies and cookies. 

Since I'm pretty sure leftover brownies are a myth, you might have to actually make the brownies to go with the cookies. But it's worth it. Totally worth it. Recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Brownie Chunk Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yields: 24 cookies

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup brownie chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat.

2. Combine flour, baking soda & powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add the chocolate chips and brownie chunks and stir until combined.

4. Scoop using a spoon or cookie scoop onto the baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.

5. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Chocolate Silk Pie

I love celebrating Pi Day. Pi Day is the day where you can unapologetically eat as much pizza and pie as you want, and that is a beautiful thing. It also happens to fall on my best friend's birthday. (Shout out to Kaki! Happy Birthday!)

While I love celebrating Pi(e) Day, I have to say that pie crust isn't my favorite. I usually prefer pies with a different kind of crust. For this Chocolate Silk Pie, I decided to use a brownie crust, but you can use Oreo crumbs if you'd prefer. I just didn't have any Oreos, and I did have some brownies in the freezer from a while ago that were begging to be used. 

I've tried and failed in the past to make chocolate curls. This time, I used a web tutorial. They turned out really well! To learn more, you can go to the link I used by clicking here. The recipe for this pie was adapted from Use Real Butter. 

Chocolate Silk Pie

Yields: 9-12 servings 

Crust

2 cups Oreo (or brownie-- I used a mixture of both!) crumbs

4 tbsp butter, melted

2 tbsp sugar

Chocolate Mousse

8 oz dark chocolate

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup whipping cream

Whipped cream

2 cups whipping cream

3 tbsp powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla 

Chocolate curls

3 oz chocolate

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit. Butter a 9" springform or pie pan. 

2. In a food processor, crush Oreo cookies or brownies. Add the melted butter and sugar. (I omitted the sugar and butter because my brownies were very moist already-- not at all crumbly). Press into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely. 

Mousse

3. Melt chocolate, stirring often, until smooth. Add vanilla and stir. 

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter for 1 minute on medium speed. Add sugar and beat for 4 minutes on medium speed. Add chocolate and beat until incorporated. 

5. Add 2 eggs and beat for 3 minutes. Add 3rd egg and beat for 3 more minutes. 

6. In a separate bowl, whip cream for 4 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream and mousse together until it's completely incorporated. 

7. Spread evenly on cooled crust. 

Whipped Cream

8. In a bowl, combine cream, sugar, and vanilla. Whip until stiff peaks form. Pipe onto the pie or spread it evenly however you desire. 

Chocolate Curls

9. Look at this link for directions on how to make chocolate curls.

Cosmic Brownies

When I was in elementary school, one of my favorite things to eat was Zebra Cakes. They're one of life's greatest pleasures, provided for us by Little Debbie. I remember I ate them like most people eat Oreos-- I'd split them in half horizontally and lick the filling out. Yum!

My husband's favorite Little Debbie snack has always been Cosmic Brownies.

When I was trying to decide what to bake a few weeks ago, my husband saw the recipes I was looking at and insisted that I make the cosmic brownies. I didn't have the delicious "chocolate chip candy" (chocolate chips dipped in like an M&M coating), so naturally I had to make an order at Amazon. (Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch 5.25 oz.)

The best part about these is that they taste unbelievably fresh (as opposed to Little Debbie snacks which have been sitting on a shelf for who-knows-how-long)! No preservatives means they don't have the unmistakable chemicaly flavor. Recipe adapted from Life Made Simple Bakes. 

Cosmic Brownies

Yields: 16 brownies 

Brownies

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter, melted (1 1/2 sticks)

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 tbsp milk (I used whole milk)

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

Ganache Topping

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet, but you can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or whatever kind you like best)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Candy-coated chocolate chips-- Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch 5.25 oz.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line a 9x13" pan with a piece of parchment paper and lightly grease. 

2. In a stand mixer, combine melted butter, sugars, and vanilla. Beat on high for 4 minutes. Add eggs and beat again. 

3. Combine dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt). Alternating with the milk, add dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until just combined. 

4. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for 18-24 minutes. Let brownies cool in the pan. 

5. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate and cream. Microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Continue in 30 second increments until completely smooth. Spread evenly on cooled brownies and top with sprinkles (Wilton Rainbow Chip Crunch 5.25 oz.)

Brownie Cheesecake

Austin loves brownies. I love cheesecake. We had to marry the two. 

(NOTE: Austin also likes cheesecake, and I also like brownies. Don't worry.) 

Brownie Cheesecake

Yields: 1 9" cheesecake

1 (18.4 oz) package brownie mix (I used Pillsbury Family Size Fudge Brownie Mix)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
5 eggs (divided use)
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Note: The oil, water, and 2 of the eggs are for the brownie mix. If you're using a different brownie mix, you may need different amounts or ingredients to make your brownie mix.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Spray the bottom of a 9" springform pan with cooking spray.

2. Prepare brownie mix with veggie oil, water, and 2 eggs. Pour the batter into the springform pan and bake for 35 minutes or until set.

3. Beat cream cheese with a mixer until fluffy. Add three eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each egg. Beat in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan on top of the brownie.

4. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees fahrenheit. Bake the cheesecake for 50 minutes or until set (to check doneness-- tap the side of the springform pan with a wooden spoon. If the entire thing jiggles a lot, it needs a little more time. The center should jiggle when the cheesecake it done, but it shouldn't seem "liquidy.")

5. To prevent cracking: When the cheesecake is done, crack the oven open for 5-10 minutes with the oven turned off before taking the cheesecake out.

6. Refrigerate the cheesecake until set and cooled (at least 4 hours).