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.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

I love peanut butter.

When I'm hungry during the day, I often open one of the jars of peanut butter in my kitchen and eat a spoonful (or two). Surprisingly, I've only posted one recipe involving peanut butter in the 4 years I've had my blog.

It's probably because I chow down on anything with peanut butter before I can photograph it.

I'm the type of person who buys whatever brand of stuff is the cheapest at the store. I'm no snob when it comes to the generic labels! Luckily, my absolute favorite brand of peanut butter (and the only kind I'll buy) is the Kroger brand, which is the store brand where I shop. Is there anything you'll only buy in a specific brand?

This recipe is a variation on the famous New York Times Cookie recipe. I've given the weights as well as the cup measurements. I used my kitchen scale to weigh all the ingredients.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Yields: 2-3 dozen cookies, depending on the size.

1 3/4 cups (8 1/2 oz) cake flour*
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 oz) all purpose flour*
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 1/4 cup (2 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/4 cup (10 oz) brown sugar
1 cup + 2 tbsp (8 oz) sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup mini peanut butter cups, chopped***
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Sea salt for sprinkling

1. Mix together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat. Slowly add the dry ingredients until it is just incorporated.

3. Fold in the peanut butter cups and chips. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

 4. Scoop 2 oz balls (these are big cookies-- the dough should be at least 2" in diameter) onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or silpat. I only baked 6 cookies at a time-- they're that big! Sprinkle with sea salt and bake at 350 for 13-18 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the middles no longer look raw.

* You can use whatever ratio of the two flours you have-- I was about 1/2 cup short on the cake flour, so I used AP flour for that 1/2 cup. Just make sure you have 17 oz flour altogether.

*** I got mini peanut butter cups at Winco in the bulk section. They're adorable and perfect for baking! They work great in cookies, brownies, and ice cream.

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.

Homemade Oreos

We've all seen the recipes for homemade Oreos floating around the internet.

You know... the ones that are all soft and not at all like actual Oreos?

These, dear friends, are not like those fake Oreos at all. These taste exactly like real Oreos. 

They have exactly the right crunchy consistency, just like I hoped they would. And the frosting?

Creamy and smooth, exactly as it should be.

I made these Oreos to put into homemade cookies & cream flavored ice cream, but I can't stop eating them. We'll see if any of them survive. 

So, to sum up: homemade Oreos, perfect crunchiness (not reminiscent of whoopie pies at all), delicious flavor, without all the preservatives from the store-bought cookies. 

Homemade Oreos

Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder, dutch process 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp cream (or half & half or milk)

1. Using a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. 

2. Add the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Divide the dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out into desired shapes. Bake for 10-12 minutes on a lined baking sheet (I line it with my silpat, but you can use parchment paper). 

4. Let cool on a cooling rack and make the filling. Beat the butter for 30 seconds on medium, then add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, then add the cream as necessary to thin it to the desired consistency. 

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

Cheesecake Brownies

Isn't it interesting how the order of words changes things? I keep accidentally calling this recipe Brownie Cheesecake, but it's definitely Cheesecake Brownies.

You see, in this situation, "cheesecake" is the adjective to describe the type of brownies (instead of "brownie" being the adjective to describe the type of cheesecake).

Have a mentioned lately that I'm a big nerd?

Anyway, I sent these cheesecake brownies to my sister in honor of... well, nothing. Just because. Because of this, I only got to eat one of these delicious jewels before I had to put them in a box to be shipped off to San Francisco (a fact over which I lamented as I edited the photos on this post).

Recipe adapted from Yammie's Noshery.

Cheesecake Brownies

Yields: 15 brownies

Brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Grease a 9x13" baking dish and set aside.

2. Put butter and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until melted. Stir to incorporate. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.

3. Add the butter/sugar to the bowl of a mixer and beat for 1 minute. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Combine dry ingredients (not including chocolate chips) in a separate bowl and add the mixture slowly to the wet ingredients. Pour into the prepared pan.

4. Combine all of the cheesecake ingredients in a separate bowl and beat until smooth. Pour in dollops atop the brownie batter in the prepared pan and swirl around using a knife.

5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency is achieved.

You may also like Brownie Cheesecake: 

One Bowl Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

One Bowl Double Chocolate Banana Muffins-- now that's a long recipe title! I just felt like I couldn't leave off any part of it! I'm not sure which descriptor I like the best:

One Bowl: simple clean up (though I must admit the one bowl I used when making these is still "soaking" in the sink... we all know "soaking" is just code for I'm too tired to do the dishes, right?) 

Double Chocolate: You can't go wrong here. Anything that has cocoa powder AND chocolate chips has to be good, right? 

Banana: You can read my ode to bananas by clicking here. 

Muffins: Pretty much cake wrapped up in a convenient package (muffin paper) that makes it seem "healthier." People might judge you for eating cake for breakfast (we don't befriend those people), but no one will ever judge you for eating a muffin for breakfast! 

I've posted this recipe before, but this time I've tweaked it to perfect it and updated the pictures! 

One Bowl Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Yields 12 muffins

1 cup overly ripe bananas (about 2 medium-large bananas)
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup veggie or canola oil
1/3 cup milk
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 2/3 cups flour
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit. Line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners.

2. In a large bowl, mash bananas (I used a potato masher). Add vanilla and egg. Stir well. Add oil and milk and stir well.

2. Add sugars and mix well, then add cocoa powder and stir well. The cocoa powder doesn't incorporate as easily, so you may have to do some extra stirring.

3. Add salt and baking soda. Mix well. Add flour and stir until just incorporated.

4. Add about half of the chocolate chips to the batter and reserve the rest. Scoop the muffin batter with a cookie scoop into the liners, about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the rest of the chocolate chips on top of the muffin batter.

5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

They're great warm or at room temperature!

Here's another recipe you might enjoy:

Banana cake with fluffy brown sugar buttercream

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.