Easy Chocolate Truffle Brownie Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

If you love Trader Joe’s, chocolate and peanut butter, you need to try these Homemade Chocolate Truffle Brownie Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches this summer! On my latest Fairy Pet Mother adventure in the beautiful East Bay, I picked up a box of Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix, vanilla ice cream and peanut butter and turned them into one seriously delicious frozen dessert. Rich, fudgy brownies, creamy vanilla ice cream and peanut butter come together in an easy make-ahead summer treat that tastes every bit as decadent as it looks.

And yes, I love Trader Joe’s so much I actually wrote a song about it. 😂 Be sure to check out “Trader Ho” while you’re here, along with more Fairy Pet Mother adventures, recipes, and wonderfully delicious nonsense from The Nomad Kitchen.

These homemade brownie ice cream sandwiches combine the classic flavors of chocolate, peanut butter, and vanilla in one spectacular summer treat. Make them ahead and keep them frozen for an easy dessert that feels indulgent enough for a dinner party but is fun enough for a backyard summer celebration.

Discover more delicious recipes, food stories, and adventures from The Nomad Kitchen at tretaylor.com.

An Easy Nomad Kitchen Summer Dessert

Sometimes the best recipes begin with a box mix, a gallon of vanilla ice cream, and the thought: I wonder what would happen if I did this?"

This little summer experiment happened during one of my Fairy Pet Mother adventures in beautiful Walnut Creek, California.

It was over 95 degrees outside, but thankfully Rascal—my very distinguished 14-year-old feline kitchen supervisor—and I were tucked inside a wonderfully air-conditioned 1950s home with an old-fashioned kitchen that made baking feel deliciously nostalgic.

Outside the window, a pair of squirrels had claimed their own little corner of the garden. One particularly fabulous fellow—with possibly the most magnificent squirrel tail I've ever seen—became my other kitchen companion. I even left him a strawberry, which he promptly discovered while I had the camera rolling.

So apparently everybody got dessert that weekend.

For the humans, I wanted to turn a simple Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix into a cool summer treat.

Instead of baking thick brownies, I spread the batter thinly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. The result was exactly what I wanted: thin, rich, chewy chocolate brownie layers sturdy enough to hold ice cream without becoming overwhelming.

Then came peanut butter.

And things got serious.

Chocolate Truffle Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe

Makes: Approximately 12–18 small sandwiches, depending on size
Prep: About 30 minutes, plus freezing time
Bake: Approximately 18–22 minutes
Difficulty: Easy, but keep that ice cream COLD

Ingredients

• 1 box Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix — this is the mix I used and loved, but any favorite boxed brownie mix will work beautifully. Prepare it according to the package directions.

• Ingredients called for on your brownie mix package — usually eggs, oil, butter, or water, depending on the brand.

• Parchment paper

• Approximately 1/2 gallon good-quality vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

• 1–2 cups creamy peanut butter, depending on just how peanut-butter-crazy you are

• 🍫 Want to make your brownies from scratch? The Trader Joe’s Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix makes a delicious and wonderfully easy shortcut, but you can also make these ice cream sandwiches with our Nomad Kitchen Master Brownie Recipe—a rich, deeply chocolatey, perfectly chewy brownie made from scratch with cocoa, semisweet chocolate chips and a secret touch of espresso.

1. Make Thin Truffle Brownies

Prepare the brownie batter according to the package directions.

Line a rimmed baking sheet or large cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Instead of using a traditional brownie pan, spread the batter into a relatively thin, even layer across the parchment.

Bake according to the package temperature, but begin checking around 18–20 minutes because the thinner brownie layer may bake considerably faster than a traditional pan of brownies.

You want the brownies completely baked but still moist and chewy.

Allow them to cool completely.

2. Make the Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream

Let the vanilla ice cream soften just enough to work with it.

This is important: don't let it melt.

Transfer approximately half of the gallon of vanilla ice cream to a chilled bowl.

Add generous spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter—I used roughly 1–2 cups—and gently fold it through the vanilla ice cream.

Don't completely blend it.

You want beautiful ribbons and pockets of peanut butter running through the vanilla rather than turning the entire mixture into uniformly flavored peanut butter ice cream.

Return the mixture to the freezer until firm enough to scoop and shape.

3. Cut the Brownies

Once completely cool, cut the thin brownie sheet into small, evenly sized squares or rectangles.

Remember that each sandwich needs two matching brownie pieces.

I deliberately made mine small. These are rich little devils, and a petite frozen sandwich is plenty satisfying.

Plus, they're adorable.

4. Build the Sandwiches

Working with only a few at a time, remove the peanut butter swirl ice cream from the freezer.

Place a generous scoop onto one brownie square.

Gently shape and flatten the ice cream to fit the brownie.

Top with a second brownie square and press very gently to form your sandwich.

Immediately place the finished sandwich back into the freezer.

Continue with the remaining brownies.

THE NOMAD KITCHEN TRICK

Freeze more often than you think you need to.

That's really the secret to this recipe.

If the ice cream starts becoming soft while you're assembling the sandwiches, stop.

Put everything back into the freezer for 15–30 minutes and start again once it's firm.

Cold ice cream is easy to shape.

Melting ice cream has its own agenda.

5. Give Them a Final Freeze

Once assembled, freeze the sandwiches for at least 2–4 hours, or until completely firm.

For longer storage, individually wrap the frozen sandwiches in parchment or plastic wrap and place them in an airtight freezer container.

Before serving, let one sit at room temperature for just a few minutes—enough for that chewy chocolate truffle brownie to soften slightly around the cold vanilla-and-peanut-butter center.

Do They Need Chocolate Ganache?

I seriously considered dipping these in chocolate ganache.

Chocolate brownie.

Peanut butter.

Vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate ganache.

It sounded perfectly reasonable at the time.

But once I tasted one, I decided to leave well enough alone.

The truffle brownie mix already contains plenty of rich chocolate flavor, and the creamy peanut butter against the cold vanilla ice cream was exactly enough.

Sometimes knowing when to stop is part of cooking.

These little beauties didn't need another thing.

And yes, I love Trader Joe’s so much I actually wrote a song about it.

NEXT FROM THE NOMAD KITCHEN

I used the other half of that vanilla ice cream for an entirely different version: fresh strawberries and blueberries folded into vanilla ice cream and tucked between the same chewy chocolate truffle brownies.

Chocolate Truffle Summer Berry Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Same brownie.

Completely different personality.

And possibly even prettier.

Stay tuned.

— Tré Taylor
The Nomad Kitchen
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