Frozen Hot Chocolate Brownies
These Frozen Hot Chocolate Brownies would be amazing on your holiday cookie tray. They are decked out with a thick layer of fudgy “hot chocolate” frosting and micro-mini marshmallows for a festive treat that your family and friends will love.
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Notes from Ellen
These brownies came about from multiple test runs of my hot chocolate frosting. Suddenly I had extra frosting that needed a purpose! Brownies it is.
I fully intended to freeze these after photographing the final iteration, but I made the mistake of popping them in the fridge and we just ate them all instead. What can you do?
P.S. For the cookie version try my Crumbl Style Frozen Hot Chocolate Cookies!
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Ingredients Used
You’re probably familiar with most of the ingredients used in these brownies, but here’s a few extra details for recipe success!
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Ingredients |
What to Know |
|---|---|
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Unsalted Butter |
I always use unsalted American butter in my recipes. |
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Granulated Sugar and Light Brown Sugar |
Two types of sugar provide the perfect amount of chewiness in the brownies. |
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All-Purpose Flour |
Always weigh flour for best results! And if you must use a measuring cup, never pack the flour into the cup. You want lofty fluffy flour if using measuring cups. |
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Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder |
Use natural unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. Hershey’s works great, and even a generic brand like Good & Gather will be fine for this recipe. |
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Hot Cocoa Mix Packets |
For the hot cocoa packets, choose instant hot cocoa without marshmallows. I used Swiss Miss packets, the 1.38 ounce ones. I’ve also provided alternate measurements in case you have a different brand or packet-size. |
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Micro Mini Marshmallows |
You can find the cute micro-mini marshmallows (like the ones found in hot cocoa packets) at your grocery store! You can also use regular mini marshmallows if you prefer. The marshmallows will soften as they are on the frosting. |
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Find the rest of the ingredients in the recipe card! |
How to Slice Brownies Neatly
Frost cooled brownies while still in pan. Refrigerate the whole thing for 2-4 hours. Remove brownies from pan and peel away the tinfoil. Careful not to break the sheet of brownies. Use a hot knife (run under hot water and wipe completely dry) to slice off the very edges. Set those aside to eat by yourself later. Then, cut the brownies into 4 perfect slices vertically and horizontally for 16 perfect brownies. No sticking or messy frosting!
Storage and Make-Ahead Information
Storage: These will be fine at room temp for a few hours, but I always like to store mine in the fridge since the frosting uses real butter. I suggest storing the frosted brownies in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days. Remove 5-10 minutes before eating if you don’t want a perfectly chilled brownie. Freeze leftovers for up to 1-2 months.
Storage for unfrosted brownies: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temp for up to 3-4 days. Freeze leftovers for up to 1-2 months.
Frozen Hot Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar 5.25 ounces
- ½ cup granulated sugar 3.5 ounces
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour 3.75 ounces
- ½ cup natural cocoa powder 1.5 ounces
- ¼ cup instant hot chocolate mix such as Swiss Miss; this is about 1 envelope, 1.38 ounces; no marshmallows
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Hot Chocolate Frosting
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ cup instant hot chocolate mix such as Swiss Miss; this is about 1 envelope, 1.38 ounces; no marshmallows
- ¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups powdered sugar 9 ounces
- micro-mini marshmallows for decorating (mini marshmallows are also great!)
Instructions
Hot Chocolate Brownies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8" baking pan with tinfoil and lightly spray with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk in the brown sugar and granulated sugar until glossy and well combined.
- Add the eggs one at time and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth, about 60-90 seconds.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, hot chocolate mix, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a spatula to fold together until combined. Don't overmix.
- Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake for 20–24 minutes, or until the edges look set and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (not wet batter).
- Cool completely in the pan before frosting.
Frozen Hot Chocolate Frosting
- Warm milk gently in microwave (about 10 seconds) until warm or hot. Add the hot cocoa mix and the cocoa powder and stir until combined and smooth. Allow to cool to room temperature (pop in the fridge for it to cool faster).
- In a large bowl, beat butter with a hand mixer until creamy (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add the cooled hot chocolate mixture and vanilla extract and beat in until combined.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, mixing on low. If the mixture is too thick, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it is the desired thickness. If the frosting is too thin, you can add a little more powdered sugar. Mix on a medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Once the brownies are cool, you are ready to frost! You can do this multiple ways, but here's my personal favorite way to frost and cut perfect brownies.The best way to get picture perfect brownies:Frost cooled brownies while still in pan. Refrigerate the whole thing for 2-4 hours. Remove brownies from pan and peel away the tinfoil. Careful not to break the sheet of brownies. Use a hot knife (run under hot water and wipe completely dry) to slice off the very edges. Set those aside to eat by yourself later. Then, cut the brownies into 4 perfect slices vertically and horizontally for 16 perfect brownies.
