Can You Freeze Brownies?

5 minutes

How could anyone not like brownies? They’re gooey, chocolatey and delicious. But perhaps you’ve got a little carried away over the weekend and ended up baking 32 brownies, and there are only two of you in the house? So, could you pop them in the freezer?

How to Freeze Brownies

When freezing brownies, there are two approaches you can take. You can freeze one full brownie slab in a tin or freeze each brownie individually.

So, should you freeze brownies before cutting them? Well, this depends. If you freeze a whole tray of uncut brownies then you’ll need to thaw and eat them in one go – perfect for a family get-together.

If you freeze brownies after cutting them, then it’s easy to grab one at a time, but the risk of freezer burn, with all those open sides, increases. Both methods have been covered below:

How to Freeze Individual Brownies

Using this method if you need 1 or 2 brownies then you can grab them easily. If you need a whole pile of them then you can also grab them. There are no limitations as there would be with freezing a whole tray.

The only drawback is that it will take a little longer to follow this method, but it’s worth putting the effort in.

1. Bake
   Make your brownies using your favourite recipe. As the brownies begin to cool, cut them into portion-sized squares as you normally would. Allow your cut brownies to cool completely. You may want to pop them onto a wire rack to cool.

2. Line a Container
   Take an airtight container and line the base with greaseproof paper. You want to use a container with a tight-fitting lid to keep air out. If air can get in then your brownies will dry out.

3. Layer in Brownies
   Place one layer of brownies in the container – you probably won’t fit them all in at this point. Place another layer of greaseproof paper on top of the first layer of brownies. Give it a little push into the brownie to ensure there is contact with the paper. Now create another layer of brownies.

4. Repeat
   Keep going until you’ve used all your brownies and top the final layer with a piece of greaseproof paper.

5. Freeze
   Seal the container, ensuring the lid is secure then place the container into the freezer with the lid firmly attached.

How to Freeze Brownies in a Tin

Freezing brownies in one slab might not be efficient in terms of defrosting one brownie at a time but it does have its benefits. By having fewer open edges, there’s less risk of air getting to your brownie’s gooey core and less chance of freezer burn taking hole.

1. Bake
   Bake your brownies as usual, using a tin lined with baking parchment.
2. Cool
   Once you’ve knocked together your brownies, allow them to cool completely in the tin. Do not remove them from the tin they were baked in, as you’ll be using this to freeze them.
3. Wrap
   When the brownies are completely cooled, wrap the tray in one layer of cling film, followed by a layer of foil. These layers will protect the brownies from odours in the freezer and reduce the risk of freezer burn.
4. Freeze
   Now, place the tray in the freezer. Keeping the brownie in the pan makes stacking with other frozen items easy.

How Long Can You Freeze Brownies?

If you can resist the urge to eat them all, then brownies can be frozen for around 3 months. As always, make sure you go to the effort of labelling your brownies with the date that they need to be consumed.

After 3 months, brownies will remain safe to eat, but you may find their texture begins to degrade rapidly. The last thing you want to do is wait 6 months, defrost them and then find them dry and lacking flavour.

How Do You Defrost Brownies?

Thawing brownies is fairly straightforward. If you’re thawing a whole slab of brownie, then first you need to unwrap it. Then place it on the worktop for 3 to 4 hours to allow it to thaw at room temperature.

Once thawed, use a bread knife to cut your brownie into portions.

If you’re thawing a single brownie then you just need to do the same thing. Unwrap it, place it on a plate and allow it to thaw for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature.

If you like your brownies warm, then you can of course place them in the oven for 10 minutes or so to get them warm but still give them some time to thaw beforehand.

Can You Refreeze Brownies?

Refreezing brownies is not something I recommend.

It will dry the brownies out, making them crumbly and dry as opposed to gooey and fudgy. Instead, if you don’t think you’ll eat a whole tray, try freezing each brownie individually.

Do Brownies Freeze Well?

If you take preventative steps to avoid oxidation and freezer burn, and you also avoid freezing brownies with icing or cream cheese frosting, then frozen brownies will taste just as good as freshly baked ones.

If you warm them through once they have defrosted, you will actually be hard-pushed to tell the difference. By warming them up a little, you’ll bring back that gooey texture that everybody loves about a brownie.

A fresh coating of icing and a dollop of cream can also help mask the fact that they were once frozen.