Easy Freeze Dried Strawberry Brownies

Let’s make homemade strawberry brownies! This recipe uses freeze dried strawberries in the batter for ease and texture, semisweet chocolate, and cocoa for plenty of flavor, and then the brownies are topped with a layer of chocolate ganache. Thick, decadent and delicious — exactly how a homemade chocolate brownies should be!

I don’t know about you but when I hear strawberry brownies– I think CHOCOLATE. When I was developing this recipe, I noticed that most of the strawberry brownie recipes out there didn’t have any chocolate in them at all! They are really more like blondies.

As a trained pastry chef I was set out on a mission to solve this problem! I went ahead and created these super fudgy brownies for ya! They are fudgy like these brownies with cream cheese frosting and delicious just like my classic one-bowl brownie recipe.

If you don’t want to make ganache, you could also top these brownies with my quick and easy brownie frosting that takes just 5 minutes to make!

The strawberry flavor comes from using freeze dried strawberries. I have a bunch of recipes using freeze dried strawberries on my site because they bring out the strawberry flavor without the extra moisture of fresh strawberries.

Ingredients you need

For the brownies

• Freeze dried strawberries– These are my secret ingredient! I didn’t want to use fresh strawberries because they add to much moisture and the texture wouldn’t be right. Freeze dried is perfect because they are just added to the dry ingredients! I buy them at Trader Joes or at Target. They are super easy to find.
• Unsalted butter
• Semi sweet chocolate- this type of chocolate gives the brownies a deep chocolate flavor
• Granulated sugar– for sweetness
• Eggs– for structure
• All purpose flour– For substance
• Unsweetened cocoa– For more chocolate flavor
• Kosher salt– To bring out the flavor.

For the ganache topping

• Semi sweet chocolate
• Heavy Cream

How to make

1. Measure out the freeze dried strawberries and grind them up in a spice grinder, mini blender, or food processor.
2. In a microwavable safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate until completely melted. Add in the sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix on medium speed or with a spatula until combined well.
3. Add in the freeze dried strawberries along with the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well. Bake for 28 minutes for fudgy brownies.
4. Make the ganache. Measure out 6 ounces of chocolate- about 1 cup, and place it in a small bowl. Next, measure out 3 oz. of heavy cream or half n half in a microwavable safe measuring cup and microwave until it’s hot but not bubbling, about 45 seconds. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit 2 minutes- do not stir! After 2 minutes stir with a spatula until chocolate is melted
5. Slather the ganache on the brownies, then refrigerate to set for 10 minutes.
6. Top with extra freeze dried strawberries

Brownie Frosting

The frosting on these brownies is an easy to make chocolate ganache. You don’t have to be intimidated by it, it is super easy to make with just 2 ingredients!

Tips on making ganache

• First things first, when heating the cream, just heat it until its hot but not boiling. That’s about 45 seconds in the microwave. If it’s steamy but not bubbling you’re good. If it gets too hot it can curdle. You can heat it on the stove too! I like to do it in a measuring cup to cut down on dishes.
• Secondly when you pour the cream over the chocolate, leave it alone! Don’t touch it. Let the cream melt down the chocolate for a minute or 2, and then stir. It’s also best to use a shallow bowl for this to allow the cream to get into all the chocolate nooks and crannies.
• Use a spatula when mixing the chocolate and cream. Don’t use a whisk because a whisk will create bubbles, and you don’t want that.

We’re using a 2:1 ratio here of chocolate to cream which makes a more fudge like ganache. I tried this as a 1:1 ratio (equal parts chocolate and cream) but it was too runny and never set up in the fridge.

Best way to cut brownies

The best way to cut brownies is by using a large chef’s knife that is run under hot water and then dried off. The residual heat from the water will slice through the brownies easily!

Yield

Depending on how you cut the brownies you can get 12-16 brownies from this recipe.

How to store and freeze

Storing- These are best stored covered in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last up to 5 days!

Freezing- If you want to freeze these, then freeze them without the strawberries on top. You can still make the ganache though!

I love when you share my recipes!!