Uber soft chocolate chunk cookies sandwiched with homemade raspberry swirl ice cream! Cool off this summer with this fun dessert!
Is there anything better in the summer than eating ice cream sandwiches on the back porch? Biting into a super soft chocolate chunk cookie and not caring about any raspberry vanilla dribbles that make their way down your fingers?
Ice cream sandwiches = your best summer life.
Hopefully poolside.
Never mind that it’s a puppy play pool that’s about as deep as my ankles. Girlfriend don’t care. There is sunshine. It is warm. And I am eating chocolate cookie and raspberry swirl ice cream sandwiches.
How do you make ice cream sandwiches from scratch?
- Make super soft cookies, let cool completely, and store in an airtight container. (See tips below.)
- Make or buy ice cream.
- Set ice cream out to thaw quite a bit–at least 20-30 minutes.
- Cut out squares of plastic wrap–about 8″x8″ depending on the size of your cookies.
- Lay these squares out on your countertop and place two similarly-sized and -shaped cookies upside down on each square.
- Scoop a ball of soft ice cream onto one of the cookies on each square.
- Use the second cookie to softly press the ice cream down to make a sandwiches. Be sure, as you press, to distribute the pressure from you hand evenly across the entire cookie so it is less likely to crack or break!
- Wrap the ice cream sandwiches tightly in plastic wrap and store in a zip-top plastic bag in the freezer. Give them at least 2 hours to firm up!
How long do homemade ice cream sandwiches last?
2 months in the average sub-zero degree Fahrenheit freezer. (The technical answer depends on the exact temperature of your freezer, but generally homemade ice cream will last up to 8 weeks in the freezer.)
Why are my ice cream sandwiches hard?
First – if you just mean they’re hard in general after removing them from the freezer, make sure you let homemade ice cream sandwiches thaw for 10-15 minutes at room-temperature before digging in!
Second – if you mean your cookie is hard and it cracks or crumbles when you’re trying to make the sandwiches, see the notes below about how to make extra-soft cookies that work perfectly for homemade ice cream sandwiches.
Can you refreeze ice cream sandwiches?
You can refreeze ice cream sandwiches, but note that each time the ice cream melts and then refreezes, the texture will become slightly less creamy and slightly more icy, due to more water/ice crystals forming.
How do I make other types of homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches?
The cookie ice cream sandwich recipe is pretty basic: cookie + ice cream = magic.
For the Cookie: For these gourmet-style cookie ice cream sandwiches, the key to the recipe is a super soft cookie. It needs to be soft enough such that when you press down on it to smush the ice cream between two cookies, the cookies need to bend as opposed to cracking or crumbling. I generally start with a favorite cookie recipe and make the following adjustments to make a softer cookie:
- Swap shortening for butter.
- Lessen the flour.
- Mix the cookies only as much as necessary to combine the ingredients. (Over-mixing creates a stiffer cookie.)
- If your recipe calls for both brown sugar and white sugar, consider using more of the brown sugar.
- Under-bake the cookies slightly.
- Keep the cookies in an airtight zip-top plastic bag as soon as the cookies have cooled.
For the Ice Cream: Any cream-based ice cream will do! Sorbet would be a bit harder to work with, because the best way to make these ice cream sandwiches is by slightly melting the ice cream and then assembling the sandwiches. Sorbet can be more water-y and slightly absorb into the cookie more than a cream-based ice cream.
mikaela | wyldflour
8-10 Ice Cream Sandwiches
Serves 10
1 hrPrep Time
30 minCook Time
1 hr, 30 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening (e.g., Crisco)
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (+ extra for topping)
- 1 Pint Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream (recipe linked below)
Instructions
- Make or buy Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream and freeze solid.
- Make the cookie dough! Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugars. Mix in the cocoa powder. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix just until the egg is incorporated. (Over-mixing the egg will create a stiffer cookie, which you don't want for ice cream sandwiches!) Add flour, baking soda, and salt and mix until just blended. Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Bake the cookies! Scoop the cookies with a 1 1/2" scoop (about 1 1/2 tablespoons), press each down just slightly, and top each with just a few more chocolate chips. Bake 5-6 minutes until JUST BARELY cooked. (See notes.) Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for at least 8-10 minutes. Move to a rack to cool completely. Once the cookies have cooled, put them in a zip-top plastic bag or airtight container to ensure they stay soft until you're ready to make the sandwiches.
- Thaw your ice cream and prepare! Take your raspberry swirl ice cream out of the freezer to thaw a bit - somewhere between soft-serve and frozen solid, so that it is easily moldable. While the ice cream is thawing, cut out 8-10 rectangles of plastic wrap for wrapping your sandwiches and line them up in an assembly line on your counter.
- Assemble the ice cream sandwiches! Place two cookies upside down on each rectangle, trying to match up similarly-sized cookies. Using an ice cream scoop or melon baller to scoop about 2 tablespoons of ice cream onto one of the cookies on each rectangle. Use the second cookie to sandwich the ice cream, pressing gently (and evenly across the top of the cookie) to smush the ice cream down into an even layer. Immediately wrap each sandwich and place in the freezer until the ice cream is solid. Once the ice cream is frozen hard again, you can move the sandwiches to a zip-top plastic bag and keep in the freezer for up to a week before serving.
- Serve! Remove the chocolate cookie ice cream sandwiches from the freezer about ten minutes before serving, so they can thaw slightly! Enjoy!
Notes
In order to be able to make ice cream sandwiches with cookies, you need the cookies to be VERY soft and flat for multiple reasons: (1) When you're assembling the sandwiches, you need to be able to press down on the cookie without it cracking or crumbling, which it will do if it is too dry; (2) They thaw a little more quickly and you're not chomping a rock hard cookie. In order to do this, avoid over-mixing your cookie dough, under-bake your cookies, and make the sandwiches the same day you bake the cookies!
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