Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

By Rachel // May 23, 2011 // 66 comments //

Last week I shared a teaser picture that really didn’t give any ideas as to what I was up to. If you’re follow me on twitter then you may have noticed I was making cookies. I still didn’t give any big clues. I truly meant to sit down and write this out and have it published Friday, but that just wasn’t in the cards.

You see… this weekend there were a few larger food blogging events and those of us who weren’t able to attend for one reason or another took part in an online pity party of sorts. It pulled me in fast and before I knew it, there was no point in trying to put on my creative thinking cap and sitting down to write up a post. I knew it was best to wait and hope you feel the wait was totally worth it!

I’d had this idea in my head for a while, that seems to be pretty common occurance. I know I’ve talked about that issue before. I have an idea, think about it… mull over it even and eventually I get around to creating my vision. I love ice cream sandwiches. Seriously, who doesn’t? If you don’t, I don’t even want to hear it. That’s ridiculous talk! The issue in making them yourself comes down to what kind of cookie to use. It’s got to be an amazing cookie, not just any run of the mill variety. Seriously delicious. I opted for reusing my all time favorite chocolate chunk recipe. The only change I made was in the size, everything else is exactly the same. No, I lie… I used chocolate chips obviously instead of chunks.

The other important factor is size of the cookie and matching the ice cream to that. Don’t hate me for using store bought ice cream. I only just this weekend got an ice cream maker so homemade wasn’t even an option. Plus, sometimes you just want your favorite brand and if you’re doing this for a group of people – store bought ice cream allows for multiple varieties of ice cream!

Here are some other great cookie options to consider using if you want to mix things up a bit:

Snickerdoodle cookies

Gingerbread cookies

Mexican hot chocolate cookies

Oatmeal raisin cookies

Chewy molasses cookies

I tried three methods to make perfect discs of ice cream. In a quick fix you can certainly scoop some ice cream directly on to one cookie, top if off with another cookie and smoosh together. I tried that at first. I think my ice cream sat out too long and maybe my cookies were still too warm because it was a mess. A delicious mess my oldest kiddo and I got to enjoy.

That led me to googling homemade ice cream sandwiches trying to find perfect methods for the ice cream. Clearly someone had to have a genius idea, right? The idea I found seemed worth trying. Scoop ice cream onto baking sheets (or wax paper on baking sheets as I did), smoosh em down a bit and cover well with plastic wrap. Then return to the freezer to solidify before transfering to your cookies. It was a so-so idea and could definitely work for more mass production. But it wasn’t my favorite method.

I got this brilliant – yes truly brilliant – idea. It just hit me. That happens and when it does, it’s sometimes amazing and solves all of my problems. That was the case here. It worked. It really did and I highly suggest using this method if you have the products required. If you don’t, well… ramekins are cheap so just buy some. They’re a handy item to have for all kinds of things!

Print Recipe

Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

Easy homemade ice cream sandwiches, using your favorite ice cream and freshly made cookies! A fun customizable treat!

Prep Time5

Cook Time8

Total Time13

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Ice cream

Ingredients

2 C all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C unsalted butter softened
1/2 C granulated sugar
3/4 C light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C chocolate chips
Ice cream
Sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream softened butter and both sugars together until smooth. Scrape bowl as needed and prior to each new addition. Add egg and vanilla. Give a quick mix. Begin slowly adding in dry ingredients, reserving chocolate chips. When all ingredients are combined and smooth, mix in chocolate chips by hand.
Take a medium cookie scoop, scoop up to 10 balls of dough onto your baking sheet spaced evenly. Gently push down on each ball of dough with the palm of your hand to create a small disc.
Bake for 8 minutes or just until the edges are turning golden. Remove baking sheet from oven, letting cookies rest for 1-2 minutes before transfering to a cooling rack. Continue process with remaining dough. Dough can also be chilled in an airtight container for several days or frozen for up to several months. Remember to label your container well with any important info - baking temp, time, type etc.
Meanwhile, fit a sheet of plastic wrap into a a small ramekin, leaving enough overhang to cover ice cream. Scoop 1-3 good scoops of ice cream into the ramekin, how much depends on how thick you want your sandwiches to be. I suggest starting with 1 scoop, continuing with the method and adding more ice cream as needed until you are satisfied with the ice cream thickness. Take a flat bottom cup that is smaller than your ramekin. Push down on the ice cream creating a flat disc. Pull up on the plastic wrap to check thickness, add more ice cream and repeat process if necessary. When you are satisfied, pull excess plastic wrap up into a bundle sealing off the ice cream. Place ice cream disk in the freezer for several hours. Reuse the ramekin to create more discs as needed.
When ready to finish and eat your sandwiches, pour favorite sprinkles or other toppings into small bowls.
Grab one cookie, place ontop of ice cream disc. Trim ice cream if necessary. Mine were slightly larger than my cookies so I trimmed the ice cream down a bit. You don't have to though. Top off with another cookie. Then using your hand, scoop up a bunch of your desired decoration and push it into the ice cream, working your way around the sandwich. Repeat with remaining sandwiches or make it a party and have everyone do their own!