Make your own ice cream sandwiches at home! I made a cherry vanilla version, but you can make whatever flavor you like best. Take a shortcut by using store-bought ice cream.
Ice cream sandwiches hold a place near and dear to my heart. Growing up, my mom would encourage my ice cream/frozen treat obsession by giving me money just to buy ice cream. I’m not kidding. When I was able to drive, my brother and I would drive to the grocery store with $30 in hand, and spend it all on frozen treats. We’d buy push pops, nutty buddies, ice cream sandwiches, Klondike Bars, and all kinds of ice cream flavors. It was heaven.
Although my ice cream consumption has gone down significantly since those days, I still love it. It’s pretty obvious since I make a lot of ice cream here on Eva Bakes. I was contemplating what to make one day when my husband reminded me that we had saved an ice cream sandwich recipe from a magazine. And alas, I finally knew what to bake.
This ice cream sandwich recipe is mostly for the cookie part. Once your cookie is baked and cooled, you can fill it with whatever ice cream you have on hand. Of course, you can use store-bought ice cream, which is what we did here. We used Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia ice cream for our filling. Just make sure that you let the ice cream soften a bit before you add it onto a cookie half.
My husband didn’t particularly like the instant espresso powder in the cookie, but I liked how it elevated the chocolate flavor in the cookie. Feel free to leave it out if you have people in your house that aren’t fans of coffee flavored things. Addie loved it, so there’s that.
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4.5 out of 5
My rating: 4.5 out of 5
Cherry vanilla ice cream sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- 1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder can omit if needed
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 quart cherry vanilla ice cream softened (I used Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, but you can use whatever ice cream you like)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and espresso powder on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the egg until well blended. Then add the vanilla.
- Turn the mixer down to low and slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix until everything just comes together.
- Place the dough in plastic wrap and chill in your refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). Do NOT thaw before moving to the next step.
- Line a flat working surface with parchment paper about 14"x11" long. Gently flour the top.
- Roll the dough out to the edges of the parchment paper so that the dough is about ⅛ inch thick. If your rectangle is uneven, trim the edges and discard (or bake separately on a different baking sheet for a baker's snack). Place the baking sheet back in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Take out your ice cream to allow it to soften (or heat it in the microwave slightly).
- Take the cookie dough out from the refrigerator and prick it all over with the blunt end of a skewer or one end of a chopstick. Bake in your preheated oven for 9-11 minutes or until it is set in the middle. Allow the cookie to cool completely before moving on to the next step.
- Cut the cookie into two halves. Place one half upside down onto a sheet of aluminum foil. Top it with the softened ice cream and smooth it out. Place the second cookie half on top (do not invert). Wrap tightly in aluminum foil and chill in the freezer for 8 hours.
- Remove the sandwich from the freezer, and using a hot knife (run a sharp knife under hot water for about 30 seconds, then wipe it dry), cut the cookie into smaller bars. Freeze each bar individually in aluminum foil or serve immediately.