Homemade Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

When I was a kid, ice cream sandwiches were all about those rectangular chocolate cake/wafer bars with vanilla ice cream in the middle. To be honest, in my kid brain, they were just okay. I didn’t reach the level of absolute disgust with them as I did with strawberry ice cream, but I never begged for them. Now, that being said, I would absolutely eat one each and every time it was put in front of me. I was a kid after all. When it came to chocolate and ice cream, “no” certainly was not in my vocabulary.

Once I got into college or thereabouts, I discovered the ice cream cookie sandwich. Why hello goodness. This was something I could get behind. And beg for. I loved them. I think my favorite was the Klondike brand, and every time I came home, my mom would have a box waiting for me in the freezer. Aren’t moms the best?? I actually haven’t seen them in the store for a long time now, and walking through the freezer section recently, I was searching for them but didn’t find them. They do have a new variety, but not the ones I fell in love with. I didn’t want new. (Pout much?) Since I absolutely adore homemade ice cream and the best chocolate chip cookies ever, I decided it was finally time to go homemade with my ice cream cookie sandwich love. Plus, July is National Ice Cream Month. This is a great way to send it out in style!

Like most everything done in your own kitchen, the beauty of these being homemade is that you can customize them however you’d like. Pair your favorite cookies with your favorite ice creams and roll them in all of the embellishments that you fancy. Sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips… they sky’s the limit! If I were to choose, these would be my favorites in terms of mix and matching:

Cookies:
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (used here)
Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Peanut Butter Cookies
Sugar Cookies
Better-than-Brownies Chocolate Cookies

Ice Cream:
Classic Vanilla Bean (used here)
Chocolate
Espresso

The method here is pretty simple. Bake the cookies and then scoop some ice cream onto the bottom of one cookie, top it with another, smoosh a little, and then roll in whatever kid of sprinkles/chocolate chips/nuts you want.

And if you’re from Pittsburgh and it is the week that the Penguins hold their official Winter Classic press conference and the Steelers report to training camp, you naturally roll your ice cream cookie sandwiches in black and gold sprinkles

I posed this question to Facebook readers yesterday: Do you prefer cookies or chocolate cake wafers when it comes to ice cream sandwiches? It looked like the consensus was leaning toward cookies; what’s your preference?

One year ago: Spumoni Ice Cream Terrine
Two years ago: Strawberry Mirror Cake

Homemade Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Yield: 12 ice cream sandwiches

Prep Time: 20 minutes

2 dozen of your favorite chocolate chip cookies
½ – 1 quart vanilla ice cream
Add-ons of your choice (sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, etc.)

1. Make the ice cream and bake the cookies. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften.

2. Turn one cookie over and place one (for a thin ice cream layer) or two (for a thicker ice cream layer) scoops of the ice cream onto the bottom of the cookie.

3. Place another cookie (right-side-up) on top of the ice cream and squeeze them together a bit to push the ice cream to the edges. Roll the edges in sprinkles, chocolate chips or nuts. Eat immediately or wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer bag to eat later. (I personally think ice cream sandwiches are best eaten when they are freshly assembled.)

*Note 1: I made slightly smaller cookies than I normally do with the Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe. I made them 1.5 ounces each and got 24 cookies out of the batch.

*Note 2: If you are in the chocolate cake/wafer camp for ice cream sandwiches, you might want to try using the cookie part of the Homemade Oreo Cookies (they will soften after stored in an airtight container).

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