Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

An easy recipe for ice cream sandwiches made with homemade peanut butter cookies that stay soft in the freezer so you can take a big bite without ice cream squishing out the sides! Customize these cookie sandwiches with your favorite ice cream flavors and toppings, then stash them away for your next party or late-night dessert craving.

Note: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Albertsons Companies. In return for my time and creative effort, I'm being compensated financially for this post. Thank you for supporting brands I partner with so I can keep creating great content here on The Rising Spoon. As always, the opinions expressed here are 100% my own.

Ice cream and all of its various incarnations (sandwiches, dipped cones, milkshakes, malts, floats, cakes, pies, etc.) remind me growing up in the 80s & 90s when times were a bit...slower.

There were no smartphones, tablets, or laptops back then. Home computers were just becoming a thing but they were still ancient by today's comparison. No internet either.

At least until the mid-90s, when we got a dial-up modem, which took several minutes to connect (could you imagine waiting that long today?) and then blocked all incoming & outcoming calls from our landline phones.

You know, the phones with the long cords plugged into the wall which allowed one person to make a "private" call from their bedroom while another person (usually a parent or a sibling) picked up a different phone in another room, quietly put the receiver to their ear, tried not to breathe into the phone to give themselves away, and listened in on the conversation. So sneaky!

Raise your hand if you've ever done this. I'll admit I have. ;)

And back then we used cassette tapes or the radio to listen to music (often with battery-powered boomboxes), then eventually CD players. No MP3 players were you could pick & choose your songs. I still remember my first ever CD: Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill (still love that album).

I grew up during three decades (the mid-80s to mid to late 2000s) that saw the transition from analog to digital. I had a foot in both worlds, so I've experienced the rapidly changing technology firsthand.

And today, I rely on that technology in the form of lightning-fast internet and computers (including smart phones) to work from home and on-the-go in a digital-focused world.

But I still remember and often long for, the slow days when kids and adults were mostly unplugged from it all.

Stillness. Boredom. Fidgety energy. Outside play in the dirt, grass & rocks to burn off said energy. Then running back inside hours later, hot & exhausted, begging for an ice cream treat.

These days, one of my summertime self-care goals is to intentionally slow down, unplug, and capture that same living in the moment magic. At least once a day. Even if that means physically writing it down in my planner or on a scrap of paper to remind myself until it becomes a thoughtless habit.

Keeping homemade ice cream sandwiches in my freezer helps with that goal. As does the stashing of hot weather foods & drinks like cubed watermelon, homemade cold brew coffee, and ingredients for meat & cheese platters, leafy summer salads, chicken wraps + wine spritzers in my fridge and pantry.

Seasonal foods help reconnect you with the present. What's the weather like right now where you're at? What foods could you be eating to slow down and enjoy the moment?

Here in North Texas, it's 92 degrees, humid, and the locusts (or cicadas) are buzzing loudly outside my office window.

One of my neighbors just ran past said window trying to catch their leashless dog, a second dog following close behind.

If I stepped outside right now and slightly exerted myself, I'd be sweating in minutes.

Sounds like the perfect time for an ice cream sandwich!

In fact, I just took a break from writing this post, went downstairs, grabbed one of the ice cream sandwiches from my batch a few days ago, and ate half of it. This one had mint chip ice cream in the middle & a chocolate shell coating over half the sandwich.

How was it? One word: HEAVEN.

 Let me describe the layers:

• Soft, cakey, maple-sweetened peanut butter cookie
• creamy, cold, not too sweet peppermint ice cream with chunks of chocolate
• crunchy (yet easily breakable), slightly buttery (from the coconut oil) chocolate shell coating

Drooling yet?

My beau loves ice cream sandwiches, especially the ones with soft cookies. So...I predict we'll have zero cookies left in about 2-3 days. I'd better eat another one tonight for good measure.

In the meantime, let me get into the nitty-gritty of the recipe components & how to make these delightful & nostalgic summertime treats.

Ingredients For Homemade Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

1. Soft or Chewy Cookies

You want something cakey or chewy - not crispy! Why? So it's easy to bite through the cookie layer without all the ice cream squishing out the sides. Hence why I used my homemade flourless peanut butter cookies sans chocolate chips for this recipe. They're soft & cakey with a lovely maple flavor (they're sweetened with maple syrup) and stay soft in the freezer. (Yay!)

Note: If you're a big fan of crispy cookies, you can get away with using them if you make & eat the sandwiches immediately. If you plan to freeze them for more than a few hours - stick with chewy or cakey cookies that won't turn into a rock in the freezer.

Other Cookie Options: If you don't like peanut butter, try these cookies instead for ice cream sandwiches (homemade or storebought): chewy oatmeal cookies, soft snickerdoodle cookies, chewy gingerbread cookies (not snaps), or soft chocolate chip cookies. If you're going the store-bought route, check the bakery section first, as those are often fresh and softer cookies than the packaged ones sold in the middle of the store.

2. High-Quality Ice Cream

The ice cream is the star of this recipe, so it's important to pick a good one. I'm actually super picky about ice cream because several major brands upset my stomach. It's likely a combo of the milk + sweetener + many additives/emulsifiers they're using.

However, I'm happy to report that I found a brand with delicious ice cream flavors that make my stomach VERY happy: O Organics®.

O Organics ice cream products are:

• USDA certified organic
• Made with premium ingredients
• Perfect for kids and adults

I love their stuff! O Organics makes high-quality organic foods with simple ingredients that are affordable. That's a win for me! I grabbed three pints of their ice cream for this recipe (Vanilla, Mint Chip & Butter Pecan) from my local Tom Thumb store, which sells O Organics exclusively here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Don't have a Tom Thumb near you? You can find O Organic ice cream products exclusively at all Albertsons Companies family of stores like Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, and Carrs/Safeway.

Extra Savings: When you're there grabbing either O Organics or Open Nature ice cream products for this recipe, tell the cashier to enter the promo code ICECREAM to save $1.00 on your purchase. Note: The code is limited to 1 per transaction & it must be used or delivered by 8/06/19.

3. Toppings To Add Contrasting Texture & Flavor (Optional) 

If you have a bit of extra time, I highly recommend picking 1-3 toppings for the ice cream cookies, depending on which flavors you choose. It adds another dimension to the sandwich that really takes it over the top!

I like to choose toppings that compliment my ice cream flavor. And since I picked three different flavors for this recipe (you could just stick with one to keep it simple), I also switched up the toppings. However, you could pick one of these toppings for all your ice cream flavors. Whatever floats your boat!

Here are the combos I used for my sandwiches (all with peanut butter cookies):

• Mint Chip Ice Cream + Hardening Chocolate Sauce (I assembled the ice cream sandwich then dipped half of it in the chocolate sauce, which hardened in a few minutes)
• Vanilla Ice Cream + Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (smaller is better so it's easier to eat them once they're frozen)
• Butter Pecan Ice Cream + Toasted Pecan Bits (Finely Chopped Pieces) 

They were all fabulous, but my favorite is the mint chip + chocolate shell combo. That hardening chocolate sauce takes me back to the days when I got butterscotch dipped soft-serve ice cream cones from DQ. When I make this next time, I might dip all the flavors in chocolate just for the heck of it!

Other Toppings Ideas:

• Toasted peanuts, walnuts, or pistachios
• candied nuts (pecans, walnuts, or cashews - finely chopped)
• crushed kettle corn or popcorn
• butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, or white chocolate chips
• fudge sauce
• salted caramel sauce
• thinly sliced ripe bananas
• regular peanut butter (layer in between ice cream & cookies)
• peanut butter sauce
• whipped cream (you could make a layer between the ice cream & cookies - it freezes well)
• mashed cheesecake (layered inside) 
• toffee bits
• chopped peanut butter cups (or melt it down to use as dipping chocolate like I did with my chocolate dipped shortbread cookies),
• crushed chocolate cookies, pretzels or candy canes

...just to name a few!

Tips For Making Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

• This might seem obvious, but it warrants mentioning: make room in your freezer before starting the process. When you're working with ice cream in a warm environment, things melt fast, so you may have to stick the ice cream sandwiches into the freezer a few at a time, rather than at the end. This doesn't work so well when you're scrambling to find room in the freezer at the last second.
• If possible, stick any containers, utensils or ingredients that will touch the ice cream (even indirectly) into the freezer for a brief chill. Ice cream scoops, sheet pans, spoons, bowls, etc. This helps the ice cream stay colder longer while you're assembling the cookie sandwiches.
• If you're making homemade cookies instead of using storebought, bake them a few hours ahead of time so they cool completely before you assemble the ice cream sandwiches.
• If you're making any homemade toppings that require heat, like candied pecans, toasted nuts, chocolate sauce, fudge sauce, or caramel sauce, fix these an hour before assembling the sandwiches so they also have time to reach room temperature.
• Once the ice cream sandwiches are assembled, eat them immediately or stick them in the freezer for a few hours to firm up (definitely do the latter if the ice cream starts to get melty). For long term storage, place the sandwiches in a single layer in an airtight container in the freezer. Lay a sheet of parchment or wax paper between any cookies you plan to stack vertically so they don't stick to one another. 

best, recipe, homemade, how to make

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Yield: 8-10 sandwiches

Author: Elaina Newton - The Rising Spoon

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

An easy recipe for ice cream sandwiches made with homemade peanut butter cookies that stay soft in the freezer so you can take a big bite without ice cream squishing out the sides! Customize these cookie sandwiches with your favorite ice cream flavors and toppings, then stash them away for your next party or late-night dessert craving.

prep time: 15 Mcook time: total time: 15 M

ingredients:

• 16-20 soft or chewy cookies (I used two batches of my homemade flourless peanut butter cookies)
• 3 pints of ice cream (I used three different flavors of O Organics ice cream: vanilla, mint chip & butter pecan)
• Toppings (Optional):
• Mini chocolate chips OR finely chopped bar chocolate
• Plain toasted pecans OR candied pecans, finely chopped
• Hardening chocolate sauce (see recipe below) OR homemade magic shell made with cocoa or cacao powder

Hardening Chocolate Sauce (a.k.a. Homemade Magic Shell Copycat)

• 1 cup (5 ounces) of chocolate chips or chopped bar chocolate (milk, dark, white, semi-sweet, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (refined or unrefined, the latter has more flavor)

instructions:

How to cook Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Making The Chocolate Sauce (Optional):

1. Combine the chocolate chips & coconut oil in a medium-sized glass bowl. Melt using on the stove using a double-boiler (this should take about 5-10 minutes) or in 30-second increments using the microwave. When the chocolate is almost completely melted, remove from heat and stir well until smooth. Let the mixture cool, then pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid, and store at room temperature until ready to use. If it starts to harden (coconut oil solidifies below 76 degrees Fahrenheit), reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave. It should keep for at least a month if no water or other perishable ingredients are introduced into the sauce.

Assembling The Ice Cream Sandwiches:

1. Set the ice cream on the counter for 5-10 minutes to soften (this makes it easier to scoop) and place each topping (if using) into a separate bowl so it's ready for the ice cream sandwiches.
2. Line a baking sheet or large plate (small enough to fit into your freezer) with parchment paper (this helps clean up in case the ice cream starts melting).
3. Place half the cookies on the baking sheet and scoop a generous portion (1/3 cup or more) of ice cream onto the bottoms of those cookies (I had 16 total cookies in this batch so I put ice cream onto 8 of them). Place another cookie on top of each ice cream scoop and gently press down so that the ice cream spreads to the edges.
4. If desired, quickly roll the edges of the ice cream sandwiches in the bowls with toppings (I used chopped toasted pecans with the butter pecan ice cream and mini chocolate chips with the vanilla ice cream) and then place the sandwiches back on the sheet. And/or dip the ice cream sandwiches into homemade or storebought hardening chocolate sauce to form a shell (this should take 1-2 minutes to harden) - I used this with the mint chip ice cream. 
5. Serve the ice cream cookie sandwiches immediately before they start to melt OR stick the baking sheet into the freezer for 1-2 hours so the ice cream firms up (I prefer them this way).
6. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer (a single layer is best so the cookies don't stick together) and use within a few weeks.   

NOTES:

If at any point in the assembling process the ice cream starts to get too melty, stick everything back in the freezer to cool down before continuing. This is why it helps to start with cold ingredients & tools (see post above for more tips). The prep time only includes letting the ice cream pints sit out to soften a bit and then assembling the sandwiches. If you're going to make the homemade hardening chocolate sauce beforehand, this will take another 10-15 minutes. Toasting the nuts adds another 5 minutes. Ideally, you want to make any sauces or toast any toppings at least an hour ahead of time so they're cool enough to use on the ice cream without melting it.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Albertsons Companies. The opinions and text are all mine.

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