Make The Best Ice Cream Sandwich You’ve Ever Tasted

Nothing says summer like ice cream, and there’s no more FUN way to enjoy the cool treat than by eating it in an ice cream sandwich! The combination of cookie and ice cream was always just perfect, and no matter how old we get, we’re always going to love them. The only thing that’s changed? How awesome those ice cream sandwiches are! There’s a whole range of cookie and ice cream flavors out there, so why should we limit ourselves to plain old chocolate and vanilla? When you make your own ice cream sandwiches at home, they can be whatever you dream them to be. Imagine: molasses sugar cookies and peaches-and-sour-cream ice cream. Cocoa brownies and mint-basil ice cream. Or even pound cake and lemon ice cream! They’re all possible, and they’re all possible at home. Read on for the basic, easy recipe that works for any and all flavors, and then keep going for even more crazy flavor ideas. This summer’s going to be great.

BEST HOMEMADE ICE CREAM SANDWICH

INGREDIENTS

  • Ice cream or sorbet, in your favorite flavor(s)
  • Cookies, or any other bread or pastry, with a firm bottom and soft domed top, for the sandwich “bread”
  • Toppings: melted chocolate, sprinkles, chopped nuts, freeze-dried berries, etc.

DIRECTIONS

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and put it in the freezer.
  2. Set out the ice cream to soften until it reaches an ideal point of semi-firm and “scoopable.” Note that hitting this spot is a little trickier with sorbets, so watch it carefully!
  3. In the meantime, make sure your cookies are room temperature or at least slightly chilled. Warm and fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies are delicious, but not great for building ice cream sandwiches.
  4. Once both the ice cream and the cookies are the ideal temperature, start building! The ideal cookie-to-ice cream ratio is 1:3— one part cookie, three parts ice cream. Keeping that in mind, flip one of the cookies over and scoop a ball of ice cream into the center of the cookie bottom. If the cookies are a little crumbly, you may want to use two for each side of the sandwich.
  5. Form a sandwich by placing the bottom of a second cookie on the scoop of ice cream. Press gently until the ice cream is pushed just outside the borders of the cookies.
  6. Immediately, place the cookie in the freezer on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until you have your desired number of cookies.
  7. Decorate the exposed ice cream with your chosen toppings. If you are coating the entire sandwich in melted chocolate, wait until the sandwiches have completely hardened before dipping in the cooled, melted chocolate.

The recipe is simple, right? The possibilities, though— those are endless. And THAT’S what has us so excited! Because, yes, you could stick with a classic chocolate-cookie-and-vanilla-ice-cream combo – and who could blame you? – but the advantage of making these ice cream sandwiches at home is that you can go CRAZY with the flavors. Consider:

The possibilities are truly endless. Just remember the 1:3 ratio, pick cookies with firm bottoms and soft tops, and you’re off to the ice cream sandwich races! What will YOUR ideal ice cream sandwich include?

Thanks to our partners at Food52! Check them out for even MORE ideas!