Unbelievably creamy cinnamon-spiced ice cream sandwiched between two soft and chewy oatmeal cookies!
As we inch closer and closer toward the end of summer, I can’t help but feel compelled to cram as many summery sweets into this season as possible. Although I definitely look forward to fall and its many MANY wonderful flavors, there are still some treats I’d like to share before summer’s end.
One of those treats is these…
Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
TWO Soft and Buttery Oatmeal Cookies: Each sandwich contains two soft, chewy, brown sugary oatmeal cookies. It gives you the perfect excuse to eat two cookies at once!
Incredibly Creamy Cinnamon-Spiced Ice Cream: You won’t believe how creamy this ice cream is. It’s also SUPER easy to make, and it’s spiced with just enough cinnamon which pairs so well with the soft oatmeal cookies.
Homemade and Simple to Make: These ice cream sandwiches are 100% homemade, made with real hearty ingredients, and WAY better than anything you can buy at your local grocery store. Made with simple ingredients you already have in your pantry, these sandwiches are simple to make and a real crowd-pleaser.
Tips For Ice Cream Sandwich Success
Chill the Dough: The dough needs at least two hours of chill time to prevent the cookies from spreading too quickly in the oven. This time in the refrigerator also allows the dry ingredients to fully absorb the wet ingredients, improving the overall texture and flavor. Not to mention, the dough is SO much easier to handle once it’s been chilled since it doesn’t stick all over your hands.
Flatten Cookies Slightly: Instead of simply rolling the dough up into a ball, placing it onto the baking sheet and baking, I prefer to flatten each dough ball slightly. Just take two or three fingers and lightly press onto the tops of each dough ball, creating a thick “hockey puck.” This creates a nice even thickness throughout and helps the cookies to bake more evenly.
Don’t Over-Bake the Cookies: Over-baking will make the cookies hard and tough to bite through, especially when they’re frozen. You want the cookies to be lightly golden around the edges and puffed, yet slightly underdone in the center. Mine took 8-9 minutes to bake, but keep a close eye on them during the last 3 minutes of baking.
Make a Slab of Ice Cream: To give the ice cream sandwiches a more polished appearance, I like to spread the ice cream into a flat even slab on a pan, freeze it, then use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut perfect rounds out of the ice cream. It’s a little more work than simply scooping the ice cream, but it makes the ice cream sandwiches look more gourmet.
Line the Pan with Aluminum Foil: To ensure that your ice cream doesn’t stick to the pan, line it with aluminum foil first. The last thing you want is to cut into your ice cream, only to find that it’s frozen to the pan. The foil provides extra insurance as well as easy and effortless removal.
Be Organized and Ready: When it comes to ice cream, you’re limited on time. That’s why it’s important to have everything ready BEFORE you take the ice cream out of the freezer. Make sure to pair up each cookie with another cookie that matches its size. Also, have all your tools ready! This includes a glass or biscuit cutter to cut out each ice cream round as well as a thin metal spatula or knife to loosen and push the ice cream rounds out. You might want another plate or pan to put the finished ice cream sandwiches on.
What is the best way to store ice cream sandwiches?
I recommend wrapping each ice cream sandwich individually in plastic wrap, then placing them into a freezer-safe ziplock bag. This will prevent freezer burn and keep them tasty for up to 3 months.
If they last that long…
Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ⅔ cups quick oats
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon-Spiced Ice Cream:
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
Make the Cookies:
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices together. Stir in the oats; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add both sugars and beat until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Dump in the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using greased hands, roll dough into 1-inch balls, about 2 Tablespoons of dough per cookie. Place dough balls onto prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each one.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Ice Cream:
- Line a 9x13-inch pan with aluminum foil; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together until smooth; set aside in the refrigerator.
- In the chilled bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form. Add 1/4 of the whipped cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, stirring until combined. Add the rest of the whipped cream, using a rubber spatula to fold until just combined. Pour ice cream into the lined pan, using a spatula to spread it into an even layer. Chill in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
To Assemble:
- Pair each oatmeal cookie up with a similar size cookie. Remove the frozen ice cream slab out of the freezer and use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut circles out of the ice cream. Place ice cream round on top of the bottom-side of a cookie and top with another cookie. Repeat with the remaining ice cream and cookies.
- Chill ice cream sandwiches in the freezer for 30 minutes before wrapping individually in plastic wrap and storing in a freezer-safe ziplock bag.