Coffee Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches

Vanilla and coffee no churn ice cream swirled together, sandwiched between two layers of chocolate chunk cookies, these Coffee Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches are perfect for summer.

What kind of chocolate is best for baking?

For these cookie bars and for the magic shell I recommend using high quality baking chocolate – usually it comes in bar form. I tend to use Ghirardelli 60% bars for almost everything!

What is the texture of the cookies once frozen?

Ok so these aren’t super soft like the classic chocolate and vanilla ones you get at the grocery store but they also aren’t as rock hard as if you just put an entire chocolate chip cookie in the freezer. To keep the cookies a little softer, I use melted butter, an extra egg, bread flour and corn starch.

Do you have to chill the cookies?

Nope! One of my favorite things about baking the cookies on a big flat sheet tray is that you don’t have to let the dough chill first because you want it to spread!

Additional Recipes to try:

• Strawberry Oreo Ice Cream
• Burnt Sugar Ice Cream Cake
• Brown Sugar Espresso Ice Cream Cake

Tips for making the best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

• Make sure the eggs are at room temperature! You don’t want them to cool off the melted butter before you spread the cookie dough because it will make it much harder to spread.
• In the video where I made these I added the chocolate into the cookie dough before I spread it on the sheet pan but it made it mix in more than I wanted. So I recommend spreading the cookie dough out first, then swirling in the melted chocolate. You could also sprinkle on chocolate chips if you prefer but don’t mix them in ahead of time because it will make it difficult to spread.
• Be sure to use either a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper on the baking sheet so that you can easily lift the cookie off once it has cooled.
• If you remember to, put your sweetened condensed milk in the fridge the night before – this will help the ice cream whip up to stiffer peaks adding in more air to the ice cream and making them a bit more stable.
• Make sure to let the ice cream sandwiches freeze completely. I prefer to let them set overnight but 8 hours should be enough.
• These can be left plain or dipped in a chocolate magic shell and rolled in sprinkles or really anything you want!

Ingredients

• Chocolate: I recommend using Ghirardelli 60% bars for both the cookie dough swirl and the magic shell.
• Butter: Salted butter is best for these, I recommend Kerrygold.
• Sugar: Both white and dark brown sugar are used in these cookies for optimal flavor and texture.
• Spices: Cocoa Powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger – all ground. These are optional but really give the cookies a little something extra. Or you can order and use this spice mix that I LOVE.
• Salt: sea salt balances out the sweetness of the cookies and pairs perfectly with chocolate I also add flaked salt after baking in addition to the salt in the cookie dough.
• Vanilla Extract: It may seem counterintuitive but vanilla extract enhances chocolate and other flavors in the cookies. There is also vanilla bean paste in the ice cream but vanilla extract works too!
• Eggs: Standard large eggs are used for this recipe; just be sure they are at room temperature.
• Bread Flour: Bread Flour leads to a chewier cookie which I think is ideal for freezing. But if you only have all purpose flour you can use that too!
• Corn Starch: A little bit of starch also helps keep the cookies soft in the freezer.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: these help make the cookies get a little puffy and prevent them from spreading too much. Don’t forget to check the expiration dates!
• Sweetened Condensed milk: I like to have my can in the fridge so that it is cold when whipped with the cream. That being said don’t fret if yours is in the pantry – it may just take longer to whip.
• Espresso Powder: Either baking espresso powder or instant espresso powder works for the coffee portion of ice cream.
• Cocoa powder: Any type of cocoa powder works for the cocoa swirl in the ice cream.
• Coconut Oil: A touch of coconut oil added with the melted chocolate creates that magic shell texture!

How to make Coffee Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cookie bar

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line a half size (13″ x 18″) baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or a sheet of parchment paper.
• In a medium mixing bowl add in the melted butter, both sugars, vanilla, the spices, and salt. Whisk to combine and then add in both eggs. Whisk once more.
• Dump in the flour, starch, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk to combine – the batter should be thick but too runny to scoop.
• In a microwave safe bowl or in a double boiler on the stove, melt the chocolate. If using the microwave, melt the chocolate in 15 second bursts stirring between each one.
• Use an offset spatula or a silicone spatula to spread the cookie dough over the lined baking sheet.
• Swirl the melted chocolate into the cookie dough.
• Bake the cookie bar for 4 minutes, then rotate and bake for another 4-5 minutes. Don’t over bake this! It’ll continue to bake as it cools on the baking sheet.
• Once baked, take the pan out of the oven, sprinkle the top with flaked salt and leave it to cool completely before trying to move it.

Ice Cream Filling

• Split the sweetened condensed milk between two separate mixing bowls. Add the half the salt and half the vanilla into each one.
• Add the espresso powder into one of the bowls and then split the heavy cream equally between both bowls.
• Starting with the mixture without espresso, use an electric mixer to whip until medium stiff peaks form. It won’t become completely stiff because of the sweetened condensed milk but firm lines should hold in the mixture.
• Place the bowl in the fridge or freezer (wherever you have space) while you repeat the same whipping for the espresso mixture. Once medium stiff peaks form place the bowl also in the fridge or freezer.

Assemble

• Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper (you can also do a 9×9 square pan if you feel like the cookie isn’t big enough and you’ll just have a thicker ice cream layer!
• Cut the cookie in half so that you have two pieces that measure 9×13 or 9×9. Carefully lift one piece off the baking sheet, flip it over and place it in the lined pan.
• Add half of the vanilla ice cream over top of the cookie, then half of the coffee ice cream. Dust the top with a full layer of cocoa powder with a sieve (I eyeballed it but it’s about 1-2 tablespoons). Then add the second half of the vanilla and the second half of the coffee ice cream. Dust again with cocoa and then use a spoon or spatula to swirl through ALL of the layers.
• Lay the second piece of cookie on top and immediately transfer to the freezer.

Slice and Dip

• Once fully frozen, it’s time to make the magic shell if you want to! Simply melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl just as before. Then stir in the coconut oil. Transfer into a glass just wide enough to dip the bars into.
• Line a baking sheet or plate with parchment to lay the dipped sandwiches on. Fill a shallow bowl or plate with chocolate sprinkles.
• Use the parchment paper to lift the ice cream bars out of the pan. Then with a big sharp knife, trim the edges of the ice cream sandwich block and then cut into sandwiches however big you want them to be!
• Dip them one at a time in the magic shell, allow any excess to drip off and then optionally roll in chocolate sprinkles before laying them on the parchment lined baking sheet.
• Transfer the sandwiches back to the freezer for a couple minutes if needed to let the shell harden. Store in a zip top bag in the freezer or enjoy immediately!

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