cookie ice cream sandwich with pistachio ice cream

this cookie ice cream sandwich is the ultimate summer treat, featuring golden, chewy chocolate chip cookies, studded with crunchy pistachios, cradling generous scoops of velvety pistachio ice cream.

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these cookie ice cream sandwiches are a summer dream come true, with scoops of creamy pistachio ice cream nestled between two chewy, buttery, pistachio-studded chocolate chip cookies. grab one of these on a warm summer evening and watch it become your new go-to summer dessert. .

why you will love these easy cookie ice cream sandwiches:

• customisable – while this ice cream cookie sandwich recipe combines chocolate chip cookies and pistachio ice cream, you can really customise the flavours to your liking! you can make different types of cookies and different flavours of ice cream or add different mix ins to your cookies and ice cream based on what you like.

• nostalgia!! – i don’t know about you, but for me, as a child, there was nothing better than an ice cream sandwich on a hot summer day! especially a fresh cookie ice cream sandwich.

• fun to make – when it comes to making these ice cream cookie sandwiches, the whole family can get involved! making and assembling these cookie ice cream sandwiches is a whole activity so this would be a fun thing to do in summer with kids or even with your friends.

learn how to make these cookie ice cream sandwiches with pistachio ice cream at home:

to make these cookie ice cream sandwiches with pistachio ice cream from scratch, we’re going to start off with the pistachio ice cream recipe. for this, we’re going to whip double cream or heavy cream until it reaches medium peaks. then, add sweetened condensed milk and whip again until combined. this recipe involves making pistachio ice cream using pistachio cream, so we’ll add a few tablespoons of that and fold it through the mixture. add chopped pistachios and mix those in, then add the pistachio ice cream mixture to a freezer safe container and let it freeze overnight.

next, we’ll make the chocolate chip cookies for our pistachio ice cream sandwich. this recipe is actually similar to my small batch chocolate chip cookies recipe with some small adjustments.

we’ll start off by creaming together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy. add an egg, some vanilla extract and a splash of heavy cream and mix that in. then, add a mixture of flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix together. add chopped pistachios and chocolate chips and fold those through the dough, then let the cookie dough chill in the fridge before baking. bake until soft, golden and chewy, then let the cookies cool completely before assembling your cookie sandwiches.

once your pistachio ice cream has set overnight, let it soften slightly before adding a few scoops to the base of each cookie sandwich. spread the ice cream out until it reaches the edges, then top with another chocolate chip cookie and gently press it down to make your cookie and ice cream sandwich.

for a finishing touch, coat the sides of each chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich with chocolate chips or some chopped pistachios, and we’re done! you can eat these immediately or place them in the freezer again so that they set a bit before eating.

chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich ingredients:

chocolate chip cookies ingreddients:

• butter – i typically like to make chocolate chip cookies with salted butter as the salt balances out the sweetness perfectly. you are welcome to use unsalted butter as well, but i would recommend adding a little bit of salt to the dry ingredients to balance out the flavours. we’re going to be creaming the butter with the sugars in this chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich recipe.

• brown sugar – i’m using light brown soft sugar for this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe. this is what helps gives these chocolate chip cookies their soft, chewy texture and gives them a nice flavour. this light muscovado sugar is one of my favourites.

• granulated sugar – this recipe uses a mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar. the brown sugar keeps these cookies soft and chewy and the granulated sugar helps them spread.

• vanilla extract – optional, but will add a nice, subtle vanilla flavour.

• egg – this recipe only uses one large egg.

• double cream/heavy cream – i personally love a soft, chewy cookie for my ice cream cookie sandwiches, so i decided to add a very small amount of cream to the cookie dough to help make these cookies chewier. this is completely optional.

• flour – we’ll be using plain flour/all purpose flour for this recipe.

• baking powder and baking soda – for these chocolate chip cookies, we’re going to use a mix of baking powder and baking soda – this will increase chewiness but also give them a bit of rise.

• chocolate – i usually prefer chopping up a bar of milk or dark chocolate because i love the pools of melty chocolate, but i actually used a mix of chopped chocolate and chocolate chips in this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe. you can use either chopped chocolate or chocolate chips or a mix of both! i also used milk chocolate here, but you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate, depending on your preference.

• unsalted pistachios – i decided to add some chopped pistachios to these chocolate chip cookies just for that subtle pistachio flavour and a bit of crunch! you might also need some extra chopped pistachios if you want your cookie ice cream sandwich dipped in pistachios once assembled.

pistachio ice cream ingredients:

• double cream/heavy cream – this pistachio ice cream is made by whipping up heavy cream until it reaches medium peaks.

• sweetened condensed milk – i wanted to keep this pistachio ice cream no churn, and in order to get rich and creamy no churn ice cream, you’ll need to make this pistachio ice cream with condensed milk.

• pistachio cream/spread – i used a homemade pistachio cream for this recipe, which is made with pistachios, white chocolate and heavy cream. you can also use a store bought pistachio cream or a pistachio paste.

• unsalted pistachios – i also like to fold some pistachios through the ice cream mixture for a bit more of a pistachio flavour and some texture. you can also use any other pistachio ice cream mix ins that you like!

tools:

• hand mixer or stand mixer – you’re going to need a mixer to whip the cream to make the pistachio ice cream. if you don’t have a mixer, you can also just use a whisk, but this will take a bit more time.

• large mixing bowls – you’ll need two separate large mixing bowls: one for the chocolate chip cookie mixture and one for the pistachio ice cream mixture.

• freezer safe container – you’re going to need to freeze the pistachio ice cream mixture overnight, so you’ll need a freezer safe container for this.

step by step instructions

for full measurements, keep scrolling down to the recipe below.

step one: start off by making a quick pistachio ice cream. add cold heavy cream to large bowl and use a mixer to whip the cream until it reaches medium peaks. this means that the cream will generally hold its shape well, but the tip of it will curl over slightly when you lift the beaters from the cream. the cream will look thick and soft.

step two: add the sweetened condensed milk to cream and use a mixer to whip the condensed milk and cream together until completely combined.

step three: add the pistachio cream to mixture and use a silicone spatula or spoon to gently fold it through the mixture.

step four: add the chopped pistachios and fold them through the pistachio ice cream mixture.

step five: add the pistachio ice cream mixture to a freezer safe container, smooth it out, then cover it and place in the freezer. let the pistachio ice cream freeze overnight.

step six: to make the chocolate chip cookies for your pistachio and chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, start off by adding softened butter to a bowl, as well as light brown sugar and granulated sugar.

step seven: cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture looks soft and fluffy.

step eight: add an egg, some vanilla, and the heavy cream, and mix it into the butter and sugar mixture.

step nine: mix together flour, baking soda and baking powder, and add this to the cookie mixture. use a spoon or silicone spatula to gently fold it in until the mixture looks thick and smooth.

step ten: add chopped pistachios, as well as chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, and fold them through the cookie dough mixture.

step eleven: chill the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or freeze for 15 minutes).

step twelve: preheat oven and line a baking sheet with baking paper or parchment paper 10-15 minutes before you bake the cookies. place the baking sheet in the oven while the oven is preheating.

step thirteen: separate the cookie dough into 100g portions (or make smaller cookies if you don’t want the giant cookie ice cream sandwich pictured!)

step fourteen: add the cookie dough balls to the lined tray, add some extra chocolate and pistachios to the top, then bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes (depending on the size of your cookies).

step fifteen: remove the cookies from the oven, and let them sit on the tray at room temperature until they are completely cool.

step sixteen: once your pistachio ice cream is ready and the cookies are completely cool, remove the pistachio ice cream from the freezer and let it soften slightly at room temperature.

step seventeen: add a few scoops of the pistachio ice cream to the base of your chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, spread the ice cream out so that it reaches the edges of the cookie, then gently top with another chocolate chip cookie.

optional step eighteen: coat the sides of each cookie ice cream sandwich with chopped pistachios or chocolate chips.

step nineteen: place your cookie ice cream sandwiches in the freezer again to set properly or just serve and eat immediately!

tips and notes

• when making the pistachio and chocolate chip cookies, try to use room temperature butter and eggs. this will make it easier to cream the butter and sugar, and will also ensure that the egg is easier to incorporate into the mixture.

• i typically like to use salted butter for my chocolate chip cookies so that there’s a nice balance with the sweetness. if you are using unsalted butter, i’d recommend adding around 1/4 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients.

• once you add the dry ingredients to the cookie dough mixture, try not to over mix. use a silicone spatula or spoon and gently fold the dry ingredients in and don’t mix for longer than necessary to ensure that the cookies turn out soft and chewy instead of tough.

• chill the dough for as long as you can. the cookie dough will seem a little sticky at first, so letting it chill in the fridge will help it firm up and also help develop the flavours a bit better. the longer the better, but i would recommend chilling the dough for at least 30 minutes or freezing it for 15 minutes so that it’s easier to handle.

• portion out the cookie dough evenly. you want both sides of your cookie ice cream sandwich to be equal, so you need to make sure that your chocolate chip cookies are even and consistent in size. i like to use a scale to measure out my cookie dough into equal portions. you can either measure out each portion using a scale, or simply use a cookie scoop so that each cookie is the same size.

• i love a giant cookie ice cream sandwich, so i did make each cookie quite big. each cookie weighed out to be 100g and this made 6 cookies in total (and 3 big cookie ice cream sandwiches). if you want your cookie ice cream sandwiches to be smaller, you can use less cookie dough for each one. just make sure that there are an even number of cookies so that you are able to make your cookie ice cream sandwiches.

• i like to add my lined baking tray to the oven while it preheats so that there’s no time wasted in trying to warm things up. this way, the cookies will start to bake as soon as you place them on the tray.

• adjust baking time as needed. every oven is different, so i always recommend keeping an eye on your chocolate chip cookies as they bake. don’t just bang them in the oven and leave until the designated time is up. i ended up baking these for 15 minutes and they were quite soft even before adding the ice cream, so i would recommend a time of 15-18 minutes depending on your preference.

• baking times will vary depending on the size of your cookies so bear that in mind if you decide to make smaller cookie ice cream sandwiches. smaller cookies will take less time to bake.

• once your chocolate chip cookies are out of the oven, they should be too soft to pick up. let them cool completely before trying to add ice cream to them or the warm cookies will melt the ice cream.

• use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. while i add both metric and cup measurements for this recipe, i always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients for most accurate results. i like to use this one.

• make sure you’re using cold heavy cream or double cream when making the pistachio cream as this will be a lot easier to whip.

• you might need to adjust the amount of pistachio cream you use depending on whether you use a homemade pistachio cream or a store bought one. a store bought pistachio cream is likely to be sweeter so you might want to use less of it. you can adjust the amount based on your preference!

• once the pistachio ice cream is set, let it soften slightly at room temperature before adding it to your cooled cookies.

• you can eat your cookie ice cream sandwiches immediately, or if you find that they’re a bit melty once assembled, i’d recommend placing them in the freezer again for a while so that they’re able to set properly before you eat them.

• if you do decide to freeze them again, let them sit out at room temperature for a few minutes before serving so that the pistachio ice cream and cookie are able to soften slightly.

• when freezing an individual cookie ice cream sandwich, wrap in plastic wrap or clingfilm before freezing in order to avoid freezer burn.

frequently asked questions

1. can i use store-bought cookies instead of baking cookies from scratch for this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe?

   – yes, you absolutely don’t have to bake the cookies from scratch and just make the pistachio ice cream or bake the cookies and buy the ice cream – it’s up to you! i wanted to keep this cookie ice cream sandwich homemade so i just opted to make both.

2. can i use unsalted butter in this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe?

   – yes, you can use unsalted butter. if you use unsalted butter for your cookies instead of salted, i would recommend adding around 1/4 tsp of salt to the cookie dough with the rest of the dry ingredients just to balance out the sweetness of the sugar and chocolate.

3. do i have to use vanilla extract to make these cookie ice cream sandwiches?

   – the vanilla extract in this cookie recipe is optional. i like the subtle vanilla flavour it gives to the cookie dough, but if you would prefer not to use it or don’t have it, that’s also completely fine.

4. can i make this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe without the pistachio cream?

   – if you don’t have pistachio cream or are unable to buy or make it, you can always blend down pistachios until they turn into a paste. mix the paste with the condensed milk and then mix this into whipped heavy cream. you might need a bit more of the condensed milk as the pistachio paste won’t be sweet. i’m also considering posting a pistachio cream recipe as well so stay tuned for that!

5. why did my cookie ice cream sandwich turn hard in the freezer?

   – to ensure that your cookies remain soft even after assembling each cookie ice cream sandwich and freezing it, try not to over bake the cookies. cookies that are over baked will be harder and a bit more cakey and we really don’t want that. i’d recommend taking your cookies out when they are slightly underdone as they will firm up as they cool.

   – i also recommend letting your assembled cookie ice cream sandwiches rest at room temperature for a bit once you take it out of the freezer before serving. this will help the pistachio ice cream and the cookies soften before you eat them.

6. do i have to use pistachios for this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe?

   – you absolutely don’t have to use pistachios in these cookies! you can use any other kinds of nuts or you can just skip the nuts altogether. you also don’t have to make this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe with pistachio ice cream if you’d rather avoid the pistachios. any kind of ice cream flavour would work, like the strawberry ice cream i made in this strawberry ice cream sandwich recipe.

7. do i have to use brown sugar for this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe?

   – brown sugar is recommended for the chocolate chip cookies, as it helps gives the cookies their chewy texture and rich flavour. however, if you don’t have brown sugar, you can substitute it with granulated sugar. bear in mind, that using all granulated sugar for this cookie recipe might result in cookies that are crispier, less chewy and maybe even a little drier. for best results, use a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar as stated.

8. do i have to use heavy cream for this cookie ice cream sandwich recipe?

   – the heavy cream in these cookies is completely optional. i find that it helped make the cookies extra chewy so that they were able to stay soft throughout, but i only used a teaspoon of the heavy cream so it shouldn’t make too much of a difference if you decide to leave it out.

9. why did my cookies not spread?

   – one of the reasons why your cookies didn’t spread might be due to your oven temperatures being too low. make sure to preheat your oven 10-15 minutes before adding your cookies in so that the oven is hot enough. i also recommend adding your lined baking tray to the oven while it’s preheating so that the tray is hot and the cookies start spreading as soon as you put them on the tray.

10. can i make the dough ahead of time and bake the cookies later?

    – yes, you can absolutely make the cookie dough in advance and store it in the fridge before baking. just let the cookie dough rest in the fridge. when you’re ready to bake, leave the bowl out for around 10-15 minutes while the oven is preheating – this will help the dough soften up so you can easily portion it out.

recipe