Cookies in Ice Cream

Cookies and Cream ice cream is one of the primary reasons I got into making ice cream. Whether they’re crunchy or soft, the texture of the cookies is usually great, and they add a counterpoint of sweet to the ice cream base. It’s common to see Cookies and Cream done with chocolate cookie bits, which brings a note of bitterness as well. When an ice cream is more complex in flavour because you’ve added a beloved ingredient like cookies, it’s easy to see why it’s a hit.

Because of the sheer dominance of Oreos in the marketplace, they have to be the first cookie considered when talking about Cookies and Cream ice cream. If you buy that flavour from the store, or in a restaurant, it’s probably a vanilla base with Oreo crumbs. Maybe not name brand crumbs, but any pretender is using the similarities to Oreos as their selling point. Oreos are part of a greater family of cookies known as Sandwich Cookies, which have some sort of filling into between two cookie layers. In commercial Cookies and Cream ice creams, the base stands in for the cookie’s cream filling. I have found, however, that chopping up whole sandwich cookies, filling and all, is even better.

Not all sandwich cookies are created equal. For a basic Cookies and Cream ice cream, the only type I bother with are the cheapest, no-name variety at the grocery store. They tend to be nice and chunky, nice and sweet, have a chocolate option, or a choco/vanilla split, and hold up in the ice cream. Other varieties break down too easily and don’t provide as much cookie experience. Also, you get way more cookies for way less. Oreos are nice and hard little biscuits, and hold up well in the mix, but they lack volume. There’s no real taste difference, so you might as well go cheaper and chunkier.

What Oreo does do better than anyone else, however, is seasonal flavours, promo flavours, and a few awesome regulars. Among the standouts have been Apple Pie, Lemon (thins), Salt Caramel (thins), Mint, Peppermint Bark, Pistachio, Cinnamon Bun, Carrot Cake and Dark Chocolate. Less awesome but still good were Coconut, Fireworks, Birthday Cake, Hot Cocoa, and regular Chocolate. The Double Stuff and Extra Stuff varieties are too much Stuff. I have also tried Matcha Green Tea and Blueberry sandwich cookies from overseas, but they were stale. I’m sure fresh ones would be much better.

The keys to a good sandwich cookie in ice cream are the same as any cookie: it has to provide big flavour and a noticeable texture. Many cookies are excellent as cookies, but aren’t really appropriate for ice cream use. You can adapt existing cookie recipes to be more durable in the mix, or more punchy in flavour, but some cookies are simply more suited for the job. Sandwich cookies are the champs, but there are other options, too.

Gingerbread and other heavy, substantial cookies can be a good fit. Gingerbread has a strong flavour, though I’ve found it and ginger snaps can taste weird and sour in ice cream. Harder varieties of gingerbread will do better than the cakey, molasses-rich ones, although if they get too dry, they can crumble to nothing.

Chocolate chip cookies are often prized for being chewy and soft, but in ice cream, they will likely go to mush. The effect, however, is easy to attain with a firmer vanilla biscuit and mini chocolate chips. Larger chips can freeze pretty hard and be flinty. If you make your own vanilla biscuits, adding some brown sugar will make them even more like chocolate chip cookies.

Oatmeal and similar crumbly cookies are not going to hold up well. You will likely be left with soggy oats and mush. Even something like granola will get mushy quickly, and doesn’t do much for the effect. Raisins and a vanilla biscuit will get enough of the way for oatmeal cookie fans, and you can soak the raisins for a bit in some alcohol to plump them. Be careful to drain them well, as too much alcohol will prevent freezing.

Graham crackers can sometimes be substantial enough to hold up to ice cream, and even if they start to turn to mush, at least retain enough of their original flavour to be in consideration for S’mores and cheesecake ice creams. Crumbling the grahams, and baking them briefly with butter and sugar will add some longevity and punch to the cookies.

Wafer and other light, delicate cookies do not do well in ice cream at all, though they sometimes get covered in chocolate to make them more durable. Small, completely covered pieces might work, but will start dissolving if moisture gets to them.

Macarons, the fancy-finicky sandwich cookies, are trendy and show off the baker’s skill, but they will dissolve quickly in ice cream. They are mostly used for their ability to show off flavour, like ice cream, and have little to add on their own. Meringues would work the same way. Marshmallows and aerated sugar creations do not last in ice cream.

Macaroons, not macarons, the chunky coconut and sometimes chocolate lumps, are not really worth bothering about, in cookie terms. The flavours of chocolate and coconut are much more easily achieved without getting flour and butter involved, and produces the same effect. Any cookie that’s basically a delivery system for a kind of filling, fruit or topping is best left aside while you focus the ice cream flavour on the filling, fruit or topping.

Any sort of soft ladyfinger, shortbread or sugar cookie likely lacks the staying power to be worth trying in ice cream. The same goes for cookies made with nut flours. In all cases, however, the easiest solution is to use the cookies as a topping if you want them at the ice cream party. No self-respecting bowl of ice cream or cookie would turn down that offer.

Gluten-free cookies offer a major challenge to the ice-cream maker. Flavour is no issue, but you double down on cookie disintegration. Gluten is a binder, so any method that keeps your gluten-free cookies together is essential.

As far as getting the cookies into the ice cream, I find they are best added after the mixture has been churned. That way you can make the chunks into any size you like, rather than be limited to what won’t clog your machine. I like big chunks, and I get them with a tool that’s normally used to core and section apples. I can even crunch down a small stack of cookies at once. With some skill, you can even cut a mini-cookie out of the middle, with the logo on it and everything. Those make fantastic little toppers for sundaes, cones or whatever you like.

One little tip to consider is chilling your cookie chunks or crumbs until moments before adding them to the ice cream mix. Less ice cream will melt directly around them, which will add as one extra layer of moisture protection. It’s the little things like this that make all the difference!