We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
When I think of an ice cream sandwich, I imagine soft baked chocolate chip cookies, rich vanilla ice cream, and melted chocolate (preferably dripping all over my fingers — it’s a messy affair!) Ice cream sandwiches were a vital part of childhood for a lot of people, myself included, and I have no qualms about revisiting them as an adult.
Funnily enough, I’ve never actually tried making an ice cream sandwich from scratch myself (unless you count scooping a spoonful between two small cookies!), but I was super intrigued when I came across this viral video in which the creator uses an entire pint of ice cream and large cookies to easily make their own. While this idea has been around for a while, what caught my attention is the somewhat brutal yet calculated knife technique: You use a knife to cut straight through the container of ice cream — packaging and all! The idea is that you’re then left with perfectly shaped discs of ice cream for a sandwich. The concept seems almost offensively obvious — and ingenious — and I was immediately sold. I had to try it out for myself.
How to Make Easy Ice Cream Sandwiches
There really are no rules for this recipe, which makes creating this treat even more fun. First, grab a pint of your favorite ice cream (I chose Ben & Jerry’s Milk & Cookies) and your choice of cookies, preferably chocolate chip. Make sure to choose cookies that are large enough in diameter to match the size of the ice cream disc — they don’t have to be perfect, but they should be roughly the same. Place the pint of ice cream on its side and, using a sharp knife, slice through it like a loaf of bread into four evenly sized rounds. Place a cookie on either side of each ice cream round of ice cream and then peel away the remaining pint packaging.
At this point you can either place them back in the freezer for a bit to firm up before enjoying, or, if prepared ahead of time, dunk them in a bowl of homemade chocolate ganache or melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. (If you are going the dipping route, make sure to refrigerate the ice cream sandwiches for at least 20 to 30 minutes before eating to make sure you aren’t consuming a melted mess — although there’s nothing wrong with that in my book!)
My Honest Opinion of Easy Ice Cream Sandwiches
I was pleasantly surprised by the results of this creation. When I first viewed the video I had an immediate light bulb moment — I couldn’t believe I had never thought of this hack myself.
Admittedly, I was skeptical because it just seemed way too simple, but ultimately this method of making an ice cream sandwich is probably the most efficient and creative way you can do it. The variations are endless, and the time till devouring (or TTD as I like to call it) is literally just minutes. I’ll definitely be making these again, especially because I sort of botched the chocolate ganache part, and am determined to make these look prettier next time. Until then, I’ll be daydreaming of each delicious bite.