Cookie Dough Ice Cream

This chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is a dream! Use the dough recipe as a mix-in for purchased ice cream, or make a homemade base.

We’ve always had a habit of sneaking bits of dough from the bowl when we’re baking. So it’s no surprise that this ice cream flavor is at the top of the list at our house: cookie dough ice cream! Wow, is the homemade version of this flavor sublime! The soft, salty sweet bits of dough with pops of chocolate are abundant in the creamy, frosty vanilla cream. You can also make just the dough and throw it into purchased ice cream: a fun trick that lets you have any flavor base you want!

Ingredients in cookie dough ice cream

When was cookie dough ice cream invented? Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream claims to have invented the popular flavor in 1984 when a customer suggested the idea at their original shop in Burlington, Vermont. It went on to become a fan favorite and they started selling it in grocery stores in 1991.

There’s no surprise why this is a popular flavor. That chewy dough texture with a hint of salty sweet is incredibly satisfying! The cookie dough ice cream recipe below shows you how to make it using homemade vanilla base. Or, simply make the dough and fold it into store-bought ice cream for a fun, semi-homemade treat! Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 recipe Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream or 1 quart purchased ice cream
• All-purpose flour
• Salted butter
• Brown sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Mini chocolate chips

Tips for the cookie dough

Edible cookie dough is very simple to whip up as an ice cream mix-in! In fact, we like making the dough recipe to use for topping sundaes or mixing into purchased ice cream. As a choco-holic, I’ve always wanted cookie dough with a chocolate ice cream base: and here’s the way to do it! Here are a few tips for mixing up the dough:

• If desired, heat treat the flour. For best food safety, you can heat treat it to prevent bacteria growth. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the flour on a baking sheet and bake for 4 to 6 minutes until the temperature reaches 165°F, checking every few minutes with a food thermometer. Cool completely before using (be patient: if the flour is warm the texture of the cookie dough will suffer). While we don’t always do this, it’s a good safety step to note.
• Form into pea-sized balls and freeze. It’s easiest to incorporate the cookie dough into ice cream when it’s made into very small bits. Portion out the bits with your hands and place them on a baking sheet, then freeze for 15 minutes or until hardened.
• If making in advance, store cookie dough until ready to use. If making in advance, remove the cookie dough bits from the tray once they are hardened and place in a sealed container for storage.

Adding the cookie dough

You can use the cookie dough with this homemade vanilla ice cream recipe and mix it in after churning, or you can use it with a purchased ice cream! Here are a few things to note about adding the cookie dough to the ice cream base:

• For homemade ice cream: Churn the ice cream, about 25 to 30 minutes. Place the ice cream in a loaf pan, then mix in the cookie dough crumbles. Then freeze for another 3 hours for hard ice cream texture.
• For purchased ice cream: Scoop a quart of purchased ice cream into a loaf pan and mix in the dough. Re-freeze for about 2 hours or until the desired hard ice cream texture is reached.
• Use any flavor you like! You can make your own version of cookie dough ice cream by varying the ice cream base. Make it with chocolate ice cream, peanut butter ice cream, or coffee ice cream as fun variations!

Equipment for homemade: an ice cream maker!

For the homemade ice cream base, you’ll need an ice cream maker. It’s a great investment you can use to make sorbets, sherbet and ice creams all year round. The two main types of ice cream makers are:

• Freezer bowl ice cream maker: This type of inexpensive: it simply requires freezing the base of the ice cream maker overnight before making the recipe. We like this 2 quart freezer bowl ice cream maker, which is durable and has held up well over the years.
• Automatic ice cream maker: If you make ice cream often, you may want to consider an automatic ice cream maker. It’s larger and more expensive but requires no pre-freezing, so you can make ice cream at any time! (This is the type we use, but only because this is our job!)

Dietary swaps

Got a special diet? Here are a few notes for adapting this recipe to a special diet:

• Vegan: Use this Vegan Ice Cream base and vegan butter or refined coconut oil in the cookie dough
• Gluten-free: Use almond flour or gluten-free 1 for 1 flour

Storage for cookie dough ice cream

This chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream stores for up to 2 weeks. Place it in a loaf pan with a parchment sheet over the top, or simply scoop it into a sealed container. The texture is lusciously creamy for the entire storage period, not icy like other methods. The cookie dough itself stores frozen for up to 1 month.

More ice cream recipes

Love making ice cream? Here are a few more homemade ice cream recipes to try:

• Try Rocky Road Ice Cream
• Go for Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Grab classic Vanilla Ice Cream, Chocolate Ice Cream or Strawberry Ice Cream
• Make Vegan Ice Cream (Dairy Free!) or Easy Banana Ice Cream
• Mix up Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream or Blueberry Ice Cream

01

Rocky Road Ice Cream

02

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

03

Easy Banana Ice Cream

04

Strawberry Ice Cream

This chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is…

Vegetarian. For vegan, use Vegan Ice Cream and vegan butter or refined coconut oil in the cookie dough. For gluten-free, use almond flour or gluten-free 1 for 1 flour.

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