Soft vegan cookies are paired with strawberry-banana nice cream or your favorite dairy-free ice cream for a sweet treat you can grab right out of the freezer!
Choosing a Cookie for Ice Cream Sandwiches
I originally shared this post with a recipe for sunbutter cookies. I've now also made these nice cream sandwiches with my favorite peanut butter cookies AND these spiced tahini oatmeal cookies. All three of these cookies work really well for ice cream sandwiches and give you some fun flavor combinations to play around with.
The key to the perfect ice cream sandwich is to use a cookie that's a bit on the softer side. Not over-baking the cookies is one important factor!
Also, all three of the cookies I mentioned are butter-free and oil-free, which helps keep them softer in the freezer than cookies that contain a lot of saturated fat.
Ice Cream and Cookie Pairing Ideas
Pictured on this page are sunbutter cookies with strawberry-banana nice cream (recipe included below). But the sky is the limit as far as flavor pairings go!
Here are a few ideas:
Pair these peanut butter cookies with:
- plain frozen banana nice cream
- strawberry-banana nice cream
- peanut butter banana ice cream (add peanut butter to the food processor while blending frozen bananas)
- store-bought or homemade vegan ice creams like vanilla, chocolate, coconut, etc!
Pair these nut-free sunbutter cookies with:
- Same as above! And note, this Chocolate Chickpea Ice Cream is also nut-free. So you could have a 100% dairy-free, nut-free ice cream cookie sandwich!
Pair these spiced tahini oatmeal cookies with:
- Vanilla-Maple Oat Milk Ice Cream
- Pumpkin Oat Ice Cream
- plain banana nice cream
- Or store-bought vegan ice creams such as caramel, coconut, or vanilla.
Tips for Freezing Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
I whipped up some strawberry-banana nice cream for these because I had bananas and strawberries in the freezer. The tart strawberry flavor was actually really delicious with the sunbutter cookies, sort of like peanut butter and jelly!
The only issue with using banana nice cream is that the absence of fat means it freezes much harder than higher fat vegan ice creams. But..... it still works! Here are a few things to keep in mind....
- Right out of the food processor (or high speed blender) banana nice cream is a soft-serve consistency, so you'll want to freeze it for at least a couple of hours before placing scoops between the cookies. Just spoon the nice cream into a freezer-safe container and pop it into the freezer. Cover it after about 30 minutes.
- Having said that, I was in a hurry to photograph these babies and only froze the nice cream for about an hour. Even though it was soft, it still worked! If you also find yourself in a rush, just put a scoop between the cookies, gently squish it down, and place the sandwiches uncovered on a plate or baking sheet in the freezer. The smaller amount of ice cream and the increased exposure to the cold mean they freeze more quickly, which means eating ice cream sandwiches even sooner!
- If not eating right away, wrap ice cream sandwiches individually in plastic wrap.
- Once the ice cream sandwiches have been frozen for an extended period, say 4+ hours, the ice cream will be quite hard. So be sure to transfer individual sammies to the fridge 10 to 15 minutes before you want to eat them.
If you use store-bought non-dairy ice cream, you'll need to let it soften slightly before building your ice cream sandwiches. Then freeze the sandwiches as mentioned above.
I hope you enjoy these Vegan Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. If you find an ice cream flavor combo you really love, please share it with us in the comments below! Enjoy!
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Oil-Free Vegan Gluten-Free Lemon Bars
Vegan Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Dairy-Free Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (Oil-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
Choose a cookie flavor:
- 1 batch Nut-Free Vegan Sunbutter Cookies
- 1 batch Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- 1 batch Spiced Tahini Oatmeal Cookies - Omit the spices if desired.
For strawberry-banana nice cream (see other homemade ice cream options in post above, or use store-bought):
- 3 frozen overripe bananas - To freeze bananas: peel, cut into pieces, place in an airtight container or sandwich bag, and freeze overnight
- 10 to 12 frozen strawberries
- splash of non-dairy milk
- sweetener of choice, optional - If the bananas aren't sweet enough, add a small amount of maple syrup or sugar to taste.
Instructions
- If making banana nice cream, do this at least 2 to 3 hours before you want to eat ice cream sandwiches so the ice cream has time to firm up in the freezer. Add the bananas, strawberries, and a splash of milk to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- The nice cream will be similar to soft serve at this point. Scoop it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for about 2 hours. This will give you a firmer, scoopable texture for building the ice cream sandwiches.
- Select a cookie flavor and bake the cookies. (See flavor pairing ideas in post above.)
Make the ice cream sandwiches:
- If using homemade ice cream, once it's firm enough place one scoop on a cookie and top it with another cookie, gently pressing them together. Place ice cream sandwiches on a baking sheet or plate in the freezer. The amount of time needed in the freezer depends on how soft your ice cream is when you make the sandwiches. Check them after about 30 minutes.
- If using store-bought ice cream, let it soften slightly. Then scoop it onto a cookie, placing another cookie on top, and freeze as described above.
- Enjoy ice cream sandwiches right away or wrap the individual sandwiches in plastic wrap and place inside an airtight freezer storage bag or other freezer-safe container. Freeze until ready to enjoy, then transfer to refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes before serving. See Notes below.
Notes
- Oil-free vegan cookies work well for ice cream sandwiches because they're still somewhat soft and chewy after cooling. Be careful not to overbake the cookies.
- Once the ice cream sandwiches have been frozen for an extended period, say 4+ hours, the ice cream will be quite hard. Transfer individual sammies to the fridge 10 to 15 minutes before you plan to eat!
- Store individually wrapped ice cream sandwiches in the freezer for up to a week for banana nice cream varieties and up to 2 weeks for higher fat ice creams.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Melody
So yummy! I used almond butter and about 3T maple syrup.. I was looking for a cookie to use for an ice cream sandwich. Wish I could post a pic because they are beautiful and so tasty. I really appreciate that you don’t use oil. I also love your tahini spice cookies. Thank you!
Lori
Hi Melody, I'm so glad you enjoyed the cookies! Thank you for letting us know how they turned out. Oil-free cookie recipes are one of my favorites to work on, so there will be many more in the future, I'm sure! 😀