The creamiest homemade ice cream, made with just four ingredients and no ice cream maker required, is sandwiched between two soft ‘n chewy M&M cookies to make the ultimate summer treat.
Whenever I make ice cream sandwiches with homemade cookies, I like to make the cookies a day or two ahead of time to save time on ice cream sandwich day (can we make that a thing?). This way the cookies are ready to go and the dirty dishes are long gone. Hopefully.
This is the easiest ice cream in the entire world. There is no churning. There is no ice cream maker. Four ingredients. All the flavor! One of my favorite parts to this homemade ice cream is that it is so soft and creamy. PLUS. You can use this base ice cream recipe for a variety of homemade ice creams. Just add different add-ins and toppings.
Heavy cream, heavy whipping cream, or double cream can all be used here. The only difference between them all is their milk fat percentage, but any of them make an extraordinary base for this easy homemade ice cream. The key to the mix? The sweetened condensed milk. This thick milk sweetens the ice cream while giving it that rich, creamy texture.
Also in the no-churn ice cream: vanilla extract. This gives the ice cream a little flavor. The three are beaten together until thick and smooth.
Next, add some M&Ms. Be careful folding these in as they can bleed a little color.
Now, taste it. Isn’t that amazing?
Pour this homemade ice cream mixture into a plastic container or bowl, cover, and pop in the freezer. Congratulations you now have homemade M&M ice cream.
BOOM. The ultimate summer treat.
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M&M Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 day
- Yield: 12-15 ice cream sandwiches
- Category: Frozen Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
The creamiest homemade ice cream, made with just four ingredients and no ice cream maker required, is sandwiched between two soft ‘n chewy M&M®cookies to make the ultimate summer treat.
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 2 cups (16 ounces, 480ml) heavy cream
- 14 ounces (1 can; 396g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (200g) mini or regular size M&M®s
Cookies
- 1 batch Rainbow M&M Cookies or Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies (or 24–30 of your favorite soft cookies)
Instructions
- Make the ice cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla together on high speed until thick and smooth, about 4-5 minutes. Carefully fold in the M&M’s. The M&M’s can bleed their color, so be careful when adding them. Spoon/pour the ice cream mixture into a freezer-safe container or bowl. Cover tightly and freeze overnight. Ice cream can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
- Make the cookies according to the recipe’s directions. Cool completely.
- Assemble the sandwiches: Take a large scoop of ice cream and sandwich it between two cookies. Feel free to roll the sides in crushed M&Ms, chocolate chips, or sprinkles. Freeze the sandwiches until ready to eat. See my tip below this recipe.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The baked cookies and prepared ice cream can both be prepared in advance. The ice cream needs to freeze overnight before using, but is tasty for up to 2 weeks in the freezer. The baked cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- No-churn ice cream method from Martha Stewart
Keywords: ice cream cookie sandwiches, M&M cookie ice cream sandwiches
You can prepare these cookie sandwiches ahead of time. Simply prepare the cookies and ice cream, assemble the sandwiches, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. Perfect straight from the freezer for a cool treat.
This looks amazing. My 2 year old son is napping but when he wakes up we will have to go to grocery store to make this!! Surely he will love me forever after we make and eat these.
Hope you both enjoy Patti!
I am in LOVE with this ice cream recipe!! I’ve been looking for a simple no-churn recipe and BAM! you delivered! and with m&m cookies no less!!! You’re photos are as usual just gorgeous and always inspire me to make mine better little by little. I swear, the photography is the hardest part of this food blogging adventure!
Yes, it really is the most challenging part!
This looks delish! I come to your blog for all of my baking needs, I trust no other source! (except my mom)
. BUT there is something lacking: no cherry pie recipe! My boyfriend loves Black Forest Cake and you can’t make that without cherry pie filling. Could you look into making something with cherry pie filling?
OH WOW! Those look amazing…way better than the store bought ones! Yum!
Love to you, Sally, for your blog. Just found the no churn ice cream recipe recently- instead of vanilla try 1 teas. Cinnamon. It is so good! Can’t wait to make these M&M cookies and ice cream!
Thanks for graciously sharing.
The heavens are singing! I have an ice-cream maker but sometimes having to remember to put the base in the freezer in advance is frustrating. THIS ice-cream is just so easy. Ice cream is my love language, Sally. Thank you!!
Of course I had to try this right away! The whole family loved the ice cream – 3 young kids and 2 older ones (Mom and Dad!). I made hubby’s favourite cookies to go with it – your dark chocolate minus the caramel as I did not have any but chocolate chips worked in a pinch. Delicious!
Wonderful! Happy Memorial Day!
How would you make it chocolate ice cream? Just add cocoa powder? Or melted semi sweet chips?
I’ve never attempted a chocolate version, so I’m unsure without testing myself. Maybe swirl some hot fudge into it as it is whipping?
I didn’t want to mess it up so I just made the original recipe. Omg so very good. We have an icecream shop we frequent during the summer, it was shown on food network, my son said the icecream taste just like their’s.
Oh have mercy, these look incredible. Like dream worthy. You just cannot go wrong with thick chewy cookies and homemade ice cream. And the MnMs are their own category of wonderful. Love love LOVE these!
Sally, I made these for a Memorial Day cookout and they were a HUGE hit! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Hey Sally the idea of condensed milk ice-cream is brilliant!I wonder if I could make it with whipping cream?I tried your red velvet cupcakes recipe a few days ago,the cakes were moist and had beautiful flavor but the frosting is somehow too thin. I’ve never successfully made cream cheese frosting,not even once.Lately I figured that it might not be my fault,it’s probably the weather that caused it!I live in a very humid place ,so i guess the moisture in the air somehow mixed in my frosting.Do you have any idea how can I improve it?I really want to make beautiful frosting !
Linda, are you using brick style cream cheese? You do not want to use cream cheese spread. The humidity can also play part, yes!
I love cookie ice cream sandwiches! These look divine!
What a perfect way to start off summer! Problem is I might not want to stop eating them! Thanks for the recipe and great pics!
Hi Sally,
Could you make a recipe using M&M chocolate eggs,please? I have a whole jar left from Easter!
Thanks,
Naomi
Hi Sally,
I made these cookies today & they were delicious & my family loved them. However, I was so disappointed because they turned out very flat. They weren’t fluffy at all like yours. I can’t figure out what I did wrong. I even refrigerated them overnight hoping they wouldn’t spread so much. Thoughts?
Lisa, this is an easy problem to fix. Were you sure to chill the dough? That step is imperative to the cookie’s appearance and texture. Try adding another 3 Tbsp of flour to the cookie dough- this will help bulk it up.
All that showed up on twitter was the softest and chewiest around and I started to drool a little bit. I didn`t even know which cookie but I knew I needed them. Rereading this post just makes me want to go on a cookie baking spree. I know my coworkers would love it but my bank account not so much. I really need to get every ingredient and try these cookies. I`m slowly learning m&m cookies are my favorite not sugar.
made these with peanut butter m and m’s and peanut butter cups– unbelievable- let me know if you want me to send you a pic
these were unbelievable
Hi Sally! For the ice cream could I replace Heavy Cream with Whipping Cream? Thanks!
Yep!
Hi Sally! If I were to double the recipe, is it exactly twice the amount of ingredients for the ice cream?
Yep.
These look great! I am going to make the ice cream (with oreos) sandwiches for my son’s birthday. He would like a traditional soft chocolate cookie. Can I replace some of the flour with cocoa? Or add an egg yolk and change the brown to white sugar ratio in a chocolate cookie recipe to make them softer? Thanks!
I recommend my soft chocolate cookies.
Thanks for the recipes! The ice cream sandwiches were a hit! And the ice cream was so easy! I am living overseas so using an ice cream freezer is currently not an option. Thanks!
Have you ever tried the icecream recipe to make an icecream cake? I’m making an icecream cake for my friend’s birthday, so I was thinking just to pour the icecream mixture into a springform pan! Any thoughts?
I haven’t! This ice cream might be a little too soft to make an ice cream cake, though.
Do you know of anything I could add to make it less soft? Or what if I beat it for longer than 4-5 minutes so the whipping cream becomes more stiff? Thank you for all the help!!
These are so so good I can’t get enough of them thank you you are a great cooksally
Hi Sally,
One question. Do I need to chill the heavy cream first before mixing it with the condensed milk?
Have just finished making the cookie dough, it’s chilling in the fridge right now. My hubs requested these cookies for his birthday (which is in 2 days time!). *inrushingmode
Thanks!
Ps: Your recipes and photos are awesome!!
Doesn’t matter if the cream is cold or not. Have fun making and enjoying these!
Hi Sally,
I am based in the UK and have purchased your cookbook which I love. My favourite recipe is the rolo cookie recipe!
With the above recipe, is there anything that can be used as a substitute for the cornflour? I have searched high and low in the UK for cornstarch (which is not the same as UK Cornflour which I found out the hard way!) and cannot find any anywhere.
Online when I have looked, I would have to pay around $40 for postage, which for a small pot of cornstarch is quite ridiculous I feel!
Any insight would be hugely appreciated, it’s frustrating that I can’t make these cookies for this one simple reason 🙁
Thanks,
Sharmaine
You can simply leave the cornstarch out. It just makes the cookies a little softer.
I was wondering what you use on your baking trays when baking the cookies? Is it a silicone mat? What brand and where did you buy it please. These look delicious!
Hi Sally – made these this weekend and my cookies came out completely flat (most of my chocolate chip cookies come out flat). All of the ingredients were fresh. Any ideas of what I may have done wrong?
The flour– are you using all-purpose flour? And the butter– is it softened but still slightly firm? Or melted at all? Be careful with the butter, you don’t want it too greasy or melted down in the slightest. Try adding 3 more Tbsp of flour. This will help soak up some moisture and help them keep their shape. Also, do not skip chilling the dough. The longer the better.
I used all purpose flour and my butter wasn’t even close to melted. I actually wasn’t sure if it was soft enough. I chilled them overnight and even put a few back in the fridge before baking. I’ll keep trying! Thanks.
Then I would definitely try adding more flour (about 3 Tbsp) if you make them again!
those cookies look soo good
Hi Sally! Is it possible to make these into bars? If yes, will the baking time change? Thank you so much in advance!!!
Like ice cream cookie bars? Sounds good! The bake time will be longer. I would use a 9×9 inch square baking pan.
I make these cookies for at least 1 year and I love them and my family too! In the beginning everything was perfect but recently they don’t spread during baking I have to push it on the top and when I take them out they become hard on the edges. Usually I don’t have to push them on the top during the baking because the results are not the same..
Please help me ! ><