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Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Cookies and cream ice cream made with a cooked vanilla custard base and churned until thick, then folded with chunky crushed chocolate sandwich cookies. Snow-white cream with dark cookie pieces plus a subtle cookies-and-cream swirl from cookies added in the final minutes of churning.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 minutes
Total Time 29 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 390
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream base
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 20 chocolate sandwich cookies, roughly crushed (about 2 cups)

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 fine mesh sieve

Method
 

Make the vanilla custard
  1. Heat the heavy cream and whole milk in a saucepan until steaming, then reduce to medium-low so it stays hot without boiling. Keep a close eye so it doesn’t foam over.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar until smooth. Slowly pour in the hot cream mixture while whisking continuously to prevent scrambling.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Continue until the custard reaches 175F and coats the back of a spoon.
  4. Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean container. This removes any small curdled bits for a smooth, snow-white finish.
  5. Stir in the vanilla extract and salt until fully combined, then cool completely. Let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
Churn and add cookie chunks
  1. Refrigerate the custard at least 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled. The colder base churns faster and gives a creamier texture.
  2. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Stop when it reaches a thick, soft-serve consistency.
  3. In the last 2 minutes of churning, add the crushed chocolate sandwich cookies. Some chunks will stay firm while others dissolve slightly to create a cookies-and-cream swirl effect.
Freeze until firm
  1. Transfer the churned ice cream to a container and spread it level. Press a piece of parchment or plastic wrap against the surface to reduce ice crystals.
  2. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours (or until scoopable). For clean scoops, let it sit at room temperature for 3–5 minutes before serving.

Notes

For the smoothest custard, keep the heat at medium-low and stir constantly until it hits 175F—don’t push it past that. Chill time should be at least 4 hours for best churning. Store covered in the freezer up to 2 weeks; texture will firm as it sits. For an easier substitute, swap in gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies for a gluten-free cookies-and-cream ice cream.