Soft birthday cake funfetti cookies wrapped around cool vanilla ice cream, these gluten-free ice cream sandwiches are a delicious and festive favorite! This recipe is so easy you can have ice cream sandwiches anytime.
These ice cream sandwiches are filled with birthday cake flavor! The gluten free cookies are soft and pillowy, not to mention full of sprinkles! They taste just like a vanilla cake, but in a cookie.
Then, sweet and creamy vanilla ice cream fills the sandwiches and are then rolled in more sprinkles. What is not to love?! With only 12 simple ingredients and a few easy steps, you can have homemade gluten free ice cream sandwiches in no time.
They are a perfect treat for birthday parties, holidays, a sweet treat for any hot day, or anytime you feel like celebrating!
Free from: wheat, gluten, dairy (optional), casein (optional), soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, and more
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Why You’ll Love These Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches
They are so fun! Who doesn’t love birthday cake + ice cream + sprinkles? They are soft sugar cookies filled with sprinkles and ice cream. My whole family loves these for dessert.
Perfect hot weather dessert. Ice cream sandwiches just scream hot weather treats for the whole family.
Easier to make than you think! These ice cream sandwiches come together in only a few minutes more than a batch of cookies.
Ingredients
What you’ll need to these ice cream sandwiches:
Gluten Free Flour - Different gluten free flour blends have different ingredients, which may give you different results. I love using King Arthur Measure for Measure in a lot of my gluten free baking and this is the flour brand I recommend for this recipe for best results.
Sprinkles - Not all sprinkles are gluten free! Make sure that you grab a brand that is gluten free. I love using sprinkles from Sweetopolita as they are dedicated gluten free. They also have sprinkles that are dye free, vegan, kosher, and so many more! I have been using them this past year and really like this company a lot.
Ice Cream - You want an ice cream that will hold up well to being scooped. Try to avoid anything like gelato or things that are extra creamy. I used a simple vanilla in these photos.
You will also need: Cornstarch, baking powder, salt, eggs, butter, cream cheese, white sugar, and pure vanilla extract.
Allergy Substitutions
To make this corn free, replace the cornstarch with an equal amount of either tapioca flour or arrowroot powder. Make sure you use a corn free vanilla extract, like thing one from Singing Dog.
To make this dairy free, substitute a non-dairy butter and dairy free cream cheese in the cookie. Use your favorite ice cream substitute to make dairy-free ice cream sandwiches.
Make the Cookies
For the full instructions, complete with measurements, please see the recipe card below.
First up, make the cookies! For a more detailed look at how to make these cookies, make sure you check out my gluten free funfetti cookie recipe. But here is a quick rundown.
In a medium bowl, sift together your dry ingredients: gluten free flour, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar for 4 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk before adding the vanilla. It helps to have all the cold ingredients at room temperature so they mix better in the bowl.
Slowly mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Don’t forget the sprinkles!
Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, place a cookie dough ball onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, about 8 to a tray. Chill the cookies for 1 hour.
Bake for 16 minutes in a 350F oven.
Let them cool before filling!
Make the Sandwiches
Take the ice cream out of the freezer for 10 minutes before making the cookies for an easier time scooping and pressing.
To make the sandwiches, take one cooled cookie and place it top side down on a plate. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, about 3 tablespoons worth, onto the middle of the cookie.
Gently add another cookie on top and squish them together. Use your finger or the back of a spoon to even out the sides.
Roll each ice cream sandwich in more sprinkles on a plate or on a half sheet pan covered in sprinkles.
Pop the ice cream sandwiches back in the freezer on a tray or in a freezer safe airtight container and let them freeze for a good 4 hours. This lets the ice cream and cookies merge together.
When you’re ready to serve, pull them out and let rest for 3-5 minutes and enjoy!
Flavor Variations
In place of vanilla ice cream, try other flavors! Strawberry, chocolate, or mint chocolate chips would all be amazing in this! There are so many different ways to customize this recipe.
Top Tips
Freeze the cookies! Before you make them into ice cream sandwiches, freeze the fully cooked cookies for about 30 minutes. This makes them a little harder so that they won’t squish down when you make the ice cream sandwiches.
Pop the ice cream scoop in hot water for a few minutes to help scoop out ice cream onto each cookie.
I used my favorite store bought ice cream, but you can easily use homemade vanilla ice cream in this recipe.
How to store
Freezer: These ice cream sandwiches need to be kept in the freezer or else they will melt! Store them in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months before enjoying. Or, you can wrap each ice cream cookie sandwich in pieces of plastic wrap to store them individually.
More Frozen Desserts
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Recipe
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Spatula
- Cookie trays
- Cookie scoop
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- parchment paper (optional)
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ¼ cup cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons sprinkles
Ice Cream Sandwiches
- ½ galon vanilla ice cream of your choice
- 3 tablespoons sprinkles for rolling
Instructions
Make the Cookies
- Prepare two baking trays with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the dry ingredients: 1 ½ cups of gluten free flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Set this aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the room temperature ½ cup butter and ¼ cup cream cheese until fully blended. Add 1 cup of white sugar and mix on medium-high speed for 4 minutes. This is making the cookie light and fluffy.
- Turn the speed to low and add the egg and egg yolk. Slowly mix the egg into the batter. Then, add the vanilla extract.
- With the speed on low, add the dry ingredients to the wet. Use a spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix until the batter has just come together.
- Now add the sprinkles and mix until the sprinkles are distributed throughout the batter. I like to mix mine in by hand so as not to break any sprinkle.
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, make 2-inch balls (a heaping 2 tablespoons) of cookie dough and place onto the prepared cookie sheets. Add more sprinkles on top of the cookies if desired. You should have 18 - 20 cookies when finished.
- Chill dough for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes. Place 9 or 10 cookies on each sheet, giving them lots of space to grow in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake each cookie tray for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a light golden color develops along the edge of the cookie. Remove from the oven and let rest on the hot cookie tray for 10 minutes.
Make the Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Starting with a cool cookie, place it top side down on a plate.
- Scoop softened ice cream onto each cookie. I used about 3 tablespoons per cookie sandwich. Top each with another cookie and gently squish together.
- Roll the sides of each ice cream sandwich in the extra sprinkles.
- Place the finished ice cream sandwich back on a cookie sheet or in an airtight freezer safe container. Let the cookies chill for 3 hours to set.
- Enjoy!
Notes
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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