Ice Cream Cookie “Cupcakes”

Tiny word of caution: This is NOT a last minute dessert. Only make this if you have at least two full days before your event.

One small dilemma with creating your own treats is the trouble of what to name them. Sometimes a witty idea for a name just comes to you, and other times, it doesn’t. This was one of those times my mind just drew a blank. There was so much that went into these that I’m not really sure how to describe them, but luckily, I have a whole post to do that!

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When thinking up a birthday treat for someone, I start by asking if they have any requests. Sometimes they ask for a recreation of a previous dessert and my job is easy. Other times they give me a small guideline like “peanut butter.” And then there’s my brother who didn’t even respond to my text asking what he wanted. Fortunately for him, I know him pretty well and I decided on cookies and cream- his choice since he was old enough to eat Oreos.

I usually do an ice cream cake for him since he loves those and his birthday is in one of the hottest months of the year. I also took into account the fact that he loves “Oreo Snowballs” and I decided I would find a way to incorporate them into his cake.

Instead of a big ice cream cake, I decided to do tiny individual “cupcakes” in small plastic drink cups. As always, I start with a brownie for my ice cream creations. This was a little different though since I couldn’t bake the brownie in the cups. Instead, I made a double batch of brownie mix and once it was cooled, I took some and smooshed it down into the cups with a spatula. Tons more sugary goodness was going on top so it definitely didn’t have to look fancy.

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Once I had my brownie bottom in all 20 cups, I topped it with some cookie “dough.” Not that kind of cookie dough- dough made from actual cookies. Just crush a package of sandwich cookies (I used Oreos and peanut butter cookies) and crush them into crumbs in the food processor or blender. It is so much easier than the plastic bag and rolling pin method! After I mixed in softened cream cheese, I had an awesome dough made of cookies.

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I did 10 cups with Oreo dough and 10 with peanut butter dough since some of the family (like me!) don’t care for Oreo very much. Once each cup had a scoop of dough on top of the brownie bottom, it was time for the ice cream!

When you refrigerate your ice cream for a day or two, it becomes light and liquid. It’s super easy to pour into whatever mold you choose. Each tub of ice cream made exactly 10 cups! I had enough to perfectly top 10 of each flavor with none left over. I was honestly winging it and I had a win!

Now it’s time to let the cupcakes freeze 8 hours or overnight and take a break. Just a little more work and they’ll be impressing people left and right.

To dress these up a bit, I decided to top them with piped frosting and some of the leftover dough that we put in the center. I already had peanut butter frosting from the cupcake experiments I’ve been doing, and since I’d had enough frosting making to last me awhile, I decided to go with store bought chocolate frosting. You can really do any kind of frosting that you think would go with your cookie and ice cream combo and store bought frosting is really pretty tasty.

For piping, I used a ziploc bag with a tiny hole cut in one of the bottom corners just big enough for the piping tip to go through. Don’t cut the hole too big or you will have a total mess! I learned this the very, very hard way. I used a large star tip and I did the standard swirl design like you picture on top of a cupcake. You can top it with any other decorations you choose, but I decided on the leftover dough. Since the peanut butter cookie dough was more crumbly than the Oreo dough, I went with it and the peanut butter ones were topped with crumbles and I rolled the Oreo dough into tiny balls to put on top.

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They were a huge hit with the birthday boy and the rest of the family too. They were fun to make and definitely something I may try again in other favors/ combos. If you want a fun summer treat, these are a hit!

Ice Cream Cookie Cupcake Recipe

Note: place 2 48oz. tubs of ice cream in the REFRIGERATOR at least 24 hours before making this dessert.

These were made in small plastic disposable drink cups. This recipe makes 20, but it could easily be cut in half to make 10.

Ingredients:

• 2 48oz. tubs of ice cream, softened

Crust:

• 2 packages brownie mix, baked according to package directions

Cookie Center:

• 2 standard size packages of cream sandwich filled cookies, such as Oreos or Nutter Butters
• 2 blocks cream cheese, softened

Toppings:

• 2 tubs frosting, any flavor
• additional cookie crumbs, small candies, or other decorations (optional)

While your double batch of brownies are baking, mix your dough by placing one package of sandwich cookies in a food processor or blender until they are fine crumbs. Beat one block of softened cream cheese in a bowl and then add the cookie crumbs. Beat together with a hand mixer until thoroughly combined and a dough has formed. Repeat with the other pack of cookies.

Once the brownies have cooled, scoop them out with a medium spatula and press them into the bottoms of the plastic cups, about an inch high. Now, take a large spoon or an ice cream scoop and place a generous mound of dough on top of the brownie. Next, put the ice cream over the top until it comes to just under the rim. One tub should do 10 cups exactly. Place them on a cookie sheet and freeze them at least 8 hours or overnight.

Before serving, you can spruce them up by piping some frosting on top. I frosted mine by cutting a small hole in the corner of a ziploc and using the large star tip. I gave it a cupcake style swirl and garnished mine with more of the leftover “cookie dough,” but you can use any decorations you choose.

Stay cool my friends!