Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Our loaded cookie dough ice cream doesn’t hold back. It’s chock-full of homemade cookie dough pieces along with an extra smattering of mini chocolate chips, which means you don’t have to dig through inches of vanilla ice cream to get to the good stuff. Once you make this chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream recipe at home, it may ruin the store-bought pints for you for good.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Ingredients

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• Butter: Soften your butter to room temperature so it creams easily with the sugar.
• Sugars: Granulated and brown sugars are both needed for the cookie dough. Make sure to have another 3/4 cup granulated sugar on hand as well for the ice cream base.
• Vanilla extract: You’ll need 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract in the cookie dough and 3 teaspoons in the ice cream base. I always like to use vanilla bean paste in my ice cream base for the pretty flecks, but extract works perfectly too.
• All-purpose flour: Our chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream recipe needs just 1/2 cup all-purpose flour to create the cookie dough.
• Chocolate chips: Mini semisweet chocolate chips disperse better into the small cookie dough chunks and ice cream than regular-sized chips, creating a better eating experience.
• Whole milk: Creamy and rich but not too overloaded with fat, whole milk makes a great liquid base for most ice cream recipes.
• Heavy whipping cream: You’ll need only 1 pint of heavy whipping cream. Have leftovers? Use it in one of these recipes with heavy whipping cream.

Tools for Making Cookie Dough Ice Cream

The beauty of this chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream recipe is that it’s basically two desserts in one. From essential baking supplies to ice cream accessories, here are the tools you’ll need to successfully complete this recipe.

• Mixer: You’ll need a hand mixer or stand mixer to create the cookie dough.
• 15x10x1-inch pan: We press the cookie dough into this pan so it can freeze quickly.
• Whisk: A whisk is used to create the vanilla ice cream base.
• Large bowl: You can stick to one large bowl that will have to be cleaned between uses, or use two large bowls for efficiency.
• Ice cream maker: Dust off your ice cream maker and clean all the components. If you’re in the market for a new one, here are the best ice cream makers according to our Test Kitchen experts.
• Freezer containers: I like to store my ice cream in rectangular containers for easier scooping.

Directions

Step 1: Create the cookie dough

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In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, three to five minutes.

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Beat in the vanilla extract.

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Gradually beat in the flour.

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Then fold in the chocolate chips until they’re evenly dispersed.

Step 2: Press into a pan

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Line a 15x10x1-inch pan with parchment. Press the cookie dough into the pan to 1/2 inch thick. Freeze the cookie dough while making the ice cream.

Step 3: Make the ice cream base

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In a large bowl, whisk the whole milk and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved.

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Whisk in the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.

Step 4: Churn the ice cream

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Fill the cylinder of the ice cream maker no more than two-thirds full. If you have any remaining mixture, refrigerate the mixture until you’re ready to freeze it.

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Churn and freeze the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s directions, adding the mini chocolate chips during the last minute of processing.

Step 5: Add the cookie dough chunks

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Chop the cookie dough into bite-sized pieces. Stir the pieces into the ice cream once it has finished churning.

Step 6: Freeze the ice cream

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Transfer the ice cream to freezer containers, allowing headspace for expansion. Freeze the ice cream until it’s firm, two to four hours.

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Recipe Variations

• Create a different ice cream base: If you want something other than vanilla ice cream, the cookie dough chunks will taste great in chocolate ice cream, coffee ice cream, our contest-winning butter pecan ice cream or this boozy bourbon ice cream.
• Add other mix-ins: Don’t stop at just cookie dough! Fold in your favorite mix-ins, like cut-up chocolate bars such as Snickers and Heath bars, halved mini Reese’s cups, mini M&M’s, brownie pieces, or a garland of fudge or graham crackers swirled throughout.
• Make it without an ice cream maker: No ice cream maker? No problem! Learn how to make ice cream without an ice cream maker to whip up a vanilla ice cream. Simply create the cookie dough balls from this recipe and fold them into the whipped-up vanilla ice cream.

How to Store Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Our chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream recipe can be kept in the freezer for up to two months. As an avid ice cream maker (and eater), I store my ice cream container more toward the front of the freezer where it’s a bit warmer. Doing this keeps the ice cream just a touch softer so it’s easier to scoop.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Tips

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Can you put raw cookie dough in ice cream?

Oftentimes, raw cookie dough is considered not safe to eat due to the possibility of salmonella present in raw eggs, but our cookie dough ice cream recipe does not contain eggs. Since our cookie dough will be used in the ice cream and not baked into cookies, the dough doesn’t need a binder like eggs to keep the cookies from falling apart.

It’s important to note, though, that there is raw flour. People more susceptible to illness from raw flour include children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.

What kind of ice cream is in cookie dough ice cream?

Vanilla ice cream is the base flavor in our chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream recipe. The chunks of cookie dough are dispersed in the vanilla ice cream.