Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Rich and creamy vanilla ice cream loaded with chunks of Oreos, make this cookies and cream ice cream an easy and tasty favorite.

It is officially summer! And with summer that means ice cream – from strawberry ice cream to orange creamsicles, you can never go wrong with something cold and creamy.

To be honest, we never need an excuse for some ice cream. We could have it year round. There is just something about a big bowl of ice cream paired with a Heartsong cookie! Cookies and ice cream just go together so you might as well have it all in one bowl.

Cookies and cream ice cream is about as simple as it gets. Vanilla ice cream with Oreos? I mean what could be better? Oreos are the best selling cookie in the world for a reason. Shoot… I love them so much, I tried my own homemade oreos, which are pretty outstanding and would work great in this ice cream.

But back to this cookies n cream ice cream. It holds a soft spot in my heart because it was the first every homemade ice cream I made. Now I’ve altered the recipe over the years to produce the best result which you see today. But at the end of the day it is ice cream loaded with crushed Oreos.

Jump to:

• Recipe Ingredients
• How to Make Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
• What Ice Cream Maker Do You Use?
• Why Use Xanthan Gum in Ice Cream?
• Can You Make Homemade Ice Cream with Half-and-Half Instead of Heavy Cream?
• Homemade Ice Cream Tips
• Other Ice Cream Recipes
• Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Recipe Ingredients

• Granulated sugar – adds sweetness to the ice cream.
• Salt – enhances the flavor.
• Xanthan gum – helps prevent ice crystals from forming.
• Heavy cream – creates the creamy texture you expect.
• Whole milk – using a good ratio of cream to milk is important.
• Light corn syrup – adds sweetness and prevents ice crystals.
• Vanilla extract – additional flavor.
• Oreo cookies – can’t have cookies n cream ice cream without Oreos.

How to Make Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

1. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt and xanthan gum.
2. Heat a medium pot over medium heat and add the cream, milk and corn syrup, whisking to combine. Whisk in the sugar mixture until there are no lumps. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Remove the pot from heat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. Before pouring in ice cream maker, stir in vanilla extract.
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and churn for about 20 minutes (follow your ice cream maker directions).
4. While ice cream mixture is churning, place the Oreos in a Ziploc bag and crush up.
5. Once desired consistency, slowly add crushed Oreos to the ice cream maker and churn for 30 seconds longer until mixed through.
6. Pour the cookies n cream ice cream into a container and freeze in freezer for 4+ hours to get a desired consistency. Ice cream will last up to 6 months.

What Ice Cream Maker Do You Use?

It may be the cheapest one available, but the 1.5 quart Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker is super simple to use and makes the best ice cream at home.

Why Use Xanthan Gum in Ice Cream?

So this was actually something new I learned by watching the Tasty video. Xanthan gum helps stabilize the ice cream and prevents ice crystals from forming.

The usual problem with homemade ice cream is it will only lasts a couple of days before ice crystals form. But the xanthan gum helps battle this.

Can You Make Homemade Ice Cream with Half-and-Half Instead of Heavy Cream?

You can although I highly recommend trying to use whole milk and heavy cream as the high fat content creates the creamy texture when the ice cream is cooled.

Nearly any type of milk will work, and you can substitute half-and-half for the cream. But just keep in mind, it won’t be as creamy and could get icy.

Homemade Ice Cream Tips

• Use the best ingredients – when making ice cream you want to use the best ingredients possible so use free-range eggs and organic milk and cream. Also use high quality products when it comes to added flavorings like vanilla or chocolate. Never use imitation vanilla.
• Don’t cut the fat and calories – ice cream is not the dessert that you should be cutting the fat. It depends on the high-fat content to create a creamy texture. If you go lower fat, it will cause an icy ice cream. If you’re on a diet, just have a smaller scoop!
• Add extract at right time – if you add an extract or alcohol while the custard is too hot, you won’t get the actual flavor as it will cook out slightly. Just wait until right before you pour the custard into the ice cream maker to add it.
• Chill the custard – you don’t necessarily need to chill the custard overnight, but you want to chill until it is as cold as possible.
• Use frozen bowl – make sure your ice cream bowl has been frozen for at least 24 hours, otherwise you aren’t giving the ice cream a great chance of freeze.
• Start ice cream motor first – do not pour the custard in the frozen bowl before starting the ice cream maker. It will start freezing upon contact. You want the motor running and slowly pour the custard in.
• Add mix-ins at the end – never add your mix-ins at the beginning of the process. You want to add them when it looks like there is about a minute left in the churning process.
• Don’t overchurn – always error on the side of caution when it comes to churning your homemade ice cream. You do not want it to be hard. Remember it will continue to freeze once you place in the freezer.
• Keep it creamy – homemade ice cream can turn hard as we don’t add preservatives, however xanthan gum or a couple tbsp of vodka will help keep it creamy.

Other Ice Cream Recipes

• S’mores Ice Cream
• Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Peppermint Ice Cream
• Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
• Graham Cracker Ice Cream

If you’ve tried this cookies and cream ice cream or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I’m up to.