This classic cookies and cream ice cream is made with homemade Oreos for maximum crunch and flavor. Its packed with chunks of delicious, chocolatey cookies and creamy vanilla ice cream. Served on its own or in a ice cream cone, its sure to become a family favorite!
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Ingredients
Oreos: for maximum flavor you can make my homemade Oreos and leave out the filling. For a quicker option you can use store bought Oreos.
Full fat milk: is best for this recipe. It needs to have a fat content of around 3.5%. I don't recommend using low fat milk, it will make your ice cream icier.
Thickened cream: has a fat content of about 34%. You can also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream with a similar fat content.
White sugar: keeps the flavors in this recipe nice and clean. You could use castor sugar but is isn't necessary and often harder to find. You could try it with light brown sugar if you like but it will give this recipe more caramel notes and make ice cream a lighter brown color.
Vanilla essence: you can use real or imitation vanilla essence in this recipe as is you preference and your budget allows.
Glucose syrup (optional): also called confectioner’s glucose. You can get in from specialty baking shops, online and some supermarkets. A small amount of glucose syrup helps lower the freezer point of ice cream and improves the texture and scoop-ability of the ice cream. You can substitute with the same amount of light corn syrup or powdered dextrose. Measure carefully and don't add to much or your ice cream will melt in a red hot minuet!
How to make cookies and cream ice cream
If you are making your own Oreos you can use my recipe here. Just remember you won't need the filling for the homemade Oreos for this ice cream. For a quicker option you can also use the same amount of store bought Oreos if you prefer.
Measure out the milk. Add the tapioca starch to a small bowl. Add two tablespoons of the measured milk to the tapioca starch and still well to form a slurry.
I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. If you don't have one remember to measure your glucose syrup as a flat spoon, if you add to much your ice cream will melt very quickly. Put the rest the milk, the cream, sugar and glucose syrup if using into a small pot on the stove.
Heat the mix on medium for about five minutes, stirring well to ensure all the sugar is dissolved.
Stir the tapioca starch slurry again and add to the pot, stirring well to combine. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a heatproof container and chill well in fridge, ideally for about four hours and upto overnight.
While the base is chilling prepare the Oreos. The trick to getting great texture in this ice cream is to make two different sized Oreos and pre-freeze them before adding them to your ice cream.
Take about half the Oreos and cut them into quarters. Put them into an airtight container and into the freezer.
Take the other half of the Oreos and cut into much smaller pieces. You want them to be about ¼ inch big or smaller. If necessary transfer to a bowl and give a few bashes with a pestle or the end of a rolling pin. Transfer to another airtight container and freeze.
Once the ice cream mix has chilled put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self churning ice cream machine turn it on about ten minuites before churning, otherwise take the churning bowl out of your freezer right before churnig.
Remove your ice cream base from the fridge and give it a stir. Churn the ice cream. When the ice cream has nearly finished churning and is nearly the consistency of soft serve, add the container of SMALLER frozen Oreo pieces.
Allow the ice cream to finish churning. Remove the storage container from the freezer. Put about a third of the larger frozen Oreo pieces into the bottom of the container. Add half the churned ice cream. And another third of the larger frozen Oreo pieces. Add the remaining ice cream. Finally top with the last of the larger Oreo pieces. Cover and freeze for about four hours or until firm.
How to serve
To serve this ice cream remove from the freezer, scoop and enjoy! Fabulous with some extra Oreos crumbled over the top, in a waffle cone or as it is. Delicious!
How to store
This ice cream will store well in an airtight container for up two weeks, but I doubt it will last that long! After that the texture may start to go a little icy but it will still taste delicious!
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
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📋 Recipe
Cookies and cream ice cream
Equipment
- Ice cream churner or machine
Ingredients
- Approx. 35 (265gms) unfilled homemade Oreos *or store brough Oreos
- 1 cup (250mls) full fat milk (3.5%)
- 2 cups (500mls) thickened cream *or heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
- 2 flat teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch *or arrowroot starch
- ½ cup (120gms) white or castor sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- ½ tablespoon (15gms) glucose syrup *optional. Or light corn syrup or dextrose powder
Instructions
- Pour the milk and cream into a pot.
- Add the tapioca starch to a small bowl and add about two tablespoons of the cream and milk mix. Mix well to make a thin slurry.
- Add the sugar and glucose syrup to the pot and mix well over a medium heat untill mix just starts to bubble.
- Reduce heat to low, add tapioca slurry and stir well. Continue to cook for another couple of minutes, then remove from heat.
- Add vanilla essence and stir well.
- Transfer mix to a heat proof container, cover and chill in fridge for at least four hours.
- While the ice cream base is chilling chop you your Oreo cookies.
- To get a range of textures in your ice cream you need to cut up the cookies into two separate batches and freeze them while the ice cream base is chilling.
- For batch one, take half the cookies and cut into quarters. Put into an airtight container and freeze.
- For batch two, take the other half of the cookies and cut into finer pieces. You can give them a bash in a mortal and pestle or with a rolling pin if needed. Put into an airtight container and freeze.
- Put your ice cream storage container into the freezer to chill.
- If using a self refrigerating ice cream machine turn it on for about ten minutes to chill before churing the ice cream.
- Remove the ice cream base from the fridge, give it a stir if you need to and pour into ice cream machine to churn. When the ice cream thickens up and has almost finnished churning add the smaller cookie pieces.
- Allow ice cream to finishe churning.
- Take your ice cream storage container and the larger cookie pieces out of the freezer.
- Working quickly put about a third of the larger pieces on the bottom of the container. Put half the churned ice cream on top.
- Put another third of the larger cookie pieces, followed by the rest of the churned ice cream.
- Add the last of the large cookie pieces and pat down briefly to put them into the ice cream.
- Cover and freeze for at least four hours, or untill firm.
- To serve remove from the freezer, scoop and enjoy! Fabulous on its own, or with some extra cookies crumbled over the top. Delicious!
Notes
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Sylvie
I love that you used homemade oreos for the recipe, it makes it even more special! And what better than oreos to compliment vanilla ice cream - soooo yum!!
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Sylvie. The homemade Oreos were a triumph and work so well in this recipe. Defiantly worth going that extra mile for extra deliciousness! And of course if you were running short on time you could use store bought instead, we've all been there!
Andrea
I love cookies and cream- and it's my kids' go-to order when we buy ice cream! This one sounds delicious and so easy to try at home.
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Andrea! It's great to hear you kids love it to, my kids hovered this one up. I'd be curious to know how your kids thinks to compares to store bought 🙂
Robyn
Cookies and cream ice cream has to be one of my favourite flavours, I'm definitely going to be giving this a try - don't think it will last long 😉
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Robyn! It's delicious isn't it? And no it did not last long in my house it all, neither did the homemade Oreos I made it with 😀