PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches – Creamy strawberry ice cream and a dollop of strawberry preserves are sandwiches in between two soft peanut butter cookies. These ice cream sandwiches are the perfect after school snack!
Apparently a whole month of ice cream wasn’t enough for me to get my fix because here I am with another ice cream treat! This treat, however, has it’s roots in school-time snacks.
School is in session for so many states now. Though I don’t have kids of my own, so many of you out there do, so I wanted to share a snack that both parents and kids will go crazy for.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about food, there are just some foods that you just don’t get too old for. In fact, if anything, it becomes more enjoyable to enjoy these foods as an adult.
I’m talking about grilled cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, and, today’s star combination, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
Yup that’s right…I’ve turned your childhood favorite sandwich into a cool dessert. Check out these PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches!
I’ve been planning this recipe for a while and I always wanted to share this one in August because it is a great recipe for an after school snack. So I purposefully didn’t share it with you guys during National Ice Cream Month.
And, if the weather where you live is anything like it is here, it’s still plennnnty hot to enjoy ice cream treats. I start breaking out into a sweat by just getting the mail!
As I said before, PB&J is one of my favorite sandwiches to eat, even as an adult. It’s a combination that will never get old, in my mind. However, it does evolve every so often – maybe I’ll use a different jelly/jam/preserves or even switch up the PB.
Speaking of PB, if you’re a huge fan of PB, like me, you’re gonna wanna check out next week’s post – there may or may not be three different PB flavors that I’ll introduce you to.
Okay- back to the ice cream sandwich.
Because I love enjoying this combo in new, yet familiar ways, it only felt natural to turn this sandwich into a sweet treat. And what better sweet treat than ice cream!
The sandwiches are incredibly easy to make. Here is a rundown of the steps:
- Make cookie dough
- Bake cookies
- Let cookies cool
- Add preserves and ice cream to half of the cookies
- Sandwich together with the other cookies
- Keep yourself from eating them all at once
And with regards to the preserves, I just gotta give a shout out to my favorite brand out there – Bonne Maman. It’s made with with natural ingredients (no corn syrup here!) and has incredible flavor.
I think the preserves add another chewy texture and more fruit flavor to these ice cream sandwiches to further give you the impression that you’re eating a true PB&J. Plus, it just makes the sandwiches look extra decadent, right?!
Before you get to baking and assembling these sandwiches, here are some tips that will help you get them right:
- Make sure you chill the cookie dough before baking – otherwise, the cookies will spread too thin and get crispy instead of chewy.
- You absolutely have to let your cookies cool before assembling the sandwiches. If they are still warm, they will (1) melt the ice cream and (2) the cookies will fall apart as you eat the sandwich. However, if you plan to eat the sandwich immediately, I don’t see a need to wait – just be prepared for a big mess. My tip is only for those who want to store the sandwiches in the freezer for later.
- I like to store my assembled ice cream sandwiches in a square baking dish so they aren’t scattered throughout my freezer. The pan helps keep them organized.
Here are all the kitchen tools and serveware that I used in today’s recipe. For each item sold below, I make a small commission. I only recommend items that I own and love so you can trust that each recommendation is tried and true. Thank you for supporting CPA!
PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the ice cream sandwiches:
- 12 peanut butter cookies (recipe above)
- 1/2 quart strawberry ice cream
- 1/3 cup strawberry preserves
- 12 squares plastic wrap (to wrap assembled sandwiches)
Instructions
To make the cookies:
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Set aside.
- Add butter and sugars into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat together on medium until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Add peanut butter and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add all of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low just until combined.
- Scoop dough into 1.5 tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet. Dough balls can be touching. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours in the fridge.
- Once dough is ready, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare another baking sheet by adding parchment paper or a silicone mat. Remove dough from fridge.
- Roll dough into smooth, round balls. Place on baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Using a fork, push down the back of the tongs into the dough into a cross pattern. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges crispy very slightly.
- Remove from oven and let cook for 10 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. I placed mine in the fridge to help the process along.
To make the ice cream sandwiches:
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, remove ice cream from the freezer. Let it thaw about 10 minutes.
- Add preserves to a small bowl and microwave for 15 seconds to thin it out a little. Take the cookies out of the fridge. Spread 12 cookies with 1/2 teaspoon of preserves. Scoop one large scoop of ice cream onto the other cookies. Sandwich together with the cookies with preserves. Wrap each sandwich with plastic wrap and place into freezer to cool for at least 2 hours, or until the ice cream is solid again.
Notes
Pin for later:
More sweet treats that you’ll love:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookies
Elvis Ice Cream Sundae (Peanut Butter, Banana, & Bacon Sundae)
These look AMAZING!! I can’t wait to try!
These look really good! I would definitely try these out. 🙂
omg my husband who be in heaven with these!!
Love these! My new favorite way to enjoy PB & J!
This looks so yummy, definitely giving this a try!
Viridianna | http://www.lifestyleinstyle.com
Oh my goshhhh these look incredible! Just the PB cookies alone would be amazing, my kids would freak out if I made them into ice cream sandwiches!
These look amazing, never tried an ice cream sandwich before so will defiantly give these a try sometime soon.
OMG you’ve been missing out! Ice cream sandwiches are the best. But I always like mine thawed out a little bit, so if there’s one tip I’ll give to a newbie, it’s to let the sandwich sit outside the freezer for a few minutes before eating. So worth the wait!
Get out! Oh my lands, these look way too good! I need some pronto!
Haha thank you!
Awww…hate this just came out. My nephews were just here a couple of weeks ago!
Aw no! Next time, for sure!
Just when I thought I’d be able to survive the night without dessert 😉 These look absolutely positively divine. MUST try these soon!
Haha a night without dessert?! If only I had the will power!
Wow these look amazing, so many great food pics!
Thanks so much!
Now way- what a great idea! I eat pb and j almost every day (mom problems) and PB cookies are my most fave in the world. I need to make these stat!!
Haha I do too and I don’t even have kids!
Oh, I have such a sweet tooth and love ice cream sandwiches! My sis and I love to make these together, so it looks like we’re going to give this recipe a try! Can’t wait! I’ll try not to devour them all on my own
Yay! So glad you two are making these. Let me know how it goes!
I am drooling over these PBJ ice cream sandwiches. I wish I could just dig into these.
Thanks so much!
Pb&j ice cream sandwiches?! I’m craving them now! Love the idea of the strawberry preserves and the chocolate chip option. Perfect for this August heat. I’m gonna make these!
The preserves were such a great touch! Totally agree! Thank you!
These are some seriously delicious-looking ice cream sandwiches. I want to take my finger right through the screen and have a lick! 🙂
Thanks so much! Love that!
Sharon, these look amazing! My kids actually don’t like peanut butter and jelly (I know, it’s nuts), but I still love it. I’ll be making some of these for myself 🙂
You know what – I was like that when I was a kid. I preferred grilled cheese. But, if they’re like me, thing will turn around when they get to college 🙂
This combines my favorites…PB & J….but using Peanut butter cookies really puts it over the top! Craving them now!
Totally agree!
These look delicious! I love peanut butter and jam sandwiches (I’m South African) but would never have thought to do anything like this! Lovely post and great photo’s
Thanks so much! I know, when this idea hit me, I was shocked that I hadn’t seen this sooner!
I’d give anything just to have some of those! LOL! My son has a peanut allergy so peanut is no longer allowed in our house!
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Aw no! I’m sorry you can’t enjoy these at home!
Wow… I would have never thought of this combination but it so makes sense. I want one now it looks so good. Love your blog.
Right?! Thanks so much for the kind words!
Such a unique take on the traditional pb&j!
Thanks!