The Mess-Free Way To Assemble Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

The store-bought ice cream sandwich is delicious in its simplicity. Sure, you can get fancy with different flavors of ice cream and types of cookies — like chocolate chip cookies that feature colorful mini M&Ms — but the basic ice cream sandwich is a grab-and-go study in black and white. It's thin, soft chocolate cookies that make the layer of vanilla ice cream a hand-held treat.

But if you've ever tried to make your own classic ice cream sandwiches at home, you know it can be a challenge. In case you hadn't noticed, ice cream melts, so unless you're assembling your desserts in a walk-in freezer, you're on borrowed time once you remove the ice cream and start layering it onto your cookies. 

Fortunately, we have the best hack for homemade ice cream sandwich assembly. Bake two large cookies on sheet pans, chill them after baking, then spread the ice cream on top of one cookie, top the ice cream with the second cookie, freeze until hard, then slice each one into individual servings.

First and foremost, you have to get the consistency of the cookie just right. Hint: for perfect ice cream sandwiches, use cookies on the softer side, since crisp cookies tend to fall apart when you eat them. Once you've chosen your cookie recipe — this black sesame ice cream sandwich recipe works great – make sure they're spread fairly thin on the sheet pan, so the proportion of cookie to ice cream will be just right.

After you've baked and chilled the sheet pans of cookies in the freezer, let the ice cream soften just enough to spread, place the second cookie layer on top, then get that sheet pan right back into the freezer for about four hours. Making sure the whole thing is frozen solid is critical for cutting those cookies down into individual ice cream sandwiches. Once you've sliced them using your sharpest knife to get nice, neat edges, you can wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap or waxed paper until you're ready to serve.

Essentially, the secret to no-mess ice cream sandwich assembly is creating one giant sandwich, freezing it, then carving it into your desired size of hand-held deliciousness. At the end of everything, you'll have fresh, homemade ice cream sandwiches ready for any occasion.