These cookie ice cream sandwiches are made with just five ingredients! Box cake mix is the easiest shortcut to soft, chocolatey cookies. Just add your favorite ice cream and you’re done!

Three cookie ice cream sandwiches on a white plate.

Our latest Cozy Mystery Cooking Club book was a selection from the Five-Ingredient Mystery Series, By Cook or By Crook by Maya Corrigan. I love reading books that ‘take place’ near me…this one is set in a fictional town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I’m heading there next month and can’t wait!

But, back to the recipe…

You’d think it would be easy to come up with a five-ingredient recipe. Wrong! And then I saw Broma Bakery’s Easy Cake Mix Cookies recipe on Instagram. Problem solved. You need just four ingredients for the cookies, add your favorite ice cream, and you’ve got the easiest semi-homemade ice cream sandwiches!

Four cookie ice cream sandwiches in a wax paper lined tin.

You’re going to love this!

Box cake mix — for a classic ice cream sandwich look, I went with Devil’s Food. A 15.25 oz box will do.
Eggs — 2 large eggs, room temp.
Fat — use a neutral oil or melted butter. My preference is avocado oil.
Kosher salt — a little salt in baked goods is a good thing. In this case, I think it’s vital to balance against the sweetness of ice cream.
Ice cream — use your favorite store-bought or homemade ice cream.

Bake the cookies — combine the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the cake mix. Scoop the dough out onto a lined sheet pan and bake in a 350°F oven. Cool the cookies.
Assemble the sandwiches — Set half the cookies out on a work surface. Place a scoop of ice cream on top. Top with the remaining cookies.

Did I really need to explain that? Probably not. 😂

Scooping ice cream onto a chocolate cookie.

Uniform cookies — use a level 1-oz (2 tablespoon) scoop to get your cookies all the same size. Scoop them directly onto your prepared sheet pan. No need to flatten them. They’ll spread evenly as they bake and you’ll end up with beautifully round cookies.
Slightly underbake — for the best ice cream sandwich experience, your cookies need to be soft enough and firm enough at the same time. Too firm/crispy, and they’ll crumble when you bite into them. But, they shouldn’t be so soft that they flop when you pick them up. Mine were just right at 13 minutes, but ovens vary. If you’re really ambitious, bake just one cookie to test your oven’s sweet spot and timing.
Softened ice cream — Let your ice cream rest on the counter for 10 minutes and scoop from the outside first. Be gentle when sandwiching the ice cream.
Don’t let them melt — if the room you’re working in is warm, assemble a couple at a time and pop them immediately into the freezer to keep the ice cream from melting.

Storing Your Frozen Treats

This recipe makes ten ice cream sandwiches. If you’re serving them all at once, like for a party, enjoy them right away or store them in an air tight container in your freezer until it’s time to serve.

If you’re making these to enjoy over the week, wrap them individually in wax paper and pop them in an air tight container in your freezer.

A cookie ice cream sandwich with a bite taken from it.

Flavor Variations

The possibilities are endless! Broma Bakery says you can use just about any cake mix flavor to make the cookies. Think about all the seasonal and holiday combinations you can whip up…

Spice cake mix + cinnamon ice cream = autumn
Funfetti cake mix + french vanilla ice cream = birthdays
Carrot cake mix + cheesecake ice cream = Easter
Red velvet cake mix + strawberry ice cream = Valentine’s Day
Classic white cake mix + coffee ice cream = breakfast (JK…or am I?)

That’s just the tip of the ice-cream-berg! You can also make them 6 or 7-ingredient ice cream sandwiches with extra mix-ins.

More Frozen Desserts to Sink Your Teeth Into!