Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream is made with the best slow-churned creamy vanilla ice cream and lots of edible chocolate chip cookie dough in every bite!
Everybody loves chocolate chip cookies, but let's face it, we all love tasting the dough before any get to the oven!
Technically, this ice cream flavor doesn't have to be made with only chocolate chip cookie dough. You can make no-bake versions of your favorite cookie dough - peanut butter, oatmeal, snickerdoodle, and brownie cookie dough would also all be delicious!
This is a flavor that we used to buy at the store all the time. But our favorite brands are pretty pricey for a pint. It makes much more sense to make it yourself. And that way you also get to customize it however you like, with bigger or smaller chunks of cookie dough throughout the vanilla base.
And fresh-churned homemade ice cream tastes better anyway!
This is a custard based ice cream which is made with egg yolks to make it scoopable and creamy. It's a great vanilla all on it's own and is the perfect backdrop for the chocolate chip cookie dough.
What you need
- heavy cream
- whole milk
- granulated sugar
- egg yolks
- salt
- vanilla extract
- edible cookie dough (anywhere from ½ to ¾ of a batch, unless you really want to load up your ice cream with cookie dough)
- mini chocolate chips
I typically use equal amounts of heavy cream and milk, although you can adjust the ratios to get the ice cream consistency you like best. You could even use cream and half-and-half or all half-and-half if that's what you have on hand.
A note about the balls of cookie dough: They really should be very small. It not only makes the ice cream easier to scoop but gives a better mouthfeel as well.
The easiest way to get the small chunks of cookie dough is to scoop 1 teaspoon of cookie dough at a time and use a small knife to cut it into thirds or fourths. Even ½ teaspoon size balls seem a little big when mixed into the ice cream.
Ben & Jerry's (who claim to have "invented" cookie dough ice cream back in 1984 at the suggestion of one of their customers) makes a whole like of "snackable" cookie dough in different flavors, but I highly recommend making my edible cookie dough recipe, which is based on theirs anyway.
How to make chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
- Heat cream, milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium to medium-high heat. Watch for tiny bubbles to appear around the edges of the pot, but it shouldn't come to a boil.
- Temper the egg yolks. While the cream mixture is heating, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and either discard the egg whites or save them for macarons or a pavlova. Whisk the yolks in a large bowl, then slowly drizzle about 1 cup of the hot liquid into the yolks, whisking to help them come up to temperature without scrambling the eggs.
- Combine the egg yolks and the cream mixture. Continue to cook over medium heat until the ice cream base is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, or 175 degrees F on a candy thermometer (affiliate link).
- Add the vanilla and chill well. Once the ice cream base is done, it needs to cool completely before you can churn it. My favorite way to do this is by transferring the ice cream to these reusable silicon bags (<-- affiliate link) and dropping them into an ice water bath. Or you can pour the base into a bowl and stick it in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight until it is completely cool.
- Churn in an ice cream maker. When the base is nice and cold, pour it into an ice cream maker and churn it for 20-30 minutes until it is the consistency of soft-serve. Add the balls of cookie dough and mini chocolate chips during the last minute of churning so they can disperse throughout the ice cream.
- Freeze for 4 hours until hard. Transfer the ice cream to a large bread pan or other freezer safe container and place it in the freezer for about 4 hours to harden. This is known as "curing" the ice cream. I like to hold some of the cookie dough and mini chocolate chips in reserve to sprinkle over the top just so it looks pretty.
Why stop at chocolate chip?
If you really love cookie dough ice cream, you can try making this recipe using peanut butter cookie dough, oatmeal cookie dough, sugar cookie dough, or chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough! Or any other version you can think of. The possibilities are pretty much endless.
More ice cream recipes
- Burnt Almond Fudge Ice Cream
- Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
- Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Ice Cream
- Caramel Chocolate Oreo Ripple Ice Cream
- Toasted Almond Ice Cream
- Lemon Ice Cream
- Graham Canyon Ice Cream
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ batch [edible chocolate chip cookie dough]
Instructions
- Combine the cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until small bubbles start to form around the edges of the pan.
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. When the cream mixture is hot, temper the egg yolks by whisking in ½ cup of the hot liquid. Whisk in another ½ cup, then transfer the egg yolk mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream mixture.
- Cook and stir until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or the mixture reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool completely before churning. I find the quickest, easiest way to to do this is by transferring the ice cream base to a reusable silicon ziptight bag and submerging it in an ice water bath, but you could just transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill overnight in the fridge instead.
- While the mixture is chilling, make the cookie dough balls and scoop them into ¼ to ½ teaspoon scoops. The easiest way to do this is to use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop balls of dough, then cut those into fourths or haves with a paring knife.
- Churn the ice cream base according to your ice cream maker instructions. When it is close to done, add the cookie dough to the base. Transfer the finished ice cream to a freezer-safe pan like a bread pan and freeze for 4 hours to "cure" and harden the ice cream. If the ice cream is difficult to scoop, let it sit out at room temperature for 10 minutes first.
Seriously the best I've cream base I've tried! So creamy and delicious!
Thank you, Meagan!
Super delicious! Thank you!