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M&M Ice Cream Sandwiches

M&M ice cream sandwiches made with golden, M&M-studded cookie rounds and a thick vanilla ice cream center, assembled and then frozen for clean, scoopable slices. The colorful candy-dotted exterior comes from pressing extra M&Ms into the tops and rolling the edges in crushed candy.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
freezing 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 32 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 410
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

All-purpose flour
  • 2.25 cup all-purpose flour Use regular all-purpose flour for a chewy, cookie-candy bite.
Leaveners and salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda Helps the cookie rounds bake up with a tender crumb.
  • 1 tsp salt Balances the sweetness of the sugars and vanilla.
Butter and sugars
  • 2 lb unsalted butter Softened butter creams more easily for a fluffy cookie batter.
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar Adds sweetness and a crisp edge when baked.
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar Packed brown sugar adds moisture and a deeper caramel color.
Eggs and vanilla
  • 2 eggs Room-temperature eggs incorporate smoothly into the creamed mixture.
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract Boosts the classic vanilla cookie aroma.
M&M candies
  • 2 cup M&M candies Divided—some in the dough and some pressed/rolled for the candy-dotted exterior.
Vanilla ice cream
  • 0.5 gallon vanilla ice cream Softened so it sandwiches evenly without cracking the cookies.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make the M&M cookie rounds
  1. Preheat oven to 375F, then whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
  2. Beat softened unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy.
  3. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract until the batter looks smooth and cohesive.
  4. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined, then fold in 1.5 cups of M&M candies.
  5. Scoop large rounds onto a lined sheet pan and press 4–5 M&Ms into the tops of each cookie.
  6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges are golden, then cool completely.
Assemble and freeze
  1. Sandwich softened vanilla ice cream between two M&M cookies to form each ice cream sandwich.
  2. Roll the edges in the remaining crushed M&Ms so the candy-dotted sides stick.
  3. Freeze for 1 hour before serving for firm, sliceable sandwiches.

Notes

For the cleanest sandwiches, soften the vanilla ice cream just enough to spread—if it melts too much, it can soak the cookies. Store assembled sandwiches covered in the freezer up to 1 week; freeze yes (best results within a week). For a fun swap, use chocolate or rainbow nonpareils in place of some M&Ms for a different color-speckled look while keeping the same cookie-ice cream structure.