Make Ice Cream Sandwiches So Much Better With These 21 Tips

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for ... ice cream sandwiches? These delectable frozen treats are essentially an upgraded version of the two-scoop special. Not only do you get the cooling, refreshing frozen dessert in the center, but you also get the delectable texture and flavor contrast from the cookies. It's about as perfect of a bite as you can get, especially on a sweltering summer afternoon.

When most people think of ice cream sandwiches, they likely picture the store-bought ones with the soggy chocolate wafers. While these frozen novelties certainly have a prominent, nostalgic component to them, the ice cream isn't usually the highest quality and the cookies are usually bland — and wicked sticky. If you want to a top-tier ice cream sandwich, you might just have to try making it yourself. 

The good news is this dessert is about as easy to make as it is to eat. We curated some tips on how to make mind-blowingly good (yet still simple) ice cream sandwiches, perfect for devouring at any time of year. 

Making an ice cream sandwich can be a messy process. But if you follow this clever hack, you'll get the perfect scoop of ice cream for your sandwich every single time. 

Start with a pint of your favorite ice cream flavor. But hold off on reaching to your drawer for a spoon. Instead, place the pint on its side and slice through it with a sharp knife — paper packaging and all. One pint can make upwards of five slices, depending on how thick you like your ice cream layer. When you're ready to assemble, simply unfurl the paper coating and place your ice cream puck onto your cookie, or base, of choice. You may want to pop your sandwiches back into the freezer before serving to stave off any melting that occurred during assembly. 

An ice cream sandwich is more than just the "bread" and the ice cream. You can easily customize it with an a variety of toppings to add your own personal flair. Lay your sandwich on its side and roll the exposed ice cream in your topping of choice. That way, every bite (or lick) of your sandwich will be feature the perfect ratio ice cream to toppings. 

Sprinkles and crushed chocolate candies are classics and they work with almost any flavor of ice cream. But if you want to get more sophisticated, you may also try some chopped pistachios, chocolate shavings, or even freeze-dried fruit. These toppings will all add a bright burst of color and texture to your sandwich. 

It might seem a little weird to create an actual sandwich — like one with bread — with ice cream. But if you have spent time in Sicily, you know that Italian ice cream sandwiches – also known as brioche con gelato — are the norm. 

This sandwich is true to its name: a couple of scoops of gelato sandwiched between pillowy and buttery brioche bread. Typically, Italians use either pistachio or hazelnut gelato for their sandwiches, but there are no rules as to what you can or can't add to them. We recommend giving your bread a quick toast to prevent all that melty ice cream from soaking through it — just make sure it's cool enough before spooning in your gelato (or plain ol' ice cream). 

Frozen store-bought waffles are usually nothing to write home about. But when you add a scoop of ice cream to the center of them, you may find a new appreciation for this frozen food staple.

You will first need to toast your waffles (or microwave them). Once the waffles have cooled down enough, add in your ice cream and roll the sandwich in your garnishes of choice. If you want exude big breakfast energy, we recommend a maple walnut ice cream.

You aren't limited to plain waffles, either. For example, if you're going with chocolate chip waffles, you may want to opt for sweeter and nostalgic flavors, like chocolate chip cookie dough or mint chocolate chip, to create synergy between the waffles and their ice cream filling.

An ice cream sandwich that's the size of your face may not be appealing after a heavy dinner. If you're looking for a pint-sized treat to close out your meal, consider turning to the pack of Oreos tucked deep into your pantry. You can easily pop one cookie open, add a small scoop of ice cream, close it up, and enjoy.

There are so many Oreo cookie flavors to choose from, so you'll never run out of ways to pair them with your favorite ice cream flavor. For one, birthday cake Oreos make a nostalgic base for cake batter ice cream, while s'mores Oreos will play off a marshmallow-swirled frozen dessert quite well. 

Are they a cookie, a waffle, or in a class of their own? We'll let you decide. We'd argue that stroopwafels are so unique that they stand out from every other base option on this list. These extra-thin treats sandwich a layer of caramel between them, so they are already technically sandwiches in their own right. But they're thin enough that their sweetness doesn't overwhelm the bite, making them a great choice for a flavorful, yet dainty ice cream sandwich.

Don't be fooled by their size, as stroopwafels pack a very sweet punch into a relatively small package. Stick with a more neutral ice cream flavor, like classic vanilla or chocolate, rather than jam-packed one filled with cloying caramel, fudge, and brownies.

We're going to be honest with you here: Store-bought pound cake usually isn't anything to write home about. But when you add a layer of ice cream to the center, you'll turn something meh into something memorable.

There are several ways you can go about transforming pound cake — either store-bought or homemade — into a base for your ice cream sandwich. If you want to give it more color and offer a delectable contrast to your ice cream, try grilling it. Not only will it bring out a more caramel-forward profile, but it will also have more structural integrity than a crumbly slice pulled straight from the container.

Pound cake's flavor is vanilla-leaning, but otherwise inoffensive. Try pairing it with a strawberry ice cream for a fun twist on strawberry shortcake, or use peach to play off the cake's vanilla notes. 

Don't throw those leftover store-bought donuts out. Instead, use them for your ice cream sandwiches. Donuts are sturdy enough to support your ice cream filling, yet soft enough to offer the perfect, sugary bite.

Donuts don't freeze well, so you'll want to slice them horizontally and fill them with your ice cream of choice right before serving. Glazed donuts are a popular option and tastes pretty great filled with almost any ice cream flavor, including rich chocolate, fruity berry, and decadent caramel. You can also roll your ice cream in your topping of choice to give it more flavor — donuts are game for everything.

Another way to customize your ice cream sandwich is to add a sauce to it. You have to be careful about the kind that you use, though, as a sauce that's too wet or applied too generously may just drip off your sandwich. Spreads, including peanut butter, Nutella, and a thick caramel sauce, tend to be safer bets because you can add a swipe to the underside of your base before you assemble the sandwich. 

If you're planning on using a more liquidy sauce, like melted caramel or chocolate, it may be easier to dip your sandwich into it instead. Try melting some chocolate chips, then stick one half of the sandwich into the molten confection. It helps to clear out some freezer space ahead of time so that the chocolate (or your sauce of choice) can harden before serving. 

Cookies are a great base for your sandwich, especially if trying them at home for the first time. Not only are cookies relatively easy to fill with your ice cream of choice, seeing that they're already round and flat, but you can also select from an array of different flavors. While chocolate chip cookies are always a solid bet (and one that's easy to pair with ice cream), you could also opt for a lemon cookie to complement a strawberry ice cream filling, or a salted caramel pretzel cookie for a sweet and savory mashup.

The key to using cookies for your ice cream sandwich is to use the right kind of cookie. Softer and chewier cookies freeze better than crispy ones, which is helpful if you're making a whole batch of sandwiches. 

If you can't resist eating a wad of cookie dough straight from the bowl, you're going to love this suggestion. Instead of using fully baked cookies for your ice cream sandwich, try using cookie dough instead. Cookie dough has the perfect amount of butteriness and sweetness to complement your ice cream flavor, and it's relatively easy to shape into a base for your frozen dessert.

The important caveat is that you'll need to heat-treat your flour and use an egg-free recipe for your cookie dough — since you'll be eating it raw. Peanut butter, chocolate chip, even Funfetti cookies are all viable options. Once the dough is mixed, you can press it into a log or your shape of choice and let it chill in the fridge to make it easier to slice. Since you're not baking it, you won't have to worry about spreading or how their shape would transform in the oven. 

Cinnamon rolls are an excellent addition to your breakfast table — and your ice cream sandwich. If you're working with already-baked rolls, you might want to try slicing them in half before spooning your ice cream into the center. That way, you won't have to unhinge your jaw to take a bite. If you're working with refrigerated cinnamon roll dough, you can try cooking it in a panini press or a waffle maker to make it flatter and easier to assemble.

Cinnamon rolls obviously have a more pronounced flavor than other ice cream bases on this list, so the flavor of ice cream you select needs to be compatible with its spicy-sweet notes. Try a butter pecan or a rum raisin; both flavors have buttery, subtly sweet profiles that work with the cinnamon-sugar profile.

If you are familiar with Mexican desserts, chances are that you have heard of concha. These sweet buns are a type of pan dulce that comes in several different flavors, including vanilla and chocolate. While the interior is soft and brioche-like, the outside is often topped with a crunchy sugar topping. 

It's this soft-crunchy dichotomy that makes concha a great base for ice cream. If you want to stick with Mexican-inspired flavors, try a scoop of horchata ice cream, which marries creamy, eggy notes with rice and spices.

The one drawback to making homemade biscuits is that it doesn't make sense to make a small batch, so you usually end up with a whole tray of them. While you can use them for breakfast sandwiches or strawberry shortcake, repurposing them for ice cream sandwiches is an even better way to put them to use. The key is to just make sure that your biscuits are cool, as you don't want ice cream running down your arm when you're trying to eat your sandwich.

The pillowy, buttery interior and crispy exterior coating are a great match for an array of ice cream flavors. We love pairing biscuits with anything summery — including strawberry, peach, or raspberry ice cream. You can also use vanilla-adjacent flavors, like oaky maple walnut, cinnamon, or sweet cream, to amplify the biscuit's buttery profile.

You can use Rice Krispies treats to snap, crackle, and pop your way to a tantalizing ice cream sandwich. As long as you follow some simple tips for assembling your cereal treat ice cream sandwiches, you'll be able to reap the textural and flavor benefits of this nostalgic sweet treat.

Once your homemade Rice Krispies treat batter is prepared, you'll want to transfer it to a lined dish so it can set. Thinner treats tend to be better than thicker ones, especially if you don't want to unlock your jaw to bite into it. Once the treats have cooled down, you can top one layer with ice cream before sealing it with another layer of cereal treats.

Graham crackers are a vital component of the best snack of the summer — s'mores — which is why you may have a sleeve or two lying around the house at any given time. One of the best uses for these sweet, cookie-like crackers is an ice cream sandwich.

While you might be able to draw some textural and flavor parallels between graham crackers and the wafer cookies you normally see used for ice cream sandwiches, it's important to note that the two are not necessarily interchangeable. Graham crackers tend to get very soft and soggy when frozen, so you'll want to make your sandwich right before you plan to eat it, rather than freezing it ahead of time. They're also very fragile and break easily, so it helps to freeze rounds of ice cream ahead of time rather than trying to spread it on the cracker with a knife or spoon.

Cookies have gotten their fair share of the spotlight when it comes to ice cream sandwiches — so when is it going to be the brownies' turn? Apparently, right now.

It doesn't make much sense to use a massive brownie for your ice cream sandwich, seeing how its massive size would easily overwhelm your ice cream. A better alternative is to use brownie thins or crisps instead. These snappy, cracker-like crisps pack all that chocolate flavor you love into a much thinner package. You can try your own recipe, or pick up a pack from Trader Joe's or Amazon. The other option is to transform boxed brownie mix by baking it into cookie-like rounds.

Pop-Tarts are a quick breakfast that can be used for more than just pacifying picky kids. They are just thin and crispy enough to work as a base for your ice cream sandwich. Plus, since they already have a filling, they can offer much more flavor than a simple cookie or graham cracker. 

There are endless Pop-Tarts flavors to choose from, including the cult-favorite brown sugar cinnamon, sweet hot fudge sundae, and campfire-ready s'mores. When you're ready to assemble, add a pre-frozen block of ice cream to the center of two pastries (which may be why they come in packs of two after all). Freeze the sandwiches for about an hour so that they're not melty, but not so rock-hard that you break a tooth on them.

It's hard to resist a slice of toasted, buttered cornbread. And it turns out that this beloved carb has a place in the dessert world, too. Cornbread has a beautifully nutty flavor that can complement an array of ice cream flavors, including blueberry, peach, and classic vanilla.

You'll need to do some finessing to ensure that your cornbread is just the right shape for your dessert. For one, you can thinly slice the cornbread, add your ice cream, and pop it in the freezer. However, the cornbread will likely still be crumbly, which can make assembly difficult. Instead, try transforming your classic cornbread recipe into cookie form — which gives you perfectly sized rounds primed for ice cream sandwiching.

Folks who are familiar with South American cuisine, including Venezuelan and Columbian, are more than likely familiar with arepas. These cornmeal cake rounds are often stuffed with savory fillings, like eggs or meat. However, if you want to give this street food favorite a sweet twist, consider reaching for your favorite flavor of ice cream instead.

Arepas have a subtle, corny flavor that can complement fruity, sweet, and even more decadent ice cream flavors. If you want to go the rich route, consider pairing plush arepas with a chocolate or brownie ice cream. Or, try a dulce de leche ice cream; the toffee notes of this flavor are the perfect complement to the buttery cakes.

No Greek dessert receives the same amount of attention as baklava. The recipe for this phyllo dough pastry varies based on region; some use pistachios or walnuts while others opt for flavored syrups or honey. Baklava offer a perfectly decadent and squishy bite with enough sweetness to elevate a classic ice cream sandwich.

Since baklava are already loaded with sugar, you'll want to avoid choosing an ice cream flavor that will override the complex, honey notes or nuances of the nuts. Try sticking with a plain vanilla — or cinnamon if you want something with a little bit more of a spicy edge — so that the flavor of the baklava can remain center stage.