Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Cake

Brownie crust… check. Ice cream… check. Chocolate M&M cookies… check. Chocolate cookie dough… check. All of these checks = the perfect ice cream cake combo!!!

You guys!!!! This ice cream cake… It leaves me speechless!!! OK so I made this ice cream cake for my big sis as kind of an end of the school year (and an end of high school!) celebration cake. You see she loves ice cream, cookie dough, and chocolate, so I thought why not combine all of those desserts into one? I had leftover Mini Chocolate M&M Cookies in my freezer that I wanted to use up, so I decided to put those in too. I brought some leftovers of this cake to my cousins and all they could say was “this is the best dessert ever!”

Today is a big day. It is my older sister’s graduation!!! Ahhhh!!!!! Were did all of the years go? Even though school finished two weeks ago for her, the graduation is not until tonight. I except to be crying my eyes out in about five hours from now. You see my sister and I are super close and she will be going off to California for college in the fall (I know lucky duck).  I have like such mixed emotions. On the one hand I am going to miss her SO much, but on the other, I am SO excited for her! She absolutely loves Cally, with the sun and warmth year round. I on the other hand, love California and all, but I am a true Minnesotan at heart and prefer the four seasons (well I like 3/4 of them anyway, winter and I are kind of frenemies). She is pumped to go, and I could not be more excited for her! <– OK… Almost done gushing about her. I will end with this: I could not be more proud of her! She worked her butt off in high school and got into a really hard college! So congrats sis! Love ya!

Now onto this ice cream cake… There are a lengthy amount of steps, but trust me when I say the end result is 10000% worth it! The layers go like this: 1) Brownie crust. 2) Vanilla ice cream with chocolate cookie dough and crushed mini chocolate M&M cookies. 3) Whipped vanilla ice cream and hot fudge for the frosting. 4) Cookie dough and cookies for garnish. Did I mention this is like the best ice cream cake ever?!

Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:
Brownie Crust:
1 stick unsalted butter
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon brewed coffee
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Chocolate Cookie Dough:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cream (milk works as well)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Ice Cream:
1 1.5 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
10 mini M&M chocolate cookies + more for garnish (homemade or store-bought)
About 15-20 mini cookie dough balls + more for garnish
1/4 cup hot fudge

Directions:
For Brownie Crust:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 10-inch round spring-form pan with cookie spray and set aside.
2) Melt butter and chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl until smooth, stirring chocolate mixture occasionally.
3) Add eggs, sugar, vanilla, and coffee, and whisk vigorously until combined.
4) Fold in flour and salt just until combined.
5) Put batter into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted to the middle comes out clean.
6) Allow the brownie to cool completely. Then, 15 minutes before spreading the ice cream on, put brownie in the freezer for 15 minutes.

For Chocolate Cookie Dough:
1) Using an electric or handheld mixture, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in vanilla and milk.
2) Stir in flour, cocoa powder, and salt just until combined.
3) Roll cookie dough into little balls and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

For Ice Cream:
1) Place 2/3 of vanilla ice cream into a large bowl. Add cookies and cookie dough and stir to combine.
2) Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread ice cream over brownie layer. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, with an electric or handheld mixture, take the remaining 1/3 of ice cream and hot fudge and beat on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Spread over ice cream cake. Freeze ice cream cake for at least 4 hours or overnight.
4) Just before serving, top cake with additional cookie dough and cookies. Then, take off the spring-form pan and serve. Cake stays good for up to 5 days.

Brownie recipe from Avery Cooks and cookie dough recipe adapted from “The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook” by Love and Olive Oil