I’ve got the perfect recipe for an ice cream sandwich that’s sure to satisfy your sweet and salty tooth! This easy ice cream sandwich recipe calls for pretzels, caramel and peanuts but you can use any of your favorite flavors and toppings.
Ice cream sandwich recipe
Who doesn’t love a good ice cream sandwich? Homemade ice cream sandwiches are a delicious treat, but they can be hard to make. Not with my ice cream sandwich recipe! Not only are these ice cream sandwiches delicious, but they’re also really easy to make. All you need is a bowl of ice cream, some caramel sauce, peanuts and a few pretzels. Or easily customize with your favorite flavors and toppings!
This caramel pretzel ice cream sandwich recipe is sweet and salty at the same time, crunchy and creamy, refreshing and incredibly delicious! Perfect for satisfying both a sweet and salty tooth.
I am a big ice cream fan, especially in summer. A scoop of ice cream simply makes my day. I love vanilla ice cream and any berry ice cream because they’re not only refreshing but very flavorful too.
More ice cream recipes you’ll love:
What’s in this ice cream sandwich?
I had some leftover vanilla ice cream and I felt the urge to make a quick ice cream sandwich dessert. And I wanted something crunchy so I thought I’d add some nuts and a mix of seeds (like sunflower seeds, cumin and sesame). Any other seeds are good too so use your favorite.
But then I found myself craving something salty too and pretzels came to mind as I have them available at any time (we love snacking on pretzels!). And what goes really well with a yummy vanilla ice cream sandwich? A touch of caramel sauce so I used a little of that too. Ok, maybe more than just a little! I used a lot, in the sandwich base of this recipe.
What is the sandwich part of this ice cream sandwich?
The top and bottom layers of this sandwich are made with a mix of pretzels, peanuts, seeds and caramel sauce.
This ice cream sandwich recipe turned out really, really easy to make and pretty quick too. Not to mention incredibly tasty, with all those beautiful flavors! It took longer to make the caramel sauce and wait for it all to freeze properly, than putting the ice cream sandwich together.
How do you make this ice cream sandwich recipe?
- I started by chopping the pretzels and crushing the nuts.
- Then I mixed them with seeds: sesame, sunflower and cumin seeds which I roasted in advance. If you don’t like cumin you can simply skip the ingredient or replace with other seeds.
- In the next step I prepared the caramel sauce and then mixed all the ingredients mentioned above with the sauce.
- To make the ice cream cake, I spread a thin layer of this mixture in a dish, I covered it with a generous layer of vanilla ice cream (lightly softened) and finished with another thin layer of the caramel pretzel mixture. Then I sprinkled a few more seeds to decorate the top layer. I transferred the dish to the freezer and left it overnight.
How do you cut an ice cream sandwich?
I found it easier to cut the cake into sandwiches using a sharp knife, dipped in warm water after leaving it out on the counter for about 10 minutes.
If you plan on serving the entire cake at once you’ll need to cut more than one sandwich. In this case it’s still safer to cut the cake while still in the tray instead of removing the cake first and cutting afterwards on the counter. As I wrongly did; it’s quite slippery when cutting.
I recommend taking the dish out, allowing it to thaw for about 10 minutes at room temperature. Then cut the cake into sandwiches as quick as possible. Then transfer the sandwiches to a larger baking dish, lined with parchment paper and place it back into the freezer. Once hard, remove the sandwiches from the freezer, place each sandwich in a zip bag and return to the freezer. When ready to serve, remove them from the bags and serve.
How to keep ice cream sandwiches from melting?
It’s best to keep these ice cream sandwiches in the freezer and serve them straight from there (see my recommendations above). This way you won’t have any problems with melting or stickiness on your fingers. If it starts to melt, just put the whole thing back in the freezer for a bit and then enjoy!
If you have guests, you can also keep the sandwiches on a bed of ice cubes that is covered in plastic wrap.
What are some tips for making the perfect ice cream sandwich recipe?
- Use your favorite sturdy cookies for the sandwich part to make ice cream cookie sandwiches.
- Don’t forget to plan ahead and freeze the sandwich well, preferably overnight. If you don’t you might end up with a puddle of ice cream and soggy cookies!
- Use baking sheets or pans that are taller than the sandwiches co make cutting easier.
- Add some parchment paper or wax paper to the bottom of the pan to prevent the caramel sauce in the bottom layer from sticking to the pan.
- You can use some crunchy cereal instead of pretzels, if you like.
- Make this a holiday recipe by adding the seasonal flavor needed (like mint for Christmas)
- If you’re looking to add some natural flavors to your sandwiches, include chopped fruit in the ice cream layer.
- Instead of seeds try adding chopped nuts for extra texture and flavor.
- Enhance the caramel color by using brown sugar to make the sauce.
- Drizzle the caramel sauce on top of the cake before serving it to make an even better presentation.
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Ice cream sandwich recipe
Ingredients
For the sandwiches
- 3 cups pretzels
- 1/2 cup peanuts salted
- 1/4 cup mixed raw seeds sesame
- Vanilla ice cream as much as desired
For the caramel sauce
- 1 cup mini marshmallows I used big ones and cut them in smaller pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Chop the pretzels and peanuts
- Roast the mixed nuts a couple of minutes
- Mix everything together
To make the caramel sauce
- In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and 1/4 cup water to a boil over medium-high
- Boil until mixture is amber in color, approx 12 minutes
- Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in cream (mixture will sputter so be careful)
- Immediately add marshmallows and stir until melted
- Pour caramel mixture over the pretzels mixture and quickly stir with a rubber spatula to coat well
To make the sandwiches
- Spread half the caramel pretzel mixture to the bottom of a glass dish (mine was about 8" by 6")
- Add a thick layer of vanilla ice cream (make sure it's slightly softened so you can spread it with a spatula)
- Finish with a layer of caramel pretzel mixture; gently press with a spoon to make sure the caramel pretzel mixture adheres to the ice cream.
- Transfer to a freezer overnight
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