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Between a busy period of costume design and wardrobe work, a string of out-of-town visitors, my first few weeks of chocolatier school (more on that to follow in an upcoming blog post!) and other various commitments, I haven’t had much (non-chocolatemaking!) time to spend in the kitchen recently.
However, a few weeks ago I had fun creating these ice cream cupcakes, made with homemade chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and edible dark chocolate cupcake cups. As August draws to a close and we head into the last, lazy days of summer, it seemed like the perfect time to share my recipe for these tasty frozen treats.
This recipe is fairly simple, but it does require a little bit of a time commitment, as it is best made in two parts, over two days or at least a few hours apart. Prepare your ice cream and dough the day prior to serving, to allow ice cream to solidify properly. On the day of, prepare your molded chocolate cups and fill with ice cream. Whipped cream, sprinkles, and other toppings should be added just before you are ready to serve your cupcakes.
Shortcuts for Ice Cream Cupcakes
I made this recipe using homemade cookie dough ice cream (recipe below). For the fastest shortcut, substitute store-bought ice cream instead.
If you want to use homemade ice cream but don’t have time to make your own cookie dough, you could sub in a pre-made eggless cookie dough. Or, skip the cookie dough and make your cupcakes using another flavor of homemade ice cream instead.
I took my own shortcut and used store-bought Chips Ahoy! cookies to top my cupcakes. If you have time to spare, you could definitely make your own chocolate chip cookies instead. Just be sure to keep them on the smaller side, or they’ll be too heavy.
Other Tips & Tricks
Feel free to get creative with your cupcake toppings! I used some blue and purple star sprinkles that I’d picked up on a recent expedition to New York Cake, but any variety of sprinkles would work. Colored sugar, crushed peanuts, or chunks of cookie dough would also add a fun decorative touch to your cupcakes.
If you don’t already own them, silicone cupcake liners are a must-have for your kitchen! Not only are they great for making these edible chocolate cups, but they’re also awesome for lining your tins when baking traditional cupcakes and muffins.
For this recipe, my chocolate of choice was Grand Aroma dark chocolate from Santa Barbara Chocolate. This is one of the chocolates I am using in my chocolatemaking course, and I wanted to see how it would work in this recipe (it is delicious!) However, you could use any dark, milk, or even white chocolate to make your edible cupcake cups.
Other chocolate recipes you might enjoy:
Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
Chocolate Covered Cherries
And if you make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
PrintChocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cupcakes!
- Total Time: 25 minutes (+ chilling/freezing time)
- Yield: 8 cupcakes 1x
Description
Festive ice cream cupcakes, made with homemade cookie dough ice cream and served in an edible chocolate cup! Great for birthdays and other celebrations.
Ingredients
Eggless Cookie Dough:
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Ice Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon rum or vodka (optional, to prevent freezing)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Cups:
1 cup good-quality chopped dark chocolate
To Decorate
Whipped cream (canned or homemade)
Sprinkles
Chocolate chip cookies (homemade or store bought (I used Chips Ahoy!)
Instructions
Base:
In a large bowl, whisk cream, milk, vanilla, sugars, salt, and vodka (if using). Cover bowl with clingfilm/plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour.
Eggless Cookie Dough
Preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C. Line a baking tray with parchment or a silicone mat.
Spread flour on prepared tray. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Allow to cool completely. (Note: Raw flour is not safe to eat. Heat-treating is important; this process kills bacteria and allows the flour to be consumed safely. Do not skip this step.)
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugars, vanilla, butter, salt, and milk, using your hands to mix well. Add the chocolate chips and mix until fully incorporated.
Roll dough into a tube shape, wrap in wax paper or baking parchment, and place in the freezer until ready to use.
Ice Cream:
Once base has chilled, prepare ice cream according to the manufacturer’s directions provided with ice cream maker (I churned mine for about 15 minutes.)
While mixture churns, remove cookie dough from freezer and chop or crumble into small (1/4-inch – 1/2 inch) pieces.
Add chocolate chips and cookie dough to ice cream mixture during last few minutes, churning until well incorporated.
Transfer ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Freeze for 6-8 hours, or overnight.
Chocolate Cups:
Melt dark chocolate in the microwave on low heat, stopping to stir periodically, until fully melted. (Alternately, you can melt the chocolate over a double boiler.)
With a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of melted chocolate inside each of your silicone cupcake liners. Place liners in the freezer to chill briefly, about 3-5 minutes, or until solid.
Remove liners from freezer. Brush another layer of chocolate into each liner and return to freezer. Repeat this process until your chocolate has reached the desired thickness (I used three coats of chocolate for each cup.)
Remove liners from freezer and carefully “pop” the molded chocolate cups from the liners.
To Serve:
Place chocolate cups on a small tray or plate. (Make sure it is one that fits in your freezer!)
Remove cookie dough ice cream from freezer. Using an ice cream scoop, place one scoop of ice cream inside each chocolate cup. Return tray to the freezer and allow ice cream cupcakes to freeze for 10-15 minutes, or until ready to serve.
To serve, remove tray from freezer. Top each cupcake with a swirl of whipped cream, sprinkles, and a chocolate chip cookie.
Serve immediately.
Notes
This recipe is best made in two parts. Prepare your ice cream and dough the day prior to serving, to allow ice cream to solidify properly. On the day of, prepare your molded chocolate cups and fill with ice cream.
Whipped cream, sprinkles, and other toppings should be added just before you are ready to serve your cupcakes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Ice Cream
- Method: Stovetop + Ice Cream Maker
- Cuisine: Dessert