Remember strawberry shortcake ice cream bars? Well let’s make them in sandwich form! These Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches are gluten free, dairy free, and allergy friendly.
Welcome back to part 3 of my summer ice cream sandwich series! If you’ve missed the first two recipes, be sure to check out my recipe for gluten free and dairy free Classic Ice Cream Sandwiches as well as Banana Pudding Ice Cream Sandwiches.
In this series, I’m teaching you how to make healthier and allergy friendly ice cream sandwiches all summer and you don’t want to miss out! I have more delicious and unique recipes coming, so make sure you are subscribed to my newsletter or following me on Instagram, TikTok, and/or Pinterest so that you don’t miss a flavor. I can’t wait for you to make some of these healthy ice cream sandwiches. Make sure to share a photo on social media and tag me if you do make any!
Strawberry shortcake ice cream bars were one of my favorites. I love the sweet strawberry ice cream and crunchy rice pop coating. The contrast in textures was always delicious. I knew I had to make an ice cream sandwich version for my series.
These Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches are completely gluten free and dairy free and they can be made refined sugar free too. Since my entire platform is based off of creating healthier and allergy friendly versions of recipes, these homemade ice cream sandwiches are also lower in sugar than your average ice cream bar or sandwich while still maintaining all the flavor.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches
Strawberry Shortcake Ingredients:
Ice Cream
- Coconut milk
- Strawberries
- Coconut sugar
- Salt
- Tapioca starch or arrowroot
- Vanilla extract
- Honey
Cookie Base
- Butter
- Coconut sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- 1:1 gluten free flour
- Tapioca starch or arrowroot
- Baking powder
- Salt
Assembly
- Rice puffs
- Freeze dried strawberries
- Sugar
Instructions:
Ice Cream
- To make the ice cream you’ll combine some of the strawberries, milk, sugar, and salt in a blender.
- Gently heat the base over low heat until warm then mix part of the base with the starch and add it back in. Cook on low until the base has thickened. Whisk in the vanilla extract, let cool, and place in the fridge overnight
- When ready to churn the ice cream, macerate the leftover strawberries with the honey. When the ice cream is almost done churning in your ice cream maker, add the macerated strawberries to mix in.
Cookie base
- Beat together the melted butter and sugar until combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until just combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
- Spread the batter out evenly over the baking pan and bake cookies for 10 minutes.
- Let the base completely cool for at least an hour before assembling the sandwiches.
Assembly
- Line a cutting board with plastic wrap and place half of the cookie base on top. Spread your ice cream evenly over the base.
- Flip the other cookie half on top of the ice cream.
- Line everything up then tightly wrap up the sandwiches in the plastic wrap.
- Place the sandwiches in the freezer for AT LEAST 3 hours, preferably overnight to allow the ice cream to fully set.
- While freezing, pulse the rice puffs, dried strawberries, and sugar together.
- When ready, slice into 8 sandwiches and dip each side in the rice puff mixture. Enjoy!
Do They Have to be Strawberry Shortcake?
If you aren’t a big strawberry fan, I think raspberries would be a fantastic option! Raspberry shortcake ice cream… that sounds pretty good.
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries?
Frozen strawberries will work fine for making the ice cream, but I suggest letting them thaw first. If you don’t, it will take longer to heat up the ice cream base.
Do I Have to Make the Strawberry Ice Cream?
Nope! You can use your favorite store-bought strawberry ice cream if desired. You’ll need about 1.5 pints, so buy 2 for good measure 😉.
How To Serve and Store These Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches
Serve: I like to let my ice cream sandwiches sit for a couple of minutes at room temperature to soften the ice cream, but that is a personal preference. Just don’t let them sit out too long or they’ll melt!
Store: Once you have sliced the ice cream sandwiches, wrap each individually in plastic wrap, parchment paper, or wax paper. You can then place all of the sandwiches into a large ziplock bag or freezer container and store in the freezer until ready to eat.
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Sandwiches
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Ice Cream*
- 3 cups strawberries, divided
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar or regular sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Sugar Cookie Base
- 1/2 cup melted (vegan) butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch or arrowroot
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Strawberry Shortcake Crumb
- 1 cup rice crispies
- 1 cup freeze dried strawberries
- 1-2 tsp sugar
Instructions
Ice Cream
- You need to make the ice cream ahead of time, preferably the day before.
- Blend 2 cups of strawberries, the milk, and coconut sugar together in a high speed blender until combined.
- Heat the ice cream base on medium-low until warm to the touch.
- Whisk a half cup of the ice cream base with the 1/4 cup of tapioca starch until there are no lumps. Add this back to the base and continue to heat and whisk the base regularly until it begins to thicken (about 10 minutes).
- Let the base cool then place in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready, churn your ice cream according to your ice cream makers directions.
- While ice cream is churning, macerate the remaining strawberries with the honey and lemon juice. Mash them up until lightly chunky and blended with the honey.
- When the ice cream is almost done, add your macerated strawberries to mix in.
- Transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container and freezer for a couple of hours until ready to use.
Sugar Cookie Base:
- Beat together the melted butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, starch, baking powder, and salt then add to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Line a 9×13 or 10×15 baking tray with parchment paper then spread the sugar cookie base on the lined tray.
- Bake for 10 minutes (do not over bake, it should seem not quite done).
- Let cool completely before assembling the sandwiches.
Assembly
- Make sure your ice cream is quite soft and pliable, but not totally melted when ready to assemble.
- When ready to assemble, take a cutting board (that will fit in your fridge) and place 2 long pieces of plastic wrap in a cross over the cutting board.
- Cut the cookie base in half and GENTLY transfer one half to the center of the cutting board (the base is fragile until frozen, so work carefully).
- Scoop your ice cream onto the cookie base and spread evenly. Gently transfer the other half of the cookie base on top. Wrap the giant sandwich tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready, smash or pulse the freeze dried strawberries, rice crisps, and sugar together until you have a rough texture.
- Slice your ice cream sandwiches and then dip each side in the rice crisp mixture. Serve immediately or wrap individually and keep frozen until ready to eat.
