Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream

With a vanilla cinnamon base and lots of oatmeal cookie crumbles, this Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream is the perfect year-round treat! Enjoy a big scoop all summer long, but don’t forget to make it in the fall and winter to top your favorite holiday pies and cakes!

five scoops of oatmeal cookie ice cream on a white rectangular serving dish with two spoons on either end

An ice cream recipe in November?  Yes, it’s (finally) getting cold outside.  In fact, we’re supposed to get our first temperatures below freezing tonight.  I’m digging through our storage bins looking for hats and scarves as soon as I finish writing this post… about ice cream.

But hear me out.

Fall is also pie season… also known as the most wonderful time of the year.  Apple pie.  Pumpkin pie.  Caramel pear pie with oatmeal cookie crumble <– the best pie fall pie ever? YES.  

And what’s the one thing better than a big slice of pie?  A big slice of pie a la mode.  In other words — pie with a scoop of ice cream on top.

And what kind of ice cream goes wonderfully with all those delicious fall pies you’ll be serving for Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving and Hanukkah parties and Christmas parties and non-denominational winter parties?

Oatmeal cookie ice cream, that’s what.  With a cinnamon ice cream base, crumbles of (homemade!) oatmeal cookie mixed in, and extra cookie chunks sprinkled on top, this oatmeal cookie ice cream is delicious on its own… but the perfect accompaniment to all your fall desserts.

Like the scoop on top of this brown butter pear tart, pictured below.  See?  A perfect pear. Ha. Ha, ha.  OH COME ON.  You know you love a good pun, too.

scoops of oatmeal cookie ice cream pictured on top of a slices of a browned butter pear tart

How to Make Homemade Ice Cream

Making homemade ice cream is actually really simple – with the right tools and ingredients!

There are quite a few different ice cream base recipes out there, but my favorite includes egg yolks, sugar, whole milk, and heavy cream.  For this recipe, we’ll add cinnamon (because all good oatmeal cookies are heavy on cinnamon!) and vanilla bean paste.

The most important ingredient in our ice cream?  The egg yolk!  Why is it so important?  It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!

Kitchen Chemistry

Ice cream is an emulsion.  An emulsion is a mixture that results when two liquids are mixed together but do not dissolve into each other.  Over time, the two liquids will separate (like oil and water).  Without an emulsifier, the mlkfat and water from the ice cream would separate into over time.  The lecithin-protein complexes in egg yolk serve as the emulsifier in ice cream, ensuring the fat stays evenly dispersed throughout the ice cream rather than separating into clumps.

There are two major types of home ice cream makers (and I’ve had both) — the kind where you freeze a bowl solid and attach it to your stand mixer, and the kind with a compressor that cools for you.

Both work just fine.  If you’re using the kind where you freeze a bowl solid, you’ll want to make sure your base is fully chilled first (refrigerate the mixture until fully cooled!) and your base is as cold as possible (freeze for 24 hours!).

If you’re using the kind with a compressor, no need to do either.   I still usually chill the base a little first because I find the texture of the ice cream is a little better the less time it spends churning, but I usually aim for “room temperature” rather than “cold.”

(For reference, I used to own the Kitchen Aid stand mixer attachment bowl, and now I own and use the Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor model.  This recipe works with both.)

the cooked ice cream base for homemade oatmeal cookie ice cream base in a saucepan before chilling and churning

First up? Making the oatmeal cookie chunks!

There are a couple of options here.

Short on time?  Buy some store-bought oatmeal cookies and crumble them up.  (No shame in the time-saving game, ever.  It still counts as homemade ice cream, even if you use store-bought cookies.)

The recipe for the cookie crumble is almost identical to my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, minus the chocolate chips.  So rather than make oatmeal cookie crumbles, bake some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and save a few to crumble.  Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie ice cream? YES PLEASE.

If you’re starting without any oatmeal cookies, making them is pretty darn easy.  Combine all the ingredients together, and just lump the cookie dough together on a cookie sheet like pictured below.  It doesn’t have to look pretty; it’s just getting crumbled up!  Bake for 20-25 minutes; the outside will be starting to brown, but the insides will still be soft.

Cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes or so, then use a spatula to crumble up into chunks.  Leave some as larger chunks for garnish, and break some into smaller crumbles to mix into the ice cream.

a pie of oatmeal cookie dough lumped together on a cookie sheet and then shown crumbled into oatmeal cookie crumbs to be turned into oatmeal cookie ice cream

First, we’ll make the liquid base — this is where we mix together our liquids (milk and heavy cream), eggs, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla bean paste. 

To do this, we use a process called tempering to ensure we don’t overcook the egg yolks (no one wants scrambled egg ice cream!).

We’ll start by heating the milk until steaming and then whisking just a little of this milk mixture in with the eggs and sugar.  The sugar helps protect the egg yolks, and using just a little hot milk lowers the overall temperature of the eggs slowly enough that they won’t start to curdle.

This tempered egg mixture will then get poured back into the rest of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly, to slowly bring the egg yolks up to a high enough temperature.

Strain the mixture, chill (if necessary), and pour it into your ice cream machine.  Churn according to directions.  When the mixture is almost set, start pouring in the cookie chunks!

two scoops of oatmeal cookie ice cream in a small bowl with more scoops on a rectangular serving dish in the background

With a spoon, right out of the container!

(Obviously.)

But really, this is delicious on all sorts of pies and cakes.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

two scoops of oatmeal cookie ice cream in a small dessert bowl with a sprinkle of oatmeal cookie crumbs on top of the ice cream
  1. Strain the ice cream base before chilling.  This ensures the ice cream will be as smooth as possible in case any of the egg yolks clumped together while heating the base.
  2. Make sure the cookie chunks are cold before adding them to the ice cream base – freezing them first means they’re the same temperature as the ice cream. Adding warm (or even room temperature) cookie chunks melts tiny pockets of the ice cream which makes the base icier.  For the smoothest, creamiest ice cream, freeze your mix-ins first.
  3. Add the cookie crumbles at the very end of the churning process.  The machine will mix them for you, but only briefly – only let it churn for 1 or 2 minutes to incorporate.
  4. Freeze your ice cream storage container (whether it’s a true ice cream container or a loaf pan) for at least an hour or two to ensure it’s truly cold before transferring in your cold, churned ice cream.
  5. Homemade ice cream is best consumed within one month; the texture and flavor deteriorate with extended time in the freezer.

More Ice Cream Recipes:

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream: This easy homemade ice cream recipe uses a cinnamon vanilla ice cream base with oatmeal cookie crumbles mixed in for the perfect year round treat. Enjoy a big scoop all summer long, but don't forget to make it in the fall and winter to top your favorite holiday pies and cakes! #bunsenburnerbakery #icecream #homemadeicecream #oatmealcookie #piealamode 

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream

Yield: 1.5 quarts
Prep Time: 2 hours
Freezing Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 6 hours

With a vanilla cinnamon base and lots of oatmeal cookie crumbles, this oatmeal cookie ice cream is the perfect year-round treat!

Ingredients

For the oatmeal cookie crumble:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

For the ice cream:

  • 6 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (recommended) or vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Make the cookie crumbles. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat.
  2. Using a mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
  3. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add this to the mixing bowl and beat until just combined. Add in the oatmeal in batches, stirring after each addition, until just combined.
  4. Form the dough into one large cookie, approximately 1/2-inch thick, on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until just starting to brown on top and along the edges; the center will still be soft. Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. Crumble into pieces, then cool completely. Take half the smallest crumbles and freeze.
  5. Make the ice cream base. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
  6. In a heavy saucepan over medium low heat, stir together the milk and heavy cream. Heat until simmering, but not boiling. Ladle 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture and whisk into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs. Pour the egg mixture back into the rest of the milk, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat until thickened, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in salt, cinnamon, and vanilla bean paste or extract and strain through a sieve into a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until cool (if necessary for your ice cream machine).
  7. Churn the ice cream. Process the cooled custard in an ice cream machine. Once the ice cream is churned, add the frozen half of the cookie crumbles into the machine and continue to churn for an additional 1-2 minutes, until distributed throughout the ice cream. Transfer the ice cream into a pre-frozen container for storage. To serve, top with the remaining (room temperature) cookie crumbles.

Notes

  1. Freeze your ice cream storage container for at least an hour to ensure it’s cold before transferring in your churned ice cream.
  2. If you don't have a dedicated ice cream storage container, a loaf pan lined with plastic wrap works well. Top with additional plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.
  3. Homemade ice cream is best consumed within one month; the texture and flavor deteriorates with extended time in the freezer.


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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 scoop
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 383Total Fat: 16.7gCarbohydrates: 51.9gProtein: 7.6g

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Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream: This easy homemade ice cream recipe uses a cinnamon vanilla ice cream base with oatmeal cookie crumbles mixed in for the perfect year round treat. Enjoy a big scoop all summer long, but don't forget to make it in the fall and winter to top your favorite holiday pies and cakes!