Overcast days and heavy storms really put a damper on our spirit last week, but what better way to put a smile on our faces than baking and ice cream (and maybe a High School Musical marathon?) We went ahead and tried out the infamous use-a-carton-of-Ben-and-Jerry’s-to-make-slices-of-ice-cream trick to see if actually worked! And #FRIYAY, it did. It might have been slightly really messy, but it was absolutely out of this world delicious! Check out our tips and tricks to help you make these fabulous ice cream cookiewiches (spell check?) in no time!

The World’s Best Cookie

Pinterest is a life saver, let me tell ya. We combed the interwebs for the perfect recipe for a large and delicious chocolate chip cookie for our cookiewiches. It was much harder than we thought it would be. Most of the Pinterest recipes were for mini ice cream cookie sandwiches, which meant a small cookie. But we needed a cookie that was larger than the width of the Ben and Jerry’s carton, so we kept looking. Thank heavens we came across this absolutely fantastic recipe from Cookies & Cups for large chocolate chip cookies.

Warning: You’re going to need a very large bowl, strong arms, and a whole lot of butter and chocolate chips (we really didn’t have a problem with this one though 🙂 ). The recipe will be at the end of the post. Be sure to check it out, those cookies were honestly at bakery level good.

Cutting the carton: Do’s and Dont’s

Once we made a gazillion of those delicious cookies, we were tasked with the real challenge of cutting the carton into slices. Here’s a list of Do’s and Don’ts to making the perfect slices!

Do wipe down the outside of your cartons with an antibacterial wipe that’s safe for the kitchen. You don’t want to drag the germs on the outside of the carton through the ice cream!

Do make sure the carton of ice cream (in whatever flavor/brand you want, as long as its pint sized) is completely frozen. It makes the ice cream firm and easier to slice.

Don’t get frustrated if the ice cream starts melting. Trying to cut a pint of partially-melted ice cream will inevitably end up in a goopy mess on your countertop and a poorly cut slice. If the ice cream starts dripping near the edges, just stick the pint back in the freezer for a little while until it firms up a little bit.

Do use a serrated knife (thanks Hannah’s mom). It makes cutting through the carton much easier.

Don’t stress about making the slices equal or the cuts straight. Hannah’s were crooked, but it was still delicious!

Make it yourself!

World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie– The Ritz Carlton Cookie (From Cookies & Cups, with our comments in bold)

Ingredients

• 5 sticks (1 1/4 cup) of unsalted butter at room temperature — Yeah you read that right. 5 whole sticks.
• 2 cups of granulated sugar
• 2 cups dark brown sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 6 cups of flour
• 4 cups of chocolate chips — We used a bag of mini chocolate chips and a bag of mini M&Ms!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. — There is so much batter in this recipe that it will probably cover the paddle of your mixer. Try to use the biggest bowl you can find!
4. Stir the dry ingredients in (baking soda, salt and flour) until evenly combined and finally the chocolate chips.
5. Scoop batter onto baking sheet on large mounds, 2-3 inches apart. — We used quarter-cup scoops!
6. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are golden and centers are almost set — Around 14 minutes for the really large cookies!
7. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely — Or leave them a little warm for some out-of-this-world cookiewiches 🙂

Cookiewich Assembly

1. Making sure the ice cream is completely frozen, wipe the outside of the carton with a kitchen-safe antibacterial wipe!
2. Choose starting point and make incision with serrated knife. Slice all the way through slowly and patiently until slice is completely separated.
3. Transfer the ice cream slice between to warm cookies and remove the plastic carton wrapping with food scissors.
4. Enjoy!

The first time you try this, you’re going to make a mess. They still turn out great and they are so so so good! We’re so excited that this actually worked, because we couldn’t find any pins that used this method to make ice cream cookie sandwiches. We figured it was because this idea just didn’t work or everyone was to scared to try it for themselves. Once you get the hang of it, don’t be afraid to experiment with different cookie and ice cream combinations. The possibilities are endless!

We took on the challenge and you should too! These cookiewiches are incredible.  If you try them out send us pics on insta/twitter (@theswirlblog)! You know what they say: Pics or it didn’t happen! Let us know what ice cream you used, too! We love trying new flavors in addition to our go-to favs (The Tonight Dough, Half Baked, and Phish Food)!