Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches

Red Velvet Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches — Photo:
Food & Wine / Photo by Stacy Allen / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Tucker Vines

Active Time:

30 mins

Freeze Time:

6 hrs

Total Time:

6 hrs 30 mins

Servings:

Yield:

10 ice-cream sandwiches

These cakey ice cream sandwich cookies from chef Taffy Elrod are featured in Alilah L. Agostini’s new book The Juneteenth Cookbook, which includes family-friendly recipes, fun illustrations, and activity ideas for the holiday. Chewy, chocolate-y red velvet cookies are filled with a tangy no-churn cream cheese ice cream for an irresistible combination of flavors and textures. The ice cream-filled sandwiches soften as they freeze, making these a great make-ahead dessert for any summer gathering.

Frequently Asked Questions

What food is traditionally served for Juneteenth?

Juneteenth traditions vary widely from family to family, but common dishes include barbecue and red-hued foods like red velvet cake. The tradition of serving red food and drink for Juneteenth is believed to represent the blood shed by African-Americans’ enslaved ancestors, according to historian and writer Adrian Miller. Additionally, red drinks made with hibiscus flowers and kola nuts were historically served as welcome drinks in West Africa.
Is red velvet the same as chocolate?

Red velvet isn’t just chocolate cake dyed red. Chocolate cake usually includes a combination of cocoa powder and chocolate chips or melted chocolate, whereas red velvet cake only includes cocoa powder for a subtler chocolate flavor. It also typically includes buttermilk and vinegar, which give it a tart edge and notably tender texture.

Make ahead

The ice cream can be prepared up to two weeks in advance; let it thaw for 15 minutes before sandwiching with cookies. The cookies can be baked up to two days in advance. Keep covered, tightly wrapped, at room temperature.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Stirring a spoonful of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture with a rubber spatula before folding in the rest will make the mixture softer and easier to handle. When folding, circle the outside of the bowl with your rubber spatula to lift the whipped cream from the edges, then use your wrist to fold the spatula up and gently through the center of the cream. Turn the bowl and repeat this process until the mixture is homogeneous and light.

You can buy pre-made cookies and/or ice cream to make these treats even easier. Try them with other soft cookies like oatmeal cookies, or crumble the red velvet cookies and fold them into the ice cream before freezing.

While you can serve these ice cream sandwiches immediately, we recommend wrapping them in plastic wrap after forming, then freezing for at least an hour for a cleaner experience.

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

No-Churn Cream Cheese Ice Cream

2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cookies

1/2 cup (4-ounce) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups (about 6 7/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine table salt
2 tablespoons whole buttermilk
1 tablespoon red liquid food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Directions

Prepare the No-Churn Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Using an electric mixer, beat cream in a large bowl on medium speed until pillowy and fluffy and cream holds soft peaks when beater is pulled away, about 2 1/2 minutes. Set aside.
Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer in a separate large bowl on medium-high speed until light and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add condensed milk and vanilla; beat until well combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently mix a big spoonful (about 1/3 cup) of whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until lighter in texture and slightly fluffy. Add remaining whipped cream to bowl, and fold into cream cheese mixture, gently circling bowl with spatula so whipped cream stays as light and fluffy as possible.
Spoon mixture into a metal loaf pan lined with plastic wrap, and freeze at least 6 hours. (Note: Freezing will take longer in a glass loaf pan.)
Meanwhile, prepare the Red Velvet Cookies

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, and beat until just combined.
Stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; set aside. Whisk together buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture; beat on low speed until dry ingredients are incorporated, about 10 seconds. Add buttermilk mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture, and beat on low speed until just combined, about 10 seconds. Stir with a rubber spatula to ensure nothing is stuck to bottom of bowl.
Use a 1-ounce (about 2-tablespoon) ice-cream scoop or a large spoon to drop balls of dough onto prepared pans, spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven until cookies have spread, puffed in middle, and are set around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on pans, about 30 minutes. Transfer cookies to a smaller baking sheet or freezer-safe plate, and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
To make sandwiches, scoop about 1/3 cup ice cream onto flat side of 1 cookie. Sandwich with a second cookie, and gently press together so ice cream reaches edges of cookies. Serve immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer until ready to serve. (Ice-cream sandwiches and remaining ice cream should last, well wrapped, in freezer for up to 1 month).

Reprinted with permission from The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate. Recipe copyright © 2024 Taffy Elrod. Published by Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., copyright © 2024.