This gluten-free cookie dough ice cream has chunks of edible chocolate chip cookie dough loaded into a brown sugar vanilla ice cream base that also tastes remarkably like cookie dough. This creamy egg-free ice cream is incredibly easy to make at home and can easily be made dairy-free and vegan!

This post is sponsored by Andronico's Community Markets, a long-term partner of Snixy Kitchen, but the opinions are all my own.
What you see here is my late-night cravings in a single scoop. My husband has recently discovered (and should probably buy stock in) frozen cookie dough bites, and to say I'm envious is an understatement. I too want chocolate chip cookie dough straight from the freezer.
So I whipped up a batch of my gluten-free edible cookie dough and churned it into homemade brown sugar vanilla ice cream. Now who's envious? (Okay, I'm nice and shared).
Make the recipe as written or swap the base for my go-to vegan vanilla ice cream for a dairy-free or vegan version!
Why you'll love this ice cream
When cookie dough ice cream started hitting the stores, it quickly became one of my favorite flavors. I filed it right alongside cookie-crisp cereal (the latter, I only ever dreamed of eating). Here are all the reasons why this is better than any store-bought cookie dough ice cream.
- Edible Cookie Dough: It's filled with flavorful edible gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough balls (with no raw eggs!).
- Smooth and not too Rich: The ice cream base is super smooth and neither icy nor too heavy and rich.
- Cookie Dough Flavored Ice Cream: The brown sugar vanilla ice cream base adds even more cookie dough flavor.
- Vegan and Dairy-Free Options: Can easily be made dairy-free or vegan.
- Customizable: Use my edible cookie dough recipe and make different flavors of cookie dough
Andronico's: Ingredients for Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Ice Cream
The edible gluten-free cookie dough uses a combination of almond and oat flours to create the cookie dough, and mini chocolate chips to distribute the chips more evenly in the tiny dough balls.
The ice cream base uses cream cheese and corn starch method (inspired by Jeni's eggless method) with cookie dough flavor from vanilla bean paste and brown sugar.
If you're in the Bay Area, head to your local Andronico's to get all of the ingredients you need from gluten-free almond and oat flours to gluten-free sugar cones for serving!
Here's everything you'll need to make this recipe:
Gluten-Free Cookie Dough
- Unsalted butter: use vegan butter for dairy-free or vegan version
- Brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar, preferably organic, as it has a higher molasses content and thus, more flavor
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Gluten-free oat flour: you can also make your own by grinding gluten-free oats in a food processor or blender until fine.
- Superfine blanched almond flour: see below for nut-free version
- Kosher salt
- Milk: dairy or non-dairy
- Mini chocolate chips: semisweet or bittersweet
Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream
- Whole milk (see below for dairy-free or vegan option)
- Cornstarch: for thickening the custard
- Full-fat cream cheese: blocked
- Heavy cream
- Light brown sugar
- Honey: Honey sweetens and often softens the ice cream
- Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract: vanilla bean paste infuses the most flavor into your ice cream with flecks of vanilla bean seeds throughout, but if you don't have it, you can use vanilla extract.
- Kosher salt
Visit the recipe card for exact quantities!
How to Make Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Ice Cream
TIMING TIP: Your ice cream maker freezer bowl must be completely frozen before churning your ice cream. Be sure to pop it in the freezer at least 12 hours before you want to churn your ice cream!
Gluten-Free Edible Cookie Dough
To make homemade gluten-free cookie dough ice cream, you first need to make edible cookie dough.
In a medium mixing bowl, smash together the softened butter and sugars using a silicone spatula against the sides of the bowl. You can use dairy or non-dairy butter.
Smash in the vanilla extract.
Add the dry ingredients, again smashing the dough against the sides of the bowl to combine.
Add the milk to soften the dough, mixing until combined. Dairy or non-dairy will work!
Mix in the chocolate chips.
Until completely combined.
Scoop the cookie dough into ¼ to ½-inch balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that fits in your freezer (I use a quarter-sheet baking pan) and freeze while you prepare the ice cream.
Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Now it's time to make your ice cream base!
With a fork, whisk just ¼ cup of the milk with the cornstarch to make a smooth slurry.
In a separate bowl, mash up the softened cream cheese until smooth.
In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, cream, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla paste. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, for 3-4 minutes.
Give the cornstarch slurry another quick stir to loosen it, then, whisking, pour it into the saucepan. Boil, stirring, until the custard lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Slowly pour about ⅓ cup of the hot custard into the cream cheese bowl and mix with a fork until smooth.
Whisk this cream cheese mixture into the saucepan until completely smooth.
Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps of cream cheese or milk skins that have formed. You can do this directly into a ziplock bag to avoid dirtying another bowl.
Place the custard in a 1-gallon freezer bag and place in an ice bath for about 30 minutes. Or chill it the traditional (longer) way in the fridge, for 2-4 hours.
When ready to churn, pour the ice cream custard into the bowl of your pre-frozen ice cream maker.
Follow the directions on your ice cream maker to churn the base into ice cream, until it is the consistency of soft-serve, about 15-20 minutes.
Fold in ⅔ of the frozen cookie dough bites, reserving the remaining for on top.
After you churn your ice cream, the texture will appear like soft-serve. You can certainly eat it this way (this is how we ate homemade ice cream as a kid!).
However, for a more classic ice cream texture, transfer the ice cream to a 2-quart freezer-safe container, top with remaining cookie dough bites, and freeze for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight, before serving.
Vegan or Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Version
For vegan or dairy-free gluten-free cookie dough ice cream, use a plant-based butter stick and plant milk in the edible cookie dough. Be sure to check that your mini chocolate chips are vegan or dairy-free!
For the base, use my vegan vanilla ice cream recipe, replacing the granulated sugar with light brown sugar for a stronger cookie-dough flavor. While this recipe relies on coconut milk, it remarkably doesn't taste strongly of coconut. When you add flavors like vanilla bean and brown sugar to the base, the coconut hides in the background.
Nut-Free Gluten-Free Version
For nut-free gluten-free cookie dough ice cream, replace the almond flour with sorghum flour, teff flour, or additional oat flour by weight.
Cream Cheese Ice Cream Custard with Egg Yolks
Rather than egg yolks, this recipe uses cream cheese and cornstarch to thicken the custard and create an ultra-smooth texture. The cornstarch thickens the custard and the cream cheese enhances the texture and creamy mouthfeel of the ice cream.
Recipe Variations
Consider this classic cookie dough ice cream recipe as a jumping-off point to get creative and customize the ice cream to your whims! Here are a few ideas to get you going.
- Use a different kind of edible cookie dough: My gluten-free edible cookie dough ice cream comes with three base doughs: chocolate chip, sugar cookie (with sprinkles!), and peanut butter (with optional m&ms!). For this ice cream you'll need a double batch of any of the edible cookie dough flavors. With those as a starting off point, you can get creative. Replace half of the oat flour with cocoa powder for a chocolate chocolate chip dough. Add cinnamon to the sugar cookie dough and roll the balls in cinnamon sugar for a snickerdoodle dough. Add matcha and white chocolate chips to the sugar cookie dough. You get the idea.
- Add a chocolate drizzle: After adding half of the ice cream, drizzle melted chocolate over the top. Top with remaining ice cream and drizzle more melted chocolate. This will create a stracciatella cookie dough ice cream.
- Add chopped chocolate: Enhance the chunks in each bite by also adding chopped chocolate throughout.
- Use a chocolate ice cream base: Use my chocolate ice cream base (and skip the candied bacon...or...don't).
Equipment Needed
You'll need an ice cream maker to make this homemade ice cream recipe. If you have a KitchenAid Stand Mixer, I recommend the KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment. If you don't have a stand mixer, I recommend the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.
How to store homemade ice cream
After churning the ice cream, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours. To keep the top looking pretty and swirled, wait until it's semi-firm before covering it well in plastic wrap and foil to prevent freezer burn.
Store in the freezer for up to a month...if it lasts that long.
Quick chill the custard
After you heat the custard, you need to chill it before you can pour it into your pre-frozen ice cream maker. This can take several hours in the fridge, but who wants to wait that long? Transfer the custard to a plastic freezer bag and place it in an ice bath for 30 minutes. Now you're ready to get churning!
Recipe
Loaded Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, or lightly softened in the microwave
- ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar, preferrably organic
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (81 g) gluten-free oat flour
- ½ cup (56 g) super-fine blanched almond flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon milk, dairy or non-dairy
- ½ cup (4 oz) mini chocolate chips, semisweet or bittersweet
- 3¼ cups whole milk, divided
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 5 tablespoons (2½ ounces) full-fat cream cheese (blocked), cut into ½-inch cubes, softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey or light corn syrup
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste , or use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- First, ensure your ice cream maker freezer bowl has been frozen for at least 10 hours.
- Prepare the edible cookie dough. In a medium mixing bowl, smash together the softened butter and sugars using a silicone spatula against the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and smash until it's evenly combined.
- Add the oat, almond flours, and salt, again smashing the dough against the sides of the bowl to combine. Add the milk to soften and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the cookie dough into ½ teaspoon-sized balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that fits in your freezer and freeze while you prepare the ice cream.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice cubes and water.
- With a fork, whisk ¼ cup of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
- In another small both, mash the softened cream cheese until soft and creamy. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 3 cups of milk, cream, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla paste and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching the bottom. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Give the cornstarch slurry another stir to loosen it until smooth, then, whisking, pour it into the saucepan. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until the custard lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly pour about ⅓ cup of the hot custard into the cream cheese bowl and mix with a fork until smooth. Whisk this cream cheese mixture into the saucepan until completely smooth.
- Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a large 1-gallon Ziploc bag. Seal it and submerge the mixture in the ice bath until cold, about 30 minutes. Alternatively, place it in a bowl in the refrigerator until chilled, 2-4 hours.
- When ready to churn, pour the ice cream custard into the bowl of your pre-frozen ice cream maker. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker to churn the base into ice cream, until it is the consistency of soft-serve, about 15-20 minutes.
- Fold in ⅔ of the frozen cookie dough bites, reserving the remaining for on top. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe 2-quart container such as a 9x5 loaf pan or a 9-inch round 2-inch tall cake pan. Place the remaining ⅔ of the frozen cookie dough bites over top, cover, and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
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