Oreo Ice Cream Recipe

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Photograph: Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Using more milk than cream offsets the richness of the cookie crumbs.
  • Cooking the crumbs in the custard base ensures they dissolve fully, for an ice cream that churns up silky-smooth.
  • A water bath jump-starts the cooling process, so the base can chill faster in the fridge.

This ice cream may look like plain chocolate, but it's not—it's a super concentrated version of cookies 'n' cream. Its rich flavor and color come from crushed Oreo wafers (which you can feel free to buy or make from scratch), with a handful of crushed sandwich cookies folded in at the end. It tastes just like Oreos, but in a creamy, scoop-shop form.

Recipe Facts

Active: 25 mins
Total: 5 hrs
Serves: 8 servings
Makes: 1 quart

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Ingredients

  • 5 1/2 ounces plain or Toasted Sugar (about 3/4 cup; 145g)

  • 4 ounces egg yolk (about 1/2 cup; 110g), from about 8 large eggs

  • 3/4 teaspoon (3g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more as needed; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight

  • 6 3/4 ounces Oreo wafer crumbs (about 1 1/2 cups; 190g), from store-bought or homemade cookies

  • 11 ounces whole milk (about 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons; 310g)

  • 9 ounces heavy cream (about 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons; 255g)

  • 1/4 ounce vanilla extract (about 1/2 tablespoon; 7g)

  • 3 ounces roughly chopped Oreo sandwich cookies (about 1/2 cup; 85g), from store-bought or homemade cookies (optional)

Directions

  1. Combine sugar, egg yolks, and salt in a 3-quart stainless steel saucier, then whisk in cookie crumbs, milk, and cream. Cook over medium-low heat for a few minutes, until warm to the touch. Increase heat to medium and cook, stirring and scraping constantly with a flexible spatula, until you can see steam rising from the custard and it registers 155°F (68°C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 minutes. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large stainless steel bowl, pressing gently with a flexible spatula to release the liquid trapped in the crumbs, then stir in the vanilla.

  2. Fill a sink compartment or extra-large bowl with a few inches of ice water and place bowl with custard inside, stirring from time to time, until cool, about 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until no warmer than 40°F (4°C), about 4 hours. (The ice cream base can be kept refrigerated for up to 1 week.) Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Meanwhile, place a 1-quart container and flexible spatula in the freezer.

  3. When ice cream looks thick and light, shut off the machine; if desired, fold in crushed cookies with the chilled spatula, then transfer ice cream to the chilled container. Enjoy as soft-serve, or cover with plastic pressed directly against surface of ice cream, then close lid and freeze until hard, about 4 hours.

Special equipment

3-quart stainless steel saucier, fine-mesh sieve, stainless steel mixing bowl, ice cream maker

Notes

While this recipe was developed as a way to use up the cookie scraps left over from Homemade Oreos, it works just as well with store-bought Oreos (although you'll need to scrape out the filling, as the ice cream base is made from wafers alone).

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
361 Calories
21g Fat
38g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 361
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g 27%
Saturated Fat 11g 54%
Cholesterol 194mg 65%
Sodium 270mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 38g 14%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 31g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 89mg 7%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 155mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)