Nothing says summer like a frozen treat! And these homemade M&M’s Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches are the perfect way to beat the heat!
One of my fond memories as a child was watching movies with my Dad. Whether it was going to the movie theater or watching a movie at home, it was just the thing my siblings and I did with our dear old Dad! Since we watched movies together on such a regular basis you would think that we would tire of it; but no, every opportunity was a grand adventure! From four kids trying to all agree on the same movie (superheros, no princesses, no adorable animals who talk!), to my job to call (Yes! CALL!) the movie theater and carefully listen to some teenage boy with a scratchy voice painstakingly rattle off the movie show times, to the magic and wonderment of a movie theater… we loved it all!
Since the movie theater could get expensive, we often had to wait for movies to come out on Blue Ray DVD VHS and rush, not to the good ole movie rental store, but for my Dad, it meant rushing to buy the movie so that we could all watch it over and over again as a family!
To this day, I am still a movie fanatic! I love going to the movie theater for a late afternoon matinee, while the sun is still shining bright. And then leaving, hours later, with eyes filled of joy and wonderment, when the movie theater sign is all lit up in bright neon lights, casting a magical glow on the dark evening sky.
Since going to a movie is not always in our budget or busy schedule, we try to have movie date night at home at least once a week. Even though movie night is so simple and ordinary; it is the simple things like these that I try to make fun and extraordinary! The carefully selected movies, comfy, cute pj’s and a special treat are a movie night must!
Picking a movie we both agree on can be challenging, but luckily we always can agree on a movie full of superheros! Since we are huge Marvel fans, having seen all the movies so far, we were super excited about the Captain America 2: The Winter Solider DVD release on September 9. We eagerly planned our weekly movie night centered around this Captain America movie release. We headed to Walmart to buy the movie and grab some M&M’s® Chocolate Candies to make a special treat: M&M’s Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches! While we could have simply snacked on popcorn and M&M’s® during our Captain America double feature and been happy campers; I was inspired to be a movie night ‘superhero’ and make a fun new treat!
I whipped up my favorite M&M’s cookie recipe, but didn’t stop there! To make things more exciting and tasty, we transformed our cookies into a winning treat and made homemade ice cream sandwiches that couldn’t be beat! (Sorry… I had to make it rhyme!)
These homemade M&M’s Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches are so fun to make and eat! You can keep them plain and simple, or customize them to match a party or movie night theme. For special Captain America ice cream sandwiches, I sorted through the M&M’s and only used the red and blue ones. Keeping with the patriotic superhero theme, we then rolled the edges of our ice cream sandwiches in red, white and blue sprinkles and sat down to enjoy the show!
- M&M's Cookies:
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 3.4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups mini M&M's Chocolate Candies
- -
- Ice Cream Sandwiches:
- 1 quart vanilla ice cream
- Assorted Toppings if desired:
- Mini M&M's Chocolate Candies
- Mini chocolate chips
- Colored sprinkles
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture, a little at a time, to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined. Carefully, fold in 1 cup mini M&M's.
- Drop dough, by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet. Press 4-5 of the remaining M&M's on top of each cookie. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and set in the middle. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Once cookies have cooled completely, remove ice cream from freezer and let sit at room temperature for 1-2 minutes to soften slightly. Working quickly, use an ice cream scoop to scoop some ice cream onto the flat side of a cookie. Top ice cream with a second cookie, making sure the flat side of the cookie is towards the ice cream. Press down gently to allow the ice cream to spread slightly. Immediately roll the edges of the ice cream sandwich in additional M&M's candies or sprinkles, if desired. Wrap ice cream sandwiches individually in plastic wrap and freeze until the ice cream is very firm, at least 4 hours.
How do you “save the day” and make everyday moments extraordinary? For exciting ideas, fun games and valuable coupons (including a $5.00 off any two (2) M&M’s® Brand Chocolate Candies (15.4oz. or larger) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier DVD at Walmart), head to HeroesEatMMs.com and take the Marvel Superhero challenge!
I used to work at a video store in college. I totally know VHS so well… 🙂 #client