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Patriotic Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches

Patriotic mini ice cream sandwiches with tender cake-mix cookies and vanilla ice cream, finished with a red-and-blue sprinkle border. These easy frozen ice cream sandwiches are made in batches, layered into mini sandwiches, then frozen until solid for a 4th of July ice cream treat.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
freezing 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 470
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Red velvet or chocolate cookie base
  • 1 box red velvet cake mix (or chocolate) Use the cake mix as the cookie dough base.
  • 2 large eggs
  • 0.33 cup vegetable oil
Ice cream filling and finish
  • 1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream Slightly soften so it scoops and spreads without melting the cookies.
  • 1 red and blue sprinkles For rolling the exposed ice cream edge into a festive border.
  • 1 parchment paper For lining baking sheets.
  • 1 plastic wrap For wrapping each assembled sandwich before freezing.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 wire rack

Method
 

Bake the mini cookies
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line baking sheets with parchment paper for a nonstick bake.
  2. Mix cake mix, eggs, and vegetable oil until a thick dough forms, stopping when no dry pockets remain.
  3. Scoop tablespoon-sized balls onto prepared baking sheets, flatten to about 1/4-inch thick circles, and bake 8–10 minutes until set—do not overbake.
  4. Let cookies cool completely on a wire rack, then freeze for 30 minutes to firm up before assembly.
Assemble and freeze
  1. Working quickly, place a scoop of slightly softened vanilla ice cream on the flat side of one cookie and press another cookie on top to sandwich.
  2. Roll the exposed ice cream edge in red and blue sprinkles to create a colorful border.
  3. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours until solid before serving.

Notes

For clean, crisp edges, soften the ice cream only until scoopable—if it turns runny, the sprinkle border will blur. Store wrapped sandwiches in the freezer up to 2 weeks; they do freeze well (recommended). For a lighter option, use reduced-fat vanilla ice cream and bake the cookies as written—texture will stay cookie-forward but slightly less rich.