Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

If you love homemade ice cream as much as we do, also try our strawberry ice cream and fresh mint ice cream recipes!

This is the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream that we’ve been making for years. The ice cream is incredibly rich and creamy with a distinct cookie flavor thanks to a generous amount of vanilla. It really is the best ice cream. And what makes this ice cream the best? Answer: egg yolks. (Read on to find out why you NEED them when making real homemade ice cream.) While it’s possible to make ice cream without egg yolks, why would you want to? The fat and protein in the yolks make the ice cream creamier, give it more body, make it last longer in the freezer without becoming icy, and adds flavor. If you’re craving REAL ice cream then egg yolks are a must.

Luckily, making cookie dough ice cream is easy. If you can whisk a few ingredients in a pot and stir together dough in a bowl, you can make this. The ice cream:

Whole milk – Don’t use lower-fat milk or your ice cream will be icy. Heavy cream – Again, don’t try to skip the fat; you need it for creamy ice cream. Granulated sugar – You can also use brown sugar for a more malty flavor. Note that it will darken the color of the ice cream. Vanilla – Use real vanilla extract or vanilla paste for the best flavor. Sea salt – Gives flavor to the ice cream. Don’t substitute with table salt as the flavor will overwhelm the ice cream. Egg yolks – These are a must if you want deliciously creamy ice cream.

The cookie dough:

All-purpose flour – We’ve used almond flour with success for gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. You can heat treat it (instructions in the recipe) if you are concerned with eating raw flour. Butter – Always salted. Brown sugar – Gives the best flavor and texture to the frozen raw cookie dough. Sour cream – This replaces the eggs (just like in our best chocolate chip cookies recipe). You can also use plain yogurt. Chocolate chips – Mini chocolate chips work the best in this recipe. Baking soda – Adding this lets you bake a few cookies to serve with the ice cream.