Holy smokes, how is it August already? Summer has really flown by. Now that it’s August I’ve already started to see so many fall and Halloween decorations at the store. I know some people can’t wait for the Starbucks psl or pumpkin decor, but I’m just not ready for it yet! I’m holding on to every little bit of summer, especially with these strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches. The cookies are softly baked with a little chew and spice. The ice cream center is creamy and swirled with the sweetest homemade strawberry jam. When both are squished together it makes the perfect combo of crunch and melty goodness.

As I like to call it, it’s Friday jr. Almost the end of the week and I wish I was cooling off with these strawberry shortcake ice cream sammies right about now. They really make the perfect weekend treat and come together easier than it looks.

Oh how I love ice cream. But I also love cookies. So really, ice cream sandwiches cover all the bases in the best ways. My favorite part is that they can be frozen for months and snacked on throughout the season. Nothing reminds me of summer more than fresh fruit and ice cream. These bright strawberries are juicy and sweet, and happen to make the most delicious jam.

Now I could stop right here and tell you to just jar the jam for months to come and call it a day, but when you can swirl it in ice cream, what are you waiting for?

Ok ya’ll so what’s your go-to favorite ice cream flavor? I’m really a coffee, heath, or strawberry person, but I won’t pass up a scoop anytime if it comes my way. We are blessed to live one block away from Denver’s best ice cream store Bonnie Brae. Now, you think I would walk there more often, but I guess I have to limit myself.

ingredients you need

• Fresh strawberries
• Sugar
• Lemon juice
• Honey
• Butter
• Flour
• Baking soda
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
• Vanilla ice cream (Homemade or store-bought will work)

all things jam

The star of the show here is really the fresh strawberry jam. It’s sweet and a little sticky, but makes the perfect swirl for each little ice cream square. What I love about adding the jam is that it’s not just strawberry ice cream, it’s still vanilla with big chunks of fresh strawberry throughout.

I love strawberry ice cream, but adding the fresh stuff just makes it ✨ better.

To make the jam, all you need to do is add the fresh berries to a medium pot with the sugar, lemon juice, and honey. It’s very similar to other jams, but a little touch of honey adds a sweet flavor.

Bring the jam to a boil and begin to mash the berries as they become softer. Once mashed, continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes until the jam has thickened and reduced. Just enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and it’s more of a sticky texture.

Set aside and let the jam cool.

Once the jam is cooled, swirl it into your vanilla ice cream in a 9×13″ pan. Freeze until firm.

roll, bake, and assemble

While the ice cream freezes, bake up your cookies.

The dough comes together in two shakes very similar to rolled sugar cookies. Roll the dough fairly thin, otherwise you’ll have to bite into a rock later. I like to stick around 1/4″ or a little less.

Cut into squares with a cookie cutter or just by eye. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake for only 10 minutes! No more. I like to under bake them a little bit so they’re more chewy once frozen.

Once baked, I drizzled them with a simple glaze and some raw sugar.

Alright, so now our cookies are done and the ice cream is frozen — time to assemble!

Cut the ice cream block into 12 even squares. Take 2 cookies and sandwich them around the ice cream chunk. It’s ok to give it a little squish to make sure it stays together. Ta-da!

Pop ’em back in the freezer until firm and you’re done…easy peasy.

Other than waiting for the sammies for freeze each time, I find this recipe to be really easy. Definitely a must try for summer! Or with the kiddos.

freezing tip for the strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches

Now you might be worried about biting into a rock later when you go for a bite, but here’s an easy hack.

One, just undertake the cookies a little bit to ensure they won’t be too crispy.

Two, when you’re ready to dig in, let the sandwich sit at room temp for about 10 minutes. This is just enough time for the cookie to slight soften without your ice cream melting too much. (Don’t be worried about the ice cream, it’ll hold up more than you think ;))

My other ice cream favorites:

• Caramel Crunch Java Brownie Ice Cream Cake
• Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
• Chocolate Chunk & Toffee Ice Cream Sammies

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear about it below in the comments or on Instagram, @tuesday.treats or use #tuesdaytreats2016. I love seeing your creations!