Strawberry Jam Ice Cream Sandwiches

These Strawberry Jam Ice Cream Sandwiches are everything I want in a summer dessert – soft, buttery cookies with swirls of strawberry jam and creamy scoops of ice cream in between. They’re simple, nostalgic, and just a little bit extra in the best way.

The cookie dough starts as a classic buttery base, but once you mix in the strawberry jam, it bakes into soft, lightly pink cookies with pockets of jammy goodness throughout. Once they’re cooled, you sandwich them with your favorite ice cream (I love a mix of vanilla and strawberry here).

Soft, creamy, and a little messy, they’re the kind of thing you make once and then suddenly find yourself “just happening” to have all the ingredients to make them all summer long.

Ingredients you need for these ice cream sandwiches

For the cookies

• 1 cup (227g) salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons strawberry jam, divided
• 2 teaspoons beet powder, optional
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups (320g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

For ice cream sandwiches

• 2 pints of ice cream, I recommend a mix of vanilla and strawberry

Ingredient substitutions

This recipe is really customizable! Here are some substitution suggestions:

• Butter: Swap for dairy-free butter.
• Strawberry jam: Can be swapped for any flavor of berry jam! I’d suggest either raspberry or cherry jam.
• All-purpose flour: Can be swapped for King Arthur’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, if needed.
• Beet powder: Only use this if you want extra-pink cookies. If you are fine with them being a bit on the lighter side, feel free to omit this. But, if you’d like them pinker and don’t have beet powder, you can blend up freeze-dried strawberries until you have a fine powder instead.

How to make the strawberry jam cookies

1. In a large bowl, add the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Use an electric hand mixer to mix this until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of strawberry jam (and beet powder, if using) and mix again until smooth.
2. Add the egg and mix, it might look broken for a bit, but mix for 1-2 minutes and it will be fine.
3. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix on the lowest setting until the dough is just combined.
4. Gently mix in another tablespoon of jam with a spatula, creating big swirls. Lightly flour the dough so you can shape it into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 325°F convection or 350°F standard.
6. After the dough has chilled, lightly flour a work surface. Halve the dough and roll out one half at a time. Roll it out until it is 1/2 inch thick, then use a cookie cutter or round object to cut the cookies into 3-inch circles. Press any excess dough together and repeat rolling it out until you have 16 cookies.
7. Add these to a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving at least an inch between each cookie. Use the remaining tablespoon of jam to swirl a design on half of them (the cookies that will be the tops of the sandwiches).
8. Bake for 15-16 minutes. They will be barely golden on the edges but very golden on the bottom.

How to assemble the ice cream sandwiches

This is the easiest part! Let the cookies cool completely, then add one to two scoops of ice cream between the cookies to form your sandwiches. I recommend a mix of vanilla and strawberry for the best flavor but you can use whatever you like best.

Storage tips

Here’s the best way to store these cookies and the assembled ice cream sandwiches, based on each method:

To store the baked cookies in the fridge: These will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I like to wrap each cookie in a layer of wax paper to prevent them from sticking to each other.

To store the baked cookies in the freezer: These will freeze well for up to three months. I like to wrap them with wax paper so they don’t stick to each other, then place them in a freezer-safe gallon bag. To thaw, remove the cookies from the bag and let them sit at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Then they should be ready to eat!

How to store the ice cream sandwiches: Wrap each sandwich individually in wax paper or plastic wrap, then store them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. For best texture, let them soften slightly at room temperature before serving.

Why is this recipe in grams?

Grams is always my preference for baking, and I hope it will be yours, too. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, not volume. One cup of flour can weigh all the way from 120 grams to 160 grams, depending on how it was packed. This ends up causing some volatility and mismatched results.

I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe foolproof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this particular recipe.

Watch the recipe here

The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.

Looking for more strawberry recipes?

And that’s it for these Strawberry Jam Ice Cream Sandwiches!

If you make them, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

You can also shop this video if you’re looking for the exact pieces I use – I’ve linked everything on my ShopMy! *some links may contain affiliate commissions

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3