Candy Cane and Cookies Ice Cream (Vegan)
Forget cookies and cream—this holiday season is all about cookies and candy canes, my new favorite festive combo. Start with a rich, velvety vanilla ice cream base, then add a splash of peppermint extract, chunks of chocolate vanilla cream sandwich cookies, and a sprinkle of finely crushed peppermint candy canes. Every spoonful delivers a refreshing burst of cool mint and a satisfying cookie-candy cane crunch, perfectly balancing creamy smoothness with festive flavors. Best of all, it’s an easy, no-churn, dairy-free treat that’s just right for the holidays.
What you will need:
Your favorite chocolate sandwich cookies and candy canes are a must for this recipe. I used Yum Earth candy canes (no Red 40). I found them at Target; they can also be found on Amazon. The rest of the ingredients are readily available at your local grocery store. I used homemade oat milk based sweetened condensed milk for this recipe, store bought will work just as well. The recipe can be found on the website if you are interested.
- plant based heavy cream – I used Country Crock Dairy Free Heavy Whipping Cream
- plant based sweetened condensed milk – store bough or see recipe on the website for homemade
- peppermint extract
- chocolate vanilla cream sandwich cookies – I used Back to Nature Classic Cream Sandwich Cookies
- candy canes – I used Yum Earth Organic Candy Canes
How to:
Start by crushing the chocolate vanilla cream sandwich cookies and candy canes. I used just 4 cookies for this recipe, but you can add more if you’d like. Roughly chop the cookies into pieces. For the candy canes, I used 5 large ones—finely crushing 3 candy canes and roughly crush 2 candy canes. Have some extra cookie chunks and crushed candy cane on hand if you’d like to sprinkle them over the ice cream later.
To a medium bowl, add the heavy cream. With a hand mixer on high speed, whip the cream to soft peaks. Once you achieve soft peaks, add the sweetened condensed milk and peppermint extract to the bowl and continue whipping on high for an additional minute. Add both the finely and roughly crushed candy canes along with the chocolate sandwich cookie pieces to the ice cream base, gently folding until well combined.
Pour the ice cream into a freezer-safe container; I used a 6x6x2-inch glass dish with a lid. Sprinkle the reserved cookie and candy cane pieces on top, then place it in the freezer. Let it freeze for at least 6 hours for a nice, scoopable texture, though I usually leave mine overnight. Before serving, let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to make scooping easier.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make and enjoy!
Candy Cane and Cookies Ice Cream (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups plant based heavy cream
- 1 cup plant based sweetened condensed milk (see my recipe on the website if you are interested in homemade)
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 4 chocolate vanilla cream sandwich cookies – roughly cut up + extra for the top
- 3 full size candy canes – finely crushed
- 2 full size candy canes – roughly crushed + extra for the top
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, add the heavy cream. Whip on high with a hand mixer until soft peaks are achieved. Add the sweetened condensed milk and peppermint extract and continue whipping for another minute. Toss in the sandwich cookie pieces along with both the finely and roughly crushed candy cane pieces. Gently fold everything together until just combined
- Pour the ice cream into a freezer-safe container—I used a 6x6x2 glass dish with a lid. Sprinkle the reserved cookie and candy cane pieces over the top. Cover and freeze until set, about 6 to 8 hours. I usually leave mine in the freezer overnight.Allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before scooping and serving.
My son is going to go wild for this! It has alllll the goods! I can’t resist a festively minty fresh treat, either…perfect!
I look for anything to put candy canes in at Christmas, can’t get enough of them. I hope your son enjoys it!