Believe it or not I’ve never had or made an icebox cake before. Well, much to my delight, an icebox cake just involves layering cookies and whipped cream and letting all the flavors meld together and the cookies soften up overnight in the fridge. Icebox=fridge, duhhhhh. You can make your own cookies, or you can be totally lazy like I was and buy storebought ones! I did make my own dreamy vanilla whipped cream frosting, but even that is so easy to make it’s a joke. Let the mixer and the fridge do everything with this one – probably one of my easiest recipes ever!
With temperatures finally warming up, it’s time to start brainstorming spring and summery desserts to try and share. Since our new rental still doesn’t have central AC, I love finding no-bake desserts to add to my arsenal so I can still make really yummy treats for summer BBQ’s and get-togethers without roasting everyone inside. I’m a little nervous for Piper in the summer heat since her favorite place to lay is outside on the freezing cold concrete, but hopefully she’ll find a cold place next to a window unit to hang out. And I’ll keep experimenting with icebox cakes, because this was too good and easy not to try again.
For this icebox cake I used two packages of Pepperidge Farm’s Dark Chocolate Chip Nantucket Cookies (which are a personal fave of mine) and a homemade whipped cream sweetened with some sugar and vanilla. I think it’s best to use a crunchy cookie for this recipe because the whipped cream softens everything without making the cookies soggy. It was such a great combination – kind of like a giant chipwich sandwich with whipped cream instead of ice cream! I decorated the top with mini Chips Ahoy that I grabbed at checkout (total impulse buy), but I think it added the perfect playful touch. You could obviously use whatever type of cookies for a cake like this – the possibilities are endless!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake
Recipe adapted from Sweetest Menu
Ingredients:
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
18 large crunchy chocolate chip cookies (I used 2 packages of Pepperidge Farm Nantucket cookies)
Mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration, if desired
Directions:
Spray a 9" springform pan with nonstick spray and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fit with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla extract and whip for another minute.
Arrange a layer of chocolate chip cookies on the bottom of the cake pan. I broke up some cookies to fill in the gaps between the cookie circles, but the bottom doesn't have to be perfectly covered up. Add half of the whipped cream and spread evenly across the cookies. Repeat with another layer of cookies, and follow with the rest of the whipped cream. I used an offset spatula to put a spiral pattern on the top, and then decorated with a row of mini chocolate chips along the edge. Cover the pan and refrigerate for at least 8 hours before serving.
what size and type of pan?
Erica — April 19th, 2016 @ 9:32 am
A 9″ springform pan!