Melted Ice Cream Cookies

By Wendy Sondov · Published: May 24, 2014 · Modified: Apr 13, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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The secret ingredient that makes Melted Ice Cream Cookies so tender, really is melted ice cream. Vary the flavor combinations using your choice of ice cream in these melt in your mouth treats!

Round cookies covered in multicolored nonpareils and a red candy on top like icecream scoops.

Why you'll love this recipe

I live in St. Louis, a renowned baseball town. Summer time and Cardinals red go hand in hand. It was a given then, that my June Military Care Package would have a baseball theme.

Whether the care package is team specific or generic, a baseball care package should bring a smile to the sports enthusiast and a reminder of home to our military heroes.

In addition to store bought, baseball themed items, this care package includes sugar cookies decorated like baseballs and Melted Ice Cream Cookies.

Melted Ice Cream Cookies are dense, but tender, balls of slightly sweet cookie, mildly flavored by the ice cream and baking chips of your choice. With a red M&M “cherry” on top, they even sort of look like slightly melted, sprinkle encased scoops of ice cream.

Powdered sugar gives the dough a melt-in-your-mouth feel while the sprinkles provide crunch. Flavor combinations are up to you.

I baked chocolate ice cream cookies with semi-sweet chocolate chips and vanilla ice cream cookies with butterscotch chips. Now I can say I sent ice cream to Afghanistan!

Decorated baseball care package and themed contents.

Care package contents

To set the mood, the flaps of the box are decorated with color photos of Cardinals players cut from the sports section of the newspaper.

The items in this box were chosen to invoke the tastes of traditional baseball stadium snacks. Peanuts (in a Cardinals logo bag) and Cracker Jacks are essential. When I found Cardinals Pez and Cardinals cookies, those had to be included too.

Slim Jim jerky is my hot dog substitute. Numerous web sites report that beef jerky is one of the items most frequently requested by deployed military, but be sure to check zip code restrictions to ensure that sending jerky is permitted.

I also included popcorn balls in baseball wrapping, sunflower seeds, Big League Chew gum and Big League Chew blow pops.

Decorated sugar cookies

Finally I am delivering on my promise to keep the decorating simple! Icing the sugar cookies to look like baseballs was the obvious choice for this care package.

I used the vanilla and chocolate sugar cookie recipes from Lilaloa (one batch each) and faux royal icing from Bakingdom (one batch for each design). (The same sugar cookies I used for my Birthday Cake Cookies and Snowmen.)

Decorating instructions on white icing press in guide lines, fill with lines and v's for red stitching.

The cookies are outlined, then flooded in white.
The remaining icing is colored red and is used to pipe the stitching on the baseballs. Allow the white icing to dry completely, preferably overnight, before piping on details.
After the white icing has dried completely, use a round cookie/biscuit cutter to gently imprint the curved lines. Trying to imprint the lines before the white icing is dry will cause cracks.
Pipe red icing over the guide lines and add small red v's on the lines for the stitching.

Stack of nonpareil covered cookies in an icecream dish.

Instructions for Melted Ice Cream Cookies

This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and confectioners sugar.
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour mixture with the butter/vegetable shortening until crumbly. Add the vanilla, egg, and melted ice cream. Process until a smooth dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few times to distribute the chips and chop them slightly.
Scoop the dough (it will be soft and sticky)into a disc shape on a piece of plastic wrap and freeze for one hour or until firm. Dough can also be refrigerated overnight to firm.
When ready to bake: Scoop a 2 tablespoon portion of dough. Using your hands roll the dough into a ball. Roll the ball in the sprinkles to coat.
Place the sprinkle coated dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet 2” apart. Gently press a red m&m onto the top of each cookie.
Bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees F until just firm to the touch.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Thick interior of a cookie showing dense crumb and chocolate chips.

More care package ideas

This dog care package contains a peanut butter dog treat recipe!

"Orange you glad you read this post!" This Orange themed care package is warm weather friendly and sure to cause smiles.

Snoopy's alter ego, Joe Cool, makes sure that this Stay Cool Care Package keeps heat relief in mind!

Seas the Day is an ocean themed care package with cookies and contents to match.

Cookies coated in red, white, blue patriotic jimmies sprinkles.

My experience with this recipe

It is summer in Afghanistan. Summer’s extreme heat prompted the creation of “desert safe guidelines” for care packages. Imagine a heat so intense, Jolly Ranchers arrive melted.

The purpose of following the guidelines is to send items that are least likely to melt, mold, or spoil. Some of the guidelines are obvious. A chocolate bar isn’t going to make it.

There are also guidelines that are perhaps less obvious. Vegetable shortening (Crisco) is the fat least likely to go rancid. White sugar is the sweetener least likely to promote mold.

To give your baked goods the best chance of arriving in the best possible condition during hot weather, I suggest switching to heat resistant ingredients and recipes that are created for hot weather shipping.

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