Happy Friday! With the start of September, it finally feels a little more like fall. Even though the weather here is still pretty warm, I didn’t want to let that stop me from making some fall treats. So I’m excited to share these Pumpkin Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches! Just like the ones at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, these ice cream sandwiches have delicious pumpkin cookies, vanilla ice cream, and fun fall sprinkles!
This recipe comes straight from the Disney Parks and so these pumpkin cookie ice cream sandwiches are exactly like the ones found in Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Dino-Bite Snacks! They’re pretty straightforward to make as the only baking they require are the cookies.
To start, make the pumpkin cookies by combining the flour, spices, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat the butter, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and the brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat on low speed until combined. Add the pumpkin purée and beat on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. On low speed, beat in the flour mixture until combined.
Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the dough into balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Chill the dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 325 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Pour the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar into a small bowl. Roll the chilled cookie dough balls into the sugar and then place onto the prepared baking sheets, 2-3 inches apart.
Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes, until the edges are browned and the centers begin to set. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
While you can make the ice cream sandwiches with just the cookies and ice cream, in the Disney Parks, they’re decorated with fun fall sprinkles. These colorful leaf sprinkles are the most similar to the ones used in the Disney Parks, but you can use any kind of sprinkles you have. For my sandwiches, I used some fall leaf sprinkles I had leftover from an autumn Wilton sprinkle set.
First, place your sprinkles on a plate. Then, place one scoop of ice cream between two cookies and gently press them together until the ice cream spreads out to the edges of the cookies. Vanilla ice cream is used at the Parks, but you could also use other flavors, like chocolate or caramel. Roll the edges in the sprinkles and then enjoy!
Happy Fall!
Pumpkin Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookies
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup pumpkin purée
Ice Cream Sandwiches
- 4 (1/2 cup) scoops vanilla ice cream (or ice cream of choice)
- 1/2 cup fall/autumn sprinkles
Instructions
Pumpkin Cookies
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter, ½ cup of the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar until light and creamy, 1-2 minutes.
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Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat on low speed until combined.
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Add the pumpkin purée and beat on low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Add the flour mixture and beat until combined.
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Using a ¼ cup measure, scoop the dough into 8 balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheet and chill for 1 hour.
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Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Pour remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar into a medium bowl.
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Roll chilled the cookie dough balls into granulated sugar and place on prepared baking sheets, 2-3 inches apart.
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Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes until edges are browned and centers begin to set. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Assembly
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Pour the fall/autumn sprinkles onto a large plate.
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Place 1 scoop of ice cream between two cookies and gently press until ice cream spreads out to the edges of the cookies. Roll edges of cookie sandwich in the fall/autumn sprinkles.
Recipe Notes
recipe courtesy of the Disney Parks