I’ve been on a circus animal cookie kick recently. After I made these cute Circus Animal Truffles and adorable Cheesecake Cups, a friend asked me, “Where can I buy circus animal cookie ice cream!?”
I quickly realized I’d never seen such a glorious concoction in a store before. So I quickly set to work on this incredibly easy and delicious Circus Animal Cookies Ice Cream recipe.
This no-churn recipe is made with pink and white frosted animal cookies and packed with extra sprinkles. It is perfect for a kid’s birthday party or a cute baby shower dessert. Or in my case, a sweet treat for the freezer than I eat straight from the container.
More Recipes With Circus Animals Cookies
– Adorable No-Bake Circus Animal Cookie Truffles
– Circus Animal Cookie Cheesecake Cups
Ingredients for Circus Animal Cookies Ice Cream
Here is everything you’ll need to make this circus animal ice cream, along with a few suggestions.
- Frosted Circus Animal Cookies
- Not to be confused with iced animal cookies or iced animal crackers with sprinkles! You want the real deal for this recipe. Pink and White Frosted Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies are one of the best and well-known brands.
- Heavy whipping cream. It comes in a little carton and can be found near the milk in the grocery store.
- Sweetened condensed milk. You can find a small can of this in the baking aisle.
- Vanilla paste or extract
- I highly recommend using vanilla paste instead of extract. The flavor and aroma are amazing. One thing to be aware of is that the paste has tiny flecks of real vanilla bean in it. The tiny vanilla bean bits will be visible in your final product. I personally like the look of the flecks. I think it’s kinda fancy! A couple of brands that I personally use and recommend are Neilsen-Massey and Cambie Confections.
- Pink food coloring
- I achieved the gorgeous pink color in this recipe with only a few drops of food coloring. I’ve used all types of food coloring in the past, but AmeriColor are at the top of my list. The colors are so vibrant and the consistency of the gel makes it really easy to add just a drop at a time. The colors blend quickly and easily. I highly recommend you give them a try. Tons of colors and sets are available on Amazon.
- Nonpareil sprinkles
You may also like:
– eCreamery Ice Cream Review: Personalized Pints!
– Nick’s Swedish Ice Cream Review: Healthy AND Delicious?
– Unicorn Party Dip
How to make Circus Animal Cookies Ice Cream
Step 1: Get Ready
First things first, you’ll want to grab the right tools for the job. You’ll need:
- A cutting board and knife for chopping the cookies
- An electric hand mixer, stand mixer or a good old-fashioned whisk
- Two large mixing bowls
- One large serving bowl or container. It will need to:
- hold about 6 cups of liquid, like this one
- fit in your freezer and be freezer-safe
- and be suitable for your occasion if you plan to serve at a party. These pink polka dot paper containers are really cute!
Step 2: Chill Your Serving Dish
Next, put the serving container in the freezer to get it nice and cold.
Step 3: Chop The Circus Cookies
Grab your cutting board and knife and give the cookies a rough chop. They should be about the size that you’d like to bite into when taking a scoop of ice cream.
We’re going to play a little game of musical bowls here so stick with me!
Step 4: Combine The Main Ingredients
Grab your first bowl and add the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and chopped cookies.
Step 5: Make the Whipping Cream
In the other bowl, add the heavy whipping cream. Using your preferred method (electric hand mixer, stand mixer or whisk), whip the cream until stiff peaks form.
Step 6: Combine The Mixtures
Add about a cup of the whipped cream to the first bowl and fold it gently into the condensed milk mixture. Then add the remaining whipped cream and incorporate well. Work quickly, but gently.
Step 7: Color The Mixture Pink
Now transfer about half of the combined mixture back to the other bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring until you achieve a beautiful pastel pink color.
Step 8: Assemble The Ice Cream Layers
The next step is to assemble the white and pink ice cream bases and add in the sprinkles and extra cookie chunks if desired. Add a layer of white ice cream to the serving bowl, then go crazy with sprinkles on top and more cookie chunks.
Next add a good layer of pink ice cream base and add more sprinkles and cookies Alternate colors until all ice cream base is used up.
Step 9: Create A Swirl Pattern
Gently run a knife through the ice cream to create a pretty swirl pattern. Be careful not to over-mix or the colors will start to bleed from the nonpareil sprinkles.
Step 10: Top With More Sprinkles
Now top it all off with extra cookies crumbs or whole circus animal cookies and of course, lots more sprinkles.
Step 11: Freeze and Serve
Put the container back in the freezer for 4-6 hours or until firm.
Now scoop it up, add to cute serving dishes and enjoy!
If you love this PINK AND WHITE CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIES ICE CREAM RECIPE,
please consider sharing to Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
More quick and easy recipes you’ll enjoy:
Pink and White Circus Animal Ice Cream
Not only is this ice cream cute and delicious, it's incredibly easy to make. Every bite is packed with sweet circus animal cookie flavor that will bring you back to your childhood.
Ingredients
- 30-40 circus animal cookies, chopped
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 TB vanilla paste or extract
- pink food coloring
- nonpareil sprinkles
Instructions
- Grab a bowl or container that will hold 6 cups of liquid and place it in the freezer. This will be the container that you store and/or serve your ice cream in.
- Place circus animal cookies on a cutting board and give them a rough chop. Set about about a half cup of chopped cookies and some whole cookies for later.
- Next, get 2 large bowls. In one, pour the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and chopped cookies.
- In the other bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
- Add about a cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk bowl and fold in gently. Add in the remainder of the whipped cream and quickly fold into the mixture.
- Transfer half of the mixture back to the original bowl. Add several drops of food coloring until you achieve a pretty pastel pink color that is similar to the color of the pink animal cookies.
- Remove your serving dish from the freezer. Add a layer of the white mixture to the dish, add some sprinkles. You can also add extra cookie chunks if desired. Then add a pink layer and some sprinkles. Alternate colors until all of the ice cream base is used up.
- Run a knife through your mixture a few times to create a swirl pattern. Be careful not to over mix or the colors will start to blend too much and the color from the sprinkles will bleed.
- Add more sprinkles. some crushed cookie crumbs and/or whole cookies to the top for garnish.
- Put the serving dish back in the freezer. Freeze for 4-6 hours or until firm. Scoop it up, serve in cute bowls and enjoy!
Notes
- I highly recommend using vanilla paste instead of extract. The flavor and aroma are amazing. A couple brands that I personally use and recommend are Neilsen-Massey and Cambie Confections.
Micky Reed, a two-decade veteran in the food and baking industry, leverages her influential Three Snackateers food blog and Instagram presence to collaborate with industry giants like Ben & Jerry's and Crumbl Cookies. Her work has been featured on Delish, PopSugar and more. Her expertise as a product curator for one of the world's largest international snack subscription box companies solidifies her status as a key player in the field.