Samoas cookies are great, but when you can’t have the real thing, a pint or two of Samoas Ice Cream, which Dreyers/Edys makes, can be a good stand in. The ice cream is vanilla caramel, with chunks of Samoas cookies and a fudge swirl. The flavors are basic – vanilla, caramel, coconut, chocolate and shortbread – and it’s easy to put them together into a homemade version of the ice cream.
Homemade Samoas are just too good to sacrifice into ice cream – although some might say that you’re just combining two of a good thing into an even better thing – after you take the time to make a batch from scratch . I prefer to put these flavors together in pieces because you get all the same flavors and it’s a whole lot easier. So, I used homemade vanilla ice cream as a base for a caramel and toasted coconut swirl and chunks of chocolate-dipped shortbread pieces.
The ice cream is a no cook recipe that uses milk and sweetened condensed milk. The sweetened condensed milk adds just about all the sugar that the ice cream needs, and also adds a hint of caramel flavor to the ice cream. If you don’t want to make this from scratch yourself, you can also start this recipe with about a half gallon of your favorite brand of vanilla ice cream.
I toasted the coconut, mixed it into some homemade caramel sauce and swirled it into the ice cream. For this particular batch, I actually used shortbread girl scout cookies that I dipped into melted dark chocolate. Again, any type of shorbread or butter cookie will work here. Stir the cookies into the softened ice cream along with the swirl. Let everything set up for a little bit in the freezer and you’re ready for a big bowl of Samoas.
Homemade Samoas Ice Cream
3-oz dark chocolate, melted
approx 12 shortbread cookies
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 1/2 cups milk (pref. whole)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup caramel sauce
2/3 cup toasted coconut
Dip shortbread cookies in melted chocolate and place on a sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate until chocolate is form, about 20 minutes.
Whisk sweetened condensed milk, milk, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until blended. Chill for 15 minutes.
Pour ice cream mixture into ice cream maker and prepare according to the machine’s directions. When the ice cream is done, transfer to a large freezer-safe container. Chop chocolate-dipped shortbread cookies and stir into ice cream. Stir together caramel sauce and toasted coconut and drizzle into ice cream to create a swirl.
Chill for at least 45 minutes in the freezer before serving to allow ice cream to set up.
Note: Do not use melted caramels as they will not remain soft in the ice cream. A homemade caramel sauce (recipe soon!) or store-bought caramel ice cream sauce is your best bet here.
Yes, you do need an ice cream maker for this recipe, but you can start with store bought vanilla ice cream instead if you like.
