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My very favourite Ice Cream novelty hails from California, and it’s called the IT’S-IT. I used to buy them from my So-Cal high school cafeteria. No luck finding them here in the great white north.

Picture this: a large round of ice cream sandwiched between two oatmeal cookies and encased in a thin chocolate shell. My favourite ice-cream flavour was always mint! Though, I also dug the strawberry and coffee. And I ‘d be psyched to try their expanded line of flavours, like pumpkin and matcha.

While there are several IT’S-IT copy-cat recipes out there, I think mine’s a winner. First, I really dig my oatmeal cookie recipe [and so do the kids]. Second, while I don’t make my own ice cream, I do insist on making the ice cream patty LARGER than the cookie itself: that’s how the darned thing comes out of the factory! Third, I include the option of adding salt to my gourmet chocolate shell recipe. This last part’s not exactly canon. The IT’S-IT coating is NOT salty. But if you’re going to make a bespoke chocolate covered oatmeal-cookie ice cream sandwich, you might as well take it up a notch.

IT’S-IT Style Chocolate Covered Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- ~1.8 Litres of Ice Cream any flavour. Straight flavours or those with finer chopped mix-ins are the best. We used Roasted Marshmallow and Mint with fine chips.
SSJ's Best Oatmeal Cookies [the half recipe]
- Makes 20-22 You will 18-20 for the recipe
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/16 tsp cloves
- 1/16 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats or rolled oats [but not minute oats]
Gourmet Chocolate Shell
- 8 oz [225 grams] semi-sweet or dark chocolate
- 6 tbs [100 grams] coconut oil
- 1-2 generous pinches Maldon flake or other sea salt [OPTIONAL]
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preparation Essentials
- 9x13x2 Glass or Metal Baking Pan
- Plastic Wrap
- 3 inch Biscuit Cutter
- Wire Racks
Instructions
Prep and Portion the Ice Cream
- Allow ice cream to soften in its container on the counter for 20-30 minutes until it is soft enough to push with a spreader.
- Line the tin/baking pan with plastic wrap.
- Spread ice cream to 1 or 1 ¼ inch height across the baking sheet.
- Freeze for 1-2 hours.
- Cut 8 circlets with the 3-inch biscuit cutter.
- Rewrap each circlet in plastic.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours.
Make the Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a stand mixer or large bowl beat butter on medium to high until softened.
- Add brown sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt and beat until combined.
- Beat in eggs and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Beat in the flour.
- Beat in the oats.
- Drop dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets by proper tablespoonfuls (not rounded) 2 to 3 inches apart.
- Bake until lightly browned at edges and set in the centres, approximately 10 minutes.
- [If cookies are larger than 3 inches, trim with a biscuit cutter while still warm]
- Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack & cool completely.
Make the Chocolate Shell
- Over a double-boiler or in 20 second medium-power bursts in the microwave, melt the chocolate and the oil.
- Add the salt and vanilla and stir to combine.
Assemble the Sandwiches
- Place 8 cookies down on wire rack.
- Place a circlet og ice cream over the top so that it extends evenly over the edges of the cookie.
- Place a second cookie on top of the ice cream circlet.
- Pour the chocolate shell over the tops of the ice cream sandwiches.
- Dunk the bases of the cookies in a bowl of the magic shell, or flip and pour again.
- Return to freezer to harden completely, 15 minutes to an hour.
Notes
If you need to prep ahead of time, allow the sandwiches to thaw for 10-15 minutes or more so that cookies aren’t rock solid when you bite into them.


Enjoy!
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