Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches -- The Cookies That Disappeared by Eleven

Liam cruising now—pulling to standing and moving sideways along the furniture with the careful lateral progress of someone learning a new skill. He made it from the couch to the coffee table to the chair in one unbroken chain on Sunday and looked back at me from the chair with the expression of a man who has just crossed a finish line. I clapped. Sean clapped from the kitchen. Liam looked at both of us and then looked at what was on the chair, which was a TV remote, and reached for the remote with complete focus.

The goal was never the chair. The goal was the remote. Motive is everything.

Christmas cards this year are the first with Liam in them. Sean made the reservation at Portrait Innovations three weeks ago—I would never have done this on my own because I find professional baby photos somewhat excessive but Sean wanted them and I am not made of stone and Liam in the cable-knit sweater Maureen sent is genuinely beautiful. We sat on the floor of the portrait studio with Liam between us and the photographer made noises to get Liam to look at the camera and Liam ignored the noises and looked at the studio lights instead and the photo that came out is the two of us looking at Liam looking at the lights and it is better than if he had looked at the camera.

I made a big batch of molasses cookies for the nurses I work with—the recipe from my grandmother, soft in the middle, rolled in sugar—and brought them in on Monday and they were gone by eleven. Margaret, my crossword patient, had three. I let her have three. It's December. The markers are down. She's earned three molasses cookies.

The molasses cookies I brought in on Monday got me thinking about what makes a cookie truly disappear — and the answer is always the same: soft centers, a little warmth from spice, and the knowledge that someone made them on purpose for you. These oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwiches have that same energy, and if you’re making a big batch for a holiday crowd (or a nurses’ station, or a Margaret who has absolutely earned three), they deliver every time. Consider them the festive follow-up to whatever your grandmother’s recipe was.

Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 1 hr (includes freezing) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream (or flavor of choice), slightly softened

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
3. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla extract until combined.
4. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Gradually stir into the butter mixture.
5. Fold in oats. Stir in rolled oats until evenly incorporated. Dough will be thick.
6. Portion and bake. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each ball slightly with the back of a spoon. Bake 10–12 minutes, until edges are set but centers still look just underdone. Do not overbake — soft centers are the goal.
7. Cool completely. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely before assembling — at least 30 minutes.
8. Assemble sandwiches. Match cookies into pairs of similar size. Scoop about 1/4 cup softened ice cream onto the flat side of one cookie, then press the second cookie on top, flat side down. Squeeze gently until ice cream reaches the edges.
9. Freeze to set. Place assembled sandwiches on a parchment-lined tray and freeze for at least 30 minutes before serving. Wrap individually in plastic wrap for storage.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 57g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg