Cookie Butter Ice Cream

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Even better than Trader Joe’s cookie butter ice cream, this homemade cookie butter ice cream has crunchy pieces of Biscoff cookies embedded in a cookie butter swirl. Every bite has the perfect balance of warm spices, crunchy cookies, and sweet cookie butter! It’s one of the perfect desserts to bridge the gap between summer and fall, just like my cinnamon graham ice cream.

This ice cream is made for Biscoff lovers who simply can’t get enough of the sweet, spiced cookies this time of year—or any time of year! The brown sugar custard base has a mild cookie butter flavor that really complements the crunchy Biscoff ripple. If you love my mini Biscoff cheesecakes, this Biscoff ice cream is going to be one of your new favorite ice creams.

A cone with a double scoop of homemade cookie butter ice cream. — Fresh out of the freezer, this copycat cookie butter ice cream is studded with pieces of Biscoff cookies and a swirl of cookie butter!

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Ingredients for Speculoos Frozen Custard

The speculoos cookie butter makes all the difference to transform the brown sugar cinnamon custard base into a cookie butter base, but you only need a little bit! Ice cream making is a science, so I’ve listed what each ingredient does and substitutions (where possible) below:

Brown sugar. The hint of molasses in brown sugar complements the warm spices really nicely, and I don’t recommend reducing the sugar content in ice cream.
Heavy cream. The fat in heavy cream is essential to give us creamy frozen custard with a perfectly scoopable consistency.
Whole milk. This is the place for indulgence—whole milk contains enough fat to make ice cream creamy. Using lower fat milk will give you an icier result.
Cinnamon. A teaspoon in the custard helps to accentuate the speculoos flavor.
Salt. A pinch enhances flavors and balances the sweetness.
Egg yolks. By tempering the egg yolks in hot cream, we end up with a really rich but simple cookie butter custard base.
Vanilla bean paste or extract. Either one will work well here. I used Bourbon vanilla bean paste, but extract would be just fine.
Biscoff or speculoos cookies. I’ve tested this recipe with finely processed and roughly crushed Biscoff cookies, and both versions turned out great to a crunch to every bite.
Cookie butter. To keep the speculoos cookies crunchy in the ice cream, coat them in melted cookie butter. This creates a barrier that prevents the ice cream from making the cookie pieces soggy.

Ingredients needed to make cookie butter ice cream on a counter. — With just a handful of ingredients, this homemade Biscoff ice cream comes together simply!

My Favorite Equipment for Making Homemade Ice Cream

You will need to use an ice cream maker for velvety smooth frozen custard. I use Cuisinart’s 1.5-quart ice cream maker, but you can also use the KitchenAid ice cream bowl or a fancier compressor model. It is possible to make traditional cinnamon ice cream recipes in a Ninja Creami, but I don’t have one myself to test them.

I like to store my ice cream in long, reusable ice cream containers with silicone seals. The seal keeps the ice cream fresh, and the length makes it easy to get picture-perfect scoops of ice cream for cones and bowls. And, as a bonus, these ones come with stickers to label your ice cream!

If you don’t already have an ice cream scoop you like, my husband found this heavy-duty ice cream scoop a few years ago, and it’s been our go-to ever since.

How to Make Homemade Biscoff Ice Cream

If you’ve never made a custard before, you’re in good hands! I want you to make this homemade Biscoff ice cream successfully the first time, so I’ve included tons of tips below. This section will provide an overview of how to make a cookie butter custard so that you feel prepared. I recommend at least skimming these instructions for the best chance of success.

Make the Cookie Butter Custard Base

First, combine heavy cream, whole milk, cookie butter, cinnamon, salt, and half of the brown sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir occasionally while the cookie butter and sugar melt into the mixture. Let it warm up until it’s just about steaming but not yet boiling.

Cream and milk are poured into a medium pot with cookie butter and brown sugar. — Once the cookie butter and brown sugar have melted, the cinnamon will dissolve into the cream mixture.

A spatula stirs cookie butter cream in a pot over the stove. — Once the cookie butter and brown sugar have melted, the cinnamon will dissolve into the cream mixture.

Next, whisk together egg yolks and the remaining brown sugar in a large, heat-safe bowl. The mixture will be a dark yellow-brown at the start, but it will get lighter as you whisk more air into the batter. After about 2 minutes of whisking, the mixture should be light brown and airy.

It’s up to you if you want to whisk the eggs to the ribbon stage because some recipes don’t call for it. However, I find that by incorporating just a little more air into the eggs, it makes them less likely to curdle.

Four yolks and brown sugar in a glass bowl. — By whisking air into the egg yolks and sugar, you can prevent the eggs from curdling during tempering.

Aerated egg yolks flow off a whisk and into a glass bowl. — By whisking air into the egg yolks and sugar, you can prevent the eggs from curdling during tempering.

Tempering the Egg Yolks

Next, slowly stream the warm cookie butter cream into the ribboned yolks a Tablespoon or two at a time, whisking constantly. When a splash of cream has been fully incorporated, add another splash and stir until combined.

Repeat this process until you’ve added about half of the cookie butter cream to the yolk mixture. Then, pour the tempered yolk mixture into the pot with the rest of the cookie butter cream. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to remove any remaining spices and liquid, and return the pot to medium heat.

Cook the cookie butter custard over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened slightly. To be safe, use an instant read thermometer to verify that it has reached 170°F/75°C. Or, use the tried and true old-school method of seeing if the custard coats the back of a spoon.

Once thickened, immediately remove the custard from heat to prevent it from overcooking and curdling the eggs.

Cookie butter cream is whisked slowly into ribboned egg yolks. — Slowly and carefully pour in a little cookie butter custard to the ribboned yolks at a time, whisking constantly. When fully tempered, transfer the custard to the pot to finish cooking over the stove.

An instant-read thermometer in a pot with cookie butter custard reads 170°F. — Slowly and carefully pour in a little cookie butter custard to the ribboned yolks at a time, whisking constantly. When fully tempered, transfer the custard to the pot to finish cooking over the stove.

Chilling the Cookie Butter Custard

Add vanilla bean paste or extract to the Biscoff custard, and stir to combine. Depending on how quickly you’d like to churn your ice cream, you can either chill the custard in the fridge or an ice bath. It’s always best to churn a totally chilled custard base, especially if you have a compressor-model ice cream maker.

If chilling in an ice bath, leave the custard uncovered and nest it in a larger bowl filled with ice water. Stir occasionally over the next hour, and replenish the ice if needed.

If chilling in the fridge (what I did here), cover the custard with a lid or plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours, or until the bottom of the bowl is cold to the touch.

A hand pours vanilla bean paste into a bowl of cookie butter ice cream base. — I like to add my vanilla extract after the custard has cooked completely. It helps keep the more delicate flavor nuances of the vanilla intact. Then, chill until cold to the touch.

Two hands place a lid over a large bowl filled with cookie butter custard. — I like to add my vanilla extract after the custard has cooked completely. It helps keep the more delicate flavor nuances of the vanilla intact. Then, chill until cold to the touch.

How to Make a Crunchy Biscoff Mix-in

Use a food processor (or a plastic bag and a rolling pin) to crush the Biscoff cookies. I have tested this recipe with fine crumbs and rough pieces, and both work really well! The finely ground Biscoff cookies result in a ripple similar to the crunchy version of Biscoff spread (I assume—I haven’t been able to find it in any stores around here). The rough pieces add a little more crunch.

Once processed to your desired consistency, transfer to an airtight container and set aside until you are ready to churn the Biscoff ice cream.

Biscoff cookies are added into a food processor. — Add Biscoff cookies to a food processor and blitz to your desired consistency. Both finely and roughly processed crumbs will work well in this ripple.

A hand holds up roughly processed Biscoff cookies. — Add Biscoff cookies to a food processor and blitz to your desired consistency. Both finely and roughly processed crumbs will work well in this ripple.

How to Churn Homemade Biscoff Ice Cream

Right before adding your chilled cookie butter ice cream base to your ice cream maker, place the ice cream container you plan to use in the freezer.

Pour the custard into your ice cream maker, and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until the ice cream forms rounded domes above the sides of the paddle. It usually takes my ice cream maker about 20 minutes for this specific ice cream to churn completely.

While the custard is churning, melt a little cookie butter and stir it into your processed cookie crumbs. If your crumbs are on the larger side, it will turn clumpy, but that’s okay!

Get Scoopable Ice Cream Every Time

To prevent your ice cream from freezing quite as hard, you can increase the overrun. Overrun, in regards to ice cream, is the amount of air you churn into the custard while it’s freezing. Rather than going by time (as manufacturers often suggest), try going by look instead. I always churn my ice cream until I see large, rounded domes above the paddle of your ice cream maker. See the image below for an example.

Cookie butter custard is poured into an ice cream maker. — Pour the chilled cookie butter custard into your ice cream maker, then churn for about 20 minutes, until you see rounded domes of ice cream form over the paddle.

Fully churned cookie butter ice cream in an ice cream maker. — Pour the chilled cookie butter custard into your ice cream maker, then churn for about 20 minutes, until you see rounded domes of ice cream form over the paddle.

How to Make a Crunchy Cookie Butter Ripple in Ice Cream

Retrieve your chilled container from the freezer, start scooping your churned cookie butter ice cream into it. Once you have covered the bottom with ice cream, add a few spoonfuls of the cookie butter mix-in.

Repeat this process twice more, so you have six layers (three of ice cream and three of the mix-in). Scrape out any remaining ice cream with a heavy-duty spatula, and spread it evenly across the top.

Use a knife or smaller spoon to swirl the cookie butter mix-in from side to side and up and down the container a couple times. Cover the container and freeze for at least four hours (though preferably overnight) to ensure that the ice cream has set completely. Then, enjoy!

A four-part graphic with images showing how to layer cookies into ice cream. — Scoop some of the ice cream into the container, then add a few spoonfuls of the Biscoff mix-in over it. Repeat two more times, then gently swirl together with a spoon or knife before freezing.

FAQs about Biscoff Ice Cream

Could I substitute granulated sugar for the brown sugar in this ice cream?

You could, though I think the flavor of the brown sugar adds a little something extra!

How much ice cream does this homemade cookie butter ice cream recipe make?

This recipe makes about 1.5 quarts with the Biscoff cookie swirl.

Can I add more mix-ins, like white chocolate chips?

I’d recommend keeping the addition to about ¼ cup and using small pieces of chocolate. Full-sized chocolate chips get really hard when frozen in ice cream, so I prefer to use mini chocolate chips myself.

How can I make sure the Biscoff cookies stay crunchy?

If you follow the recipe and coat your cookie crumbs in cookie butter, that will prevent the cookies from getting soggy in the ice cream!

Freshly made Biscoff ice cream with cookie butter swirls. — Once frozen, this cookie butter ice cream is ready to enjoy!

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

I love ice cream of all forms, but frozen custard is my favorite to make at home. For more fall ice cream recipes, try my brown sugar cinnamon ice cream with a graham cracker ripple or my pumpkin ice cream with crispy pie crust pieces!

For more cinnamon-centric desserts, you might like my easy banana bread with a cinnamon sugar crust, apple snickerdoodle cake, chai-spiced caramel muffins, or mini apple pies with caramel.

Dish Cleanup: Dish Mountain

I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.

This Biscoff cookie butter ice cream has a cleanup rating of a 5. My heavier cleanup recipes are usually layer cakes and macarons, but the food processor takes this ice cream recipe over into that category, too. There’s the ice cream bowl, the mixing bowl, a medium pot, the food processor bowl, and other smaller vessels for your ingredients.

That said, this is probably my favorite ice cream I’ve made—I like it even more than my brown sugar cinnamon ice cream! So, in my opinion, it’s still worth the dishes.

Dishes used to make cookie butter ice cream. — This looks like a lot of dishes for an ice cream recipe, but the crunchy Biscoff pieces in this cookie butter frozen custard make it worth it.

Biscoff Cookie Butter Swirl Ice Cream

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If you make this cookie butter ice cream and love it, please don’t forget to rate the recipe five stars—even better if you leave a short review!

Yield: about 1.5 quarts

Homemade Cookie Butter Ice Cream

With crunchy pieces of Biscoff cookies embedded in cookie butter swirls, this homemade Biscoff ice cream is even better than Trader Joe's cookie butter ice cream!

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Additional Time 8 hours

Total Time 9 hours

Ingredients

For the Biscoff Cookie Butter Ice Cream

¾ cup brown sugar, packed (160 g)
¼ cup cookie butter (60 g)
1 ½ cups heavy cream (350 ml)
1 ½ cups whole milk (350 ml)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt (1 g)
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract (5 ml)

For the Cookie Butter Swirl*

16 Biscoff cookies
¼ cup cookie butter (60 g)

Instructions

To Make the Biscoff Custard Base

In a medium pot over medium heat, stir together half of the brown sugar (about ⅓ cup or 80 g), cookie butter, heavy cream, whole milk, cinnamon, and salt. Stir occasionally for 8-10 minutes, until the cream mixture is warm and steamy. Some of the cinnamon will float at the top rather than incorporating; that's okay.
Meanwhile, whisk together four yolks and the remaining half of the brown sugar in a large heat-safe bowl. Whisk for about a minute until the yolk mixture thickens to the ribbon stage (where the mixture falls off the whisk in ribbons that are clearly visible on the top of the batter before disappearing back into the mixture).
Remove the warm cream mixture from heat and carefully pour about 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30 ml) into the yolk mixture at a time, whisking vigorously until incorporated. Repeat 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30 ml) at a time until you've added about half of the cream mixture.
Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream mixture and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or reaches 170°F/75°C, about 5-10 minutes. Do not let the custard boil.**
Pour the custard into a large heat-safe bowl. (I always use the same one the egg yolk mixture was in, but you're welcome to use a clean bowl.)
Stir in the vanilla bean paste or extract, then cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least four hours or up to one day, until the mixture is cold to the touch.

To Make the Biscoff Cookie Butter Ripple

The day you plan to churn the ice cream, crush the Biscoff cookies in a food processor (or plastic bag with a rolling pin). You can crush the cookies finely for a more uniform ripple, or crush them roughly for larger cookie pieces. Store in an airtight container and set aside.

To Churn the Cookie Butter Frozen Custard

Place the container in which you'll store the ice cream in the freezer.
Once chilled, pour the Biscoff custard into a ice cream maker. Churn according to manufacturer's instructions, until the ice cream forms rounded domes over the paddle. It usually takes around 20 minutes.
While the ice cream is churning, heat the cookie butter for the ripple in a small bowl until just melted, then stir in the cookie crumbs. It will look something like natural or crunchy peanut butter, depending on the size of the cookie pieces.
Transfer the cookie butter cream to your chilled container in stages: Layer about a third of the ice cream on the bottom of the container, then top with a few spoonfuls of the cookie butter ripple on top. Add another layer of ice cream, followed by another few spoonfuls of chunky cookie butter. Add the remaining ice cream, then top with any leftover chunky cookie butter. To swirl the filling, run a spoon or knife side to side and up and down the length of the container.
For cookie butter soft serve, enjoy right away. For traditional speculoos cookie butter ice cream, cover and freeze for at least four hours to allow the ice cream to firm up before serving.

Notes

*This will make a crunchy Biscoff cookie butter spread. If you can find crunchy Biscoff spread, feel free to simply use that instead!

**If the custard boils, the egg yolks may curdle. However, if it happens, it's recoverable: Simply pass the ice cream through a fine mesh strainer to catch any lumps before chilling.

This cookie butter ice cream and the Biscoff ripple will have the best flavor and texture when eaten within a week. Store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months.