Do you want to know one way that I know if a recipe is a success? If my kids love it. That may sound silly, but my kids are some of my best critics. Thankfully these strawberry shortcake ice cream bars didn’t disappoint. The boys love strawberry ice cream, so they kept begging for more. Because these homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bars are small, they’re the perfect portion size, especially for kids, but for adults too! These delectable strawberry shortcake bars consist of creamy strawberry ice cream coated with shortbread cookies and strawberry crumbs. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Think back to your time in school. Did you have those strawberry shortcake popsicles available to buy in the school cafeteria? Or maybe the ice cream truck drove through your neighborhood selling them. No matter where they were, I loved them. Did you love them too? My homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bar recipe makes them even better. You’ll never want to buy a box of those from the store again. Once you try this strawberry shortcake dessert bar, you’ll want it to be a part of your daily diet. Let’s learn how to make this amazing recipe with great taste!
What Ingredients Do I Need to Make Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars?
You may be thinking this sounds not very easy, but it doesn’t have to be a whole thing! With only a few ingredients needed, you can make these delicious strawberry shortcake bars in no time. This creamy ice cream, topped with an irresistible strawberry shortcake crumb coating and featuring fresh strawberries, is the perfect summer dessert.
For the Ice Cream:
- fresh, juicy strawberries hulled and diced small
- sugar
- heavy whipping cream
- vanilla extract
- sweetened condensed milk
For the Topping:
- shortbread cookies, or any vanilla cookie (Lorna Doones or Nilla Wafers are a great option)
- freeze-dried strawberries
How to Hull a Strawberry
For recipes like this one, it’s important to hull your strawberries before dicing them and adding them to your bowl. In order to hull a strawberry, you’ll need a knife. Dip the knife into the green leafy part at the top of the strawberry. Simply dig it out by slowly turning the strawberry and coring it. You should have a little bit of a hole at the top where the green leafy part was. Now the strawberry is hulled.
What Equipment Do I Need to Make Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars?
- blender or food processor
- 2 cookie sheets
- hand mixer or standing mixer with a whisk attachment
- large mixing bowl
- rubber spatula
- popsicle molds – I love these popsicle molds. The molds are made of plastic that is BPA-free, and it comes with an aluminum covering too. The molds hold 10 popsicles at a time. Simply pour in your liquid, put the top on, and then slide a popsicle stick into each holder (24 of them are included). When your treat is ready to eat, it’s easy to remove the popsicles and clean the mold.
How to Make the Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars Recipe
For the Ice Cream Bars:
1. In a large bowl, mix together the cold condensed milk and vanilla. Set aside.
2. Using a food processor or blender, lightly puree the strawberries and sugar until they have just broken down into a textured puree. There should be no large chunks left. If you don’t have a food processor you can mash the strawberries and sugar by hand until they are broken down. Set aside.
3. In the large bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or a bowl with an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream to form firm, stiff peaks.
4. Once you’ve reached firm, stiff peaks, fold the mixture into the vanilla and cold condensed milk mixture.
5. Next, fold the strawberry puree into the ice cream base. This creates the sweet strawberry taste throughout the bars.
6. Using a spoon, divide the strawberry ice cream mixture between the wells of the popsicle molds. Be sure to leave some room at the top for the ice cream to expand and to insert the popsicle stick.
7. Wipe off any ice cream that may have spilled on the metal parts.
8. Place your top on the popsicle mold then insert the sticks into each bar.
9. Carefully transfer to the freezer and freeze the ice cream bars for a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight.
Make the Cookie Crumbs:
1. Place the cookies in the food processor and pulse them into a medium crumb. Set aside.
2. Add the freeze-dried berries to the cookie crumbs then pulse until you’re left with fine crumbs.
Coating the Ice Cream Bars:
1. Transfer the cookie crumb to a cookie sheet lined with parchment and set it aside.
2. Put parchment paper on another large baking sheet and set it aside.
3. Remove the ice cream bars from the freezer. Run the mold under hot water until you see the sides of the ice cream bars releasing from the mold.
4. One at a time, lay the ice cream bars on the cookie sheet with the cookie crumbs. Gently press the shortcake pieces onto all sides of the bars, ensuring they are evenly coated.
5. Once coated, place the ice cream bars on a clean cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and return to the freezer to set for 30-40 minutes.
6. Remove from the freezer and enjoy! Cover and store the ice cream bars in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Tips and Tricks:
- Pour ice cream into a zip lock bag, cut off the tip of one side, and slowly squeeze ice cream into the wells of the ice cream molds, if you want less mess.
- If you don’t have enough popsicle wells in your popsicle mold tray, pour the remaining ice cream into a ziplock bag, seal, and store it in the fridge until the first batch of bars is done. Then pour the remaining ice cream into the empty wells and freeze.
- If left in hot water too long, the ice cream will completely melt. You can slightly wiggle the popsicle stick to test if they are ready to release. Be careful not to pull too hard or the popsicle stick will come out.
How Long Do Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars Keep?
If they are kept in an airtight container, the strawberry shortcake bars will last for 2 weeks.
How Do I Store Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars?
I always recommend an airtight container to help with the longevity and freshness of my desserts.
Did you love this homemade strawberry shortcake ice cream bar recipe? Looking for other easy dessert recipes? We also have this flavor in no churn ice cream! Check out our no churn strawberry shortcake ice cream!
Check out these quick links to view other easy recipes featuring flavors of ice cream that can be turned into ice cream bars:
–No Churn Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
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Coffee and Brownies,
Ashley Rae
Homemade Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars Recipe
These delectable strawberry shortcake bars consist of creamy strawberry ice cream coated with shortbread cookies and strawberry crumbs. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and diced small
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups shortbread cookies, or any vanilla cookie (lorna doones or nilla wafers)
- ⅓ cup freeze dried strawberries
Instructions
For the ice cream bars:
- In a large bowl, mix together the cold condensed milk and vanilla. Set aside.
- Using a food processor or blender, lightly puree the strawberries and sugar until they have just broken down into a textured puree. There should be no large chunks left. If you don't have a food processor you can mash the strawberries and sugar by hand until they are broken down. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer standing mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cream to firm peaks.
- Once you've reached firm peaks, fold mixture into the vanilla and cold condensed milk mixture.
- Next, Fold the strawberry puree into the ice cream base.
- Using a spoon, divide the strawberry ice cream mixture between the wells of the popsicle molds. Be sure to leave some room at the top for the ice cream to expand and to insert the popsicle stick.
- Wipe off any ice cream that may have spilled on the metal parts.
- Place your top on the popsicle mold then insert the sticks in each bar.
- Carefully transfer to the freezer and freeze the ice cream bars for a minimum of 6 hours but preferably overnight.
Make the cookie crumb:
1. Place the cookies in the food processor and pulse them into a medium crumb. Set aside.
2. Add in the freeze-dried berries to the cookie crumbs then pulse until you're left with fine crumbs.
Coating the Ice Cream Bars:
1. Transfer the cookie crumb to a cookie sheet lined with parchment and set aside.
2. Put parchment paper on another large baking sheet and set aside.
3. Remove the ice cream bars from the freezer. Run the mold under hot water until you see the sides of the ice cream bars releasing from the mold.
4. One at a time, lay the ice cream bars on the cookie sheet with the cookie crumbs. Gently press the crumbs onto all sides of the bars, ensuring they are evenly coated.
5. Once coated, place the ice cream bars on a clean cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and return to the freezer to set for 30-40 minutes.
6. Remove from the freezer and enjoy! Cover and store the ice cream bars in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Yields: 12 bars
Notes
- Pour ice cream into a zip lock bag, cut off the tip of one side, and slowly squeeze ice cream into the wells of the ice cream molds, if you want less mess.
- If you don't have enough popsicle wells in your popsicle mold tray, pour remaining ice cream into a zip lock bag, seal, and store in the fridge until first batch of bars are done. Then pour remaining ice cream into the empty wells and freeze.
- If left in hot water too long, the ice cream will completely melt. You can slightly wiggle the popsicle stick to test if they are ready to release. Be careful not to pull too hard or the popsicle stick will come out.
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