Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar Recipe

By
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
Leah Maroney
A recipe developer and food photographer, Leah Maroney is an ardent home cook and food blogger who has written over 300 recipes for The Spruce Eats.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 02/19/23
Tested by Tara Omidvar
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars

The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Freeze Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
Total: 5 hrs
Servings: 6 servings

Strawberry shortcake ice cream bars are the perfect sweet summertime treat. Coat strawberry ice cream with crunchy sugar cookies and strawberry pieces, and you have a bar like one you get from the ice cream truck, only better.

They're just the right treat for a sweet strawberry shortcake party or any late spring or summer soiree. Make a double batch and save some in the freezer.

Try making your own sugar cookies or whipping up some homemade strawberry ice cream to make these extra homemade. Or take it easy on yourself and just use store-bought ingredients. Just make sure to use crisp sugar cookies. Soft ones won't blend up into crumbs as well.

"These ice cream bars are great! The recipe is very easy and straight-forward. Just make sure that you work quickly or work in batches as the bars melt down quickly. The freeze-dried strawberries add perfect tart taste to the bars. Next time I'll mix some fresh strawberries to my ice cream as well." —Tara Omidvar

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars/tester image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1 quart strawberry ice cream, softened

  • 4 crisp sugar cookies

  • 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped freeze-dried strawberries

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Strawberry shortcake bars ingredients

    The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

  2. Pack ice cream bar molds with softened strawberry ice cream. Every ice cream mold is a little different with how much it holds. There should be about 6 with this amount of ice cream.

    Pack ice cream bar molds with softened ice cream

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  3. Insert popsicle sticks into molds and freeze for at least 4 hours.

    Insert Popsicle sticks into the molds

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  4. Pulse sugar cookies in a food processor until they become fine crumbs.

    Sugar cookies in a food processor

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  5. Crush freeze-dried strawberries in a baggie and then add to sugar cookie crumbs.

    Sugar cookies with freeze dried strawberries in a food processor

    The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

  6. Gently pulse cookie crumbs and strawberries while pouring in butter. Put crumbs on a plate and cover.

    Cookie crumbs and strawberries mixture in the food processor

    The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

  7. Remove molds from freezer. Fill a bowl with warm water and place mold into it for 30 seconds. Remove mold from bowl and unmold ice cream bars.

    Ice cream molds dipped into water

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  8. Thaw bars for another minute until slightly softened. Dip into crumb mixture and coat on all sides.

    Ice cream bar dipped into the strawberry cooking coating in a bowl

    The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

  9. Place crumb-coated bars on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place back into freezer for another 30 minutes. Be sure to work quickly to avoid melting or work in batches. Serve bars right away.

    Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars on a baking sheet

    The Spruce / Nyssa Tanner

Tips

  • If you are looking for a less pink crumb coating, stir the crushed strawberries into the butter-coated sugar-cookie crumbs.
  • Find a popsicle mold that holds the popsicle sticks in place. This really helps create a secure and straight stick.

How to Store

Store in a freezer bag and keep frozen up to three months.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
289 Calories
14g Fat
39g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 289
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 37mg 12%
Sodium 126mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 39g 14%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 16mg 78%
Calcium 127mg 10%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 222mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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