Irish Cream Ice Cream Bars

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I’m so happy to share with you the first recipe that I can satisfactorily say I invented!
I was inspired by a buttercream I tasted at work. I loved the flavor, but the dessert was just sooo rich in cupcake form.

I thought it might be perfect if it was cold, so I wanted to try using the same flavors in ice cream. I scribbled out an outline of a promising recipe in a notebook and then did nothing about it for two years. That’s just what I do! 

I finally got around to making it, and wow, Past Julie was onto something! These are wonderfully rich, but the cold keeps the flavor from being overwhelming, and the Oreos give it a nice crunch.​

Supply List: 
Spatulas 
8” square pan
Aluminum foil
Food Processor (or pastry blender)
Stand Mixer or Hand held mixer ​

​Prep Work:
Make some strong coffee! Measure out a ½ cup right away and set aside in the fridge or freezer to cool.

Line an 8” square baking pan with foil, so you can pop it out later and cut into bars. 

Set a quart of vanilla ice cream out. Aim for having it out for about 20 minutes before using it.

For the crust, you’ll need about 25 Oreos. I removed the filling before crushing, though I did get a little lazy with some of them towards the end.

Ideally, blend them in a food processor until they look like coffee grounds.

​If you don’t have a food processor, you can crush them in a bowl with a pastry blender. Smash them as much as you have the patience for. 

​While you’re at it, you’ll need 5 more Oreos for the top. These should be crushed by hand to get bigger chunks. Set these aside for later.

Once ground up, pour the crumbs into a bowl. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add to the crumbs. Mix well. ​

Pour half the crumb mix into the baking pan. Spread them out as evenly as possible and press down firmly. Throw the pan in the freezer while you work with the ice cream. 

Scoop ice cream into stand mixer. If your ice cream is still pretty stiff, start with half the ice cream, mix that until it’s soft-serve texture, add another quarter, mix, add the last bit, and mix. Otherwise it’s too much for the mixer to handle all at once.​

Once ice cream is a workable texture, add ½ cup cool coffee, ½ tsp cocoa powder, and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract. (I always use McCormick). Careful when starting up the mixer! My lowest setting is still a bit too fast, so I start and stop it a few times to mix it gently in before speeding it up.​

Now grab your pan from the freezer. Layer half your ice cream over the crumbs and spread evenly.

Pour the rest of the Oreo crust mix over the ice cream and gently even out. I pressed mine down a little bit so they’re sturdy for the next round of ice cream. Pour the rest of the ice cream over the top and even out. Top with the larger Oreo chunks that you set aside earlier and freeze! 

It should be ready to eat after one or two hours, but if you want to cut them into neat bars like mine, give it three hours or more. 

I had a few pieces of foil sticking to my edges, so I trimmed the edges a little before cutting the bars.

Because there is extra liquid added to the ice cream, these will be much more solid than regular ice cream straight from the freezer. Let it sit out 15 minutes before serving, or suffer through the brain freeze, because that's a long time to wait!

Irish Cream Ice Cream Bars
30 Oreo Cookies
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 quart vanilla ice cream (slightly softened)
1/2 cup strong coffee, cooled
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp almond extract

​1. Line an 8" square baking pan with aluminum foil.
2. Loosely crush 5 Oreo cookies (filling removed) into large chunks and set aside.
3. Remove filling from, and crush 25 Oreo cookies in a food processor (or in a bowl with a pastry blender) until evenly ground.
4. Mix crumbs with melted butter. Press half of crumb mixture into the bottom of the baking pan and freeze.
5. Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer to mix the vanilla ice cream until it's a soft-serve texture. (If using a stand mixer, mix half at first, then add another quarter, then the last quarter, otherwise it will be too much for the mixer to handle all at once).
6. Mix in cooled coffee, cocoa powder, and almond extract.
7. Scoop half of ice cream mix into the baking pan and spread evenly over the layer of crumbs.
8. Add second layer of crumbs and pat down gently. Spread second half of ice cream over the top. Top with the large chunks of Oreo cookies.
9. Freeze at least two hours before eating, or four hours before cutting into bars. Trim foil off edges, if needed. Let sit out 15 minutes before serving.

Have a happy St. Paddy's Day!

​Let me know how you like it! Tag me @JuliesSugarMagic on Facebook and Instagram and use #JuliesSugarMagic