A Holiday Dessert That Supports Employment for People with IDDs

I’m not a chef and this isn’t a food blog, so this will be far from Pinterest perfect; however, we are whipping up a festive and delightful dessert that will satisfy your sweet tooth while supporting companies that employ people with disabilities. In this recipe, creamy Howdy Homemade Ice Cream meets the scrumptious Collettey’s Cookies - a duo that goes beyond delicious, creating job opportunities for folks with intellectual developmental disabilities.

Four ice cream cookie sandwiches with red and green sprinkles and frosting sitting on a wooden serving platter in front of holiday decor

In a pinch for a quick holiday treat, I immediately thought to use Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, sparking the idea for a no-fuss ice cream sandwich. Intrigued by the notion of further supporting employment opportunities for individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs), I dove into a quick Google search and stumbled upon Collettey's Cookies. Howdy Homemade Ice Cream is on a mission to create job opportunities for those with IDDs, and Collettey's Cookies, founded by the entrepreneurial Collette who was born with Down syndrome, caught my attention as a perfect match. Let's whip up something delightful while supporting those employing the disability community!

The possibilities are endless with this dessert that comes together quickly. The hardest part was deciding which of the delicious flavor combinations to choose. In the end we went with a classic, peanut butter cookies and chocolate plus peanut butter cookies and salted caramel.

Collette also makes a chocolate chip cinnamon cookie and an oatmeal raisin cookie. Pair that with the six Howdy Homemade flavors available at grocers in TX and you have options to please any palate.

Simple Steps to Ice Cream Sandwich Bliss

A pint of Howdy Homemade Chocolate as all Get Out and Howdy Homemade Salted Caramel sitting open on a counter behind six cookies

Gather Ingredients

First, we lined up our cookies on a piece of parchment paper and set the ice cream on the counter to soften.

A bag of white candy melts, a tube of red icing, a tube of green icing, white, red, and green sprinkles

Prep Decorations

While the ice cream softened, we prepped our decorations. We opted for sprinkles and candy melts, but the options are endless here!

Howdy Homemade ice cream chocolate and salted caramel are open, there is an ice cream scoop, and there are two cookies sandwiches that have ice cream in between, and two more open face cookies with ice cream that just need the top

Scoop Ice Cream Onto Cookie

Now that the ice cream is soft, scoop it onto your base cookie and then place the other cookie on top.

A birds eye view of three peanut butter cookie ice cream sandwiches on a piece of parchment paper

Firm in Freezer

Some people like to decorate while the ice cream is still a bit soft, but because we let our ice cream get so soft to easily scoop, it is best to put on a cookie sheet and firm back up a bit before decorating.

Four finished ice cream cookie sandwiches on a wooden serving platter. The ice cream sandwiches are decorated in holiday colors with red, green, and white sprinkles and frosting

Decorate

This is the fun part! You can let your imagination run wild and decorate to your heart’s content. We dipped in candy melts and rolled in sprinkles for holiday flare.

Voilà! That's a wrap! This dessert not only embraces simplicity but also champions incredible brands, making it a win-win treat. Whether you're customizing it to suit your flavor fancy or adapting it to match any occasion, the possibilities are endless! Picture golden and silver hues for a dazzling New Year's Eve dessert, playful snowmen or delicate snowflakes crafted from the cookies, or even tailoring the decorations to cheer on your favorite football team. With its adaptability and universal charm, this crowd-pleasing dessert is tough to top. Cheers to indulging in sweet success!

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