5 Ingredients or Fewer

Cookies & Cream Frozen Yogurt

by:
March 31, 2021
3.8
12 Ratings
Cookies & Cream Frozen Yogurt
Photo by Julia Gartland. Food stylist: Anna Billingskog. Prop stylist: Amanda Widis.
  • Prep time 8 hours
  • Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
Author Notes

Swapping out the usual ice cream custard for a tart, tangy frozen yogurt base means a more balanced (dare I say, more adult) cookies and cream—the sort that I could eat several scoops at a time. And you know what? I will!

I learned of this extra-speedy approach to homemade frozen yogurt from Max Falkowitz and Ethan Frisch, via our Genius Recipes column a few years back. All you need is full-fat plain yogurt, granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt. (Don’t substitute in a lower fat or Greek variety; the former will compromise the flavor and latter will affect the texture.) I use slightly less sugar here than the Genius version because the cookies bring their own sweetness.

Don’t be tempted to streamline the second step and chop all the cookies the same size. The extra minute of work yields a cookies and cream with big chunks, medium hunks, and lots of swirled crumbs in between.

This is one of our Big Little Recipes, our weekly column all about dishes with big flavor and little ingredient lists. Do you know (and love) a recipe that’s low in ask, high in reward? Let us know in the comments. —Emma Laperruque

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Cookies & Cream Frozen Yogurt
Ingredients
  • 1 quart whole-milk plain yogurt
  • 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 18 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos)
Directions
  1. Stir or whisk the yogurt, sugar, and salt in a bowl until the sugar dissolves, then refrigerate until very cold.
  2. Meanwhile, halve 6 cookies, quarter 3, and finely chop the remaining 9. Combine the chopped cookies in a bowl or container and stick in the freezer.
  3. Churn the frozen yogurt according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once it’s a minute or so from being ready (for me, this means it’s been churning for 25 to 30 minutes), pull the cookies from the freezer and add to the machine, pushing them down with a flexible spatula as needed so they’re evenly dispersed.
  4. Transfer the frozen yogurt to freezer-safe lidded containers and stick those in the freezer until you’re ready to scoop and eat.
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Emma Laperruque
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

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2 Reviews

Emily
Emily July 16, 2022
I whipped this up with homemade soy yogurt and a 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. The result was tangy yet sweet, moreish yet refreshing. Perfect for summer!
 
Marlena A.
Marlena A. October 19, 2020
My husband tells a story about the greatest ice cream flavor--salted Oreo. I was super excited to stumble across this version on Instagram. I have made it true to the instructions, and I've made it with the NYT's, "The Only Ice Cream Recipe You'll Ever Need." The only changes I make is to up the salt to 1 teaspoon; it really makes the flavors explode! I also use ingredients from local farms and my neighbor's homestead.