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Circus Animal No-Churn Ice Cream is an easy no-churn ice cream the whole family will love. This cute homemade ice cream recipe has pretty pink-and-white swirls, LOTS of sprinkles, and chunks of frosted circus animal cookies mixed right in!
🍦 Animal Cookie Ice Cream
Watch out, friends, because this Circus Animal No-Churn Ice Cream is a dangerous recipe.
Circus animal cookies are already my kryptonite. I don’t know what addictive ingredients they’re putting into those things (um…other than sugar… *innocent whistling*) but somehow, if I get my hands on a bag of those pink and white suckers, the entire thing is gone before I know what’s happened. They are that addicting. (And when they’re added to a sky-high cake, like in my Circus Animal Layer Cake? Fuggedaboutit. Absolutely irresistible.)
So when you combine THOSE cookies with THIS ice cream recipe, you’re really tempting fate. I recommend making this when you know company is coming over, and you’ll have people to help you eat it, otherwise you just might end up gobbling the ice cream out of the container like a feral raccoon raiding the trash can. Not like I’d know anything about that. Ahem.
This ice cream is delicious on it’s own but try serving it in an edible Chocolate Bowl for an outrageously fun presentation!
Are you an ice cream lover? Check out some of our most popular recipes, like No-Churn Peach Ice Cream, No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream, and Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream!
🧾 What You’ll Need
Ingredients
Grab these special ingredients and read my pro tips before getting started! (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)
- Circus Animal Cookies: These cookies are the star of the show! I recommend using Mother’s Circus Animal Cookies.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: I recommend using heavy cream or manufacturing cream over whipping cream, when possible. Heavy cream and manufacturing cream have the most fat, which produces a better flavor and texture. For best results, make sure the cream is very cold before whipping it.
- Sweetened condensed milk: This thick and rich sweetener will ensure that your ice cream doesn’t freeze too hard and is a perfect scoopable consistency. Make sure you use sweetened condensed milk, NOT evaporated milk. The cans look similar and they’re usually in the same section at the grocery store, but they are not the same thing.
- Pink gel food coloring:To get that pretty swirl, half of the ice cream will be dyed a soft baby pink. I used Americolor Soft Pink for this recipe.
Equipment
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- Ice cream scoop: for serving of course! A high-quality ice cream scoop makes it so easy to portion the ice cream out in perfect rounded scoops.
- Ice cream storage container: an ice cream storage container keeps the ice cream fresh in the freezer. I have this set, and can personally vouch that the containers are amazing. They keep the ice cream soft and fresh, while keeping out odors and ice crystals.
📋 Instructions
Here’s an overview of how to make Circus Animal No-Churn Ice Cream! Full instructions are included in the recipe card down below.
Make the ice cream base
- Whip the cream to firm peaks.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. Stir well.
Separate and color
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the milk mixture, working in batches and stirring gently so the cream doesn’t deflate.
- Once combined, divide the mixture in half and color one half a soft pink color, and leave the other half white.
Add your mix-ins!
- Gently fold the cookies and sprinkles into both bowls.
- Alternate adding scoops of white and pink cream into a container or loaf pan.
Scoop and swirl
- Once all the ice cream is layered in the container, swirl a knife through the cream until the colors are mixed up in pretty swirls.
Freeze and enjoy
- Sprinkle the top of the ice cream with the reserved sprinkles and cookie pieces.
- Freeze the container for at least 4-6 hours, until very firm.
💡 Tips and FAQs
🍧 More Ice Cream Recipes You’ll Love 🍧
No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream
No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
Don’t miss the step-by-step tutorial showing how to make Circus Animal Ice Cream – check out the web story here!
No-Churn Circus Animal Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2.25 cups heavy cream
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk, (1 standard can)
- 1 TBSP vanilla extract
- soft pink gel food coloring
- 6 oz chopped circus animal cookies, (about 1 ½ cups)
- ¼ cup assorted sprinkles
Instructions
- Whip the cream to firm peaks.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract, and stir well.
- Gently fold the whipped cream into the milk mixture, working in batches and stirring gently so the cream doesn’t deflate. Once combined, divide the mixture in half and color one half a soft pink color, and leave the other half white.
- Divide the cookies and sprinkles between the two bowls, reserving a few spoonfuls of each to use as toppings. Gently fold the cookies and sprinkles into both bowls.
- Take a 6-cup storage container or loaf pan, and alternate adding scoops of white and pink cream into the container. Swirl a knife through the cream until the colors are mixed up in pretty swirls. Sprinkle the top of the ice cream with the reserved sprinkles and cookie pieces.
- Freeze the container for 4-6 hours, until very firm.
Video
Recipe Notes
MEASURING TIPS
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Click here to learn more about baking measurements and conversion.Nutrition
About Elizabeth LaBau
I’m Elizabeth, but you can call me SugarHero! I’m a former pastry chef turned blogger, cookbook author, and baking instructor, and I consider myself sugar’s #1 fan. Learn more from my About page, or connect with me on social media:
Oh my gosh! These are SO FREAKIN’ cute! I love animal cookies, I eat them by the box so this ice cream is to die for and YES! I can do this with no extra gadgets! 🙂 I’m going to be a happy girl this summer.
It’s seriously to die for! I shouldn’t even keep it in my fridge!! Let me know if you make it! I’d love to hear how it goes.
Omg, this pictures are treat for eyes, I bet young girls would go crazy for this one
Thank you! Oh yeah. Kids love these!!
So colorful! Oh, and I love those white chocolate bowls. Super creative!
Thank you! Means a lot!
Those tulip cups! Wow! They are so pretty! 🙂
Thank you so much!
Hi, Elizabeth. I’ve had my ice cream maker for a few years and I prefer custard based recipes. So I’ve passed this recipe by a few times thinking, “Meh, how good could it be with no yolks?” I must say, you’ve opened my mind to no-churn. The texture was really nice and it actually tasted better the longer it sat in the freezer. I didn’t make the bowls this time but I’m chomping at the bit to do them cause they are so CUTE. Thanks again for another fun and delicious recipe. On to the next one!
Hi Myra! I’m thrilled to hear that you liked the recipe, and that you’ve been introduced to the magic that is no-churn ice cream. 😀 Let me know how it goes if you give the chocolate bowls a try!
We don’t have the sweet cream creamer here. Can we substitute diffrent flavours??
Yes, of course! It’s very flexible and you can use your favorite creamer flavor, or even just swap in heavy cream and add an extract of your choice.
hi, should the bowl and beaters be cold to whip the heavy cream? im going to be brave and try this ice cream, so nervous as I have been to scared to try and make my own ice cream. ha ha
Totally understand the fear of trying something new! Having a cold bowl and beaters will help the whip cream turn out thick and creamy. Good luck!
These are really nice. Can the chocolate moulds be made in advance and how do you store them?
Many Thanks
Thanks Angela! They can definitely be made several weeks in advance. Ideally you would keep them at cool room temperature, stored on a baking sheet and loosely covered with plastic wrap or another type of protective cover. If your house is too hot then storing them in the refrigerator would be your next best option–just be aware they might get have some condensation on them after you remove them.
I decided to try the Circus Animal Ice Cream recipe and it did not disappoint! The ice cream was rich and creamy and the circus animals added a fun touch. I would definitely make this recipe again.
Awesome! So glad you tried it and loved it. Thanks for commenting Mandy!
This was so fun to make! I’m excited to check out your other no church ice cream recipes!
Hi Jen! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. It’s one of my absolute faves!
Oh my! This circus animal ice cream is so fun and fabulous! Not just for kids.
Hi Kathleen. This is definitely an adult’s guilty pleasure.
How cute is this?! I adore these cookies as a kid and now my son loves this ice cream. Thanks for your creative recipe!
Hi Michelle! The nostalgia of Mother’s cookies is generational. So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
What a fun and beautiful recipe to try for my kids. Thanks for sharing this ice cream recipe.
I hope they enjoy it! Thanks for commenting.