This creamy dreamy Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake comes together in minutes! Whip up this no-bake dessert all summer long.

You’re looking at the easiest dessert ever. Perfect for dinner parties, summer BBQs, or casual days at home. When I say this dessert is easy, I mean EASY. No-cook, no-bake, and basically two steps. Prefer a fruity version? Try our Strawberry Icebox Cake.

A slice of icebox cake topped with chocolate chips on a white plate.

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What is an icebox cake?
Ingredients
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Recipe

What is an icebox cake?

An icebox cake is an old fashioned dessert that is made by layering crisp cookies with a sweetened whipped cream mixture. It chills in the refrigerator and the cookies soften into thin cake-like layers.

Icebox cakes are perfect for summer when you don’t feel like turning on the oven to bake. This dessert is served chilled, straight from the refrigerator, making it a no-fuss dessert that you’ll come back to again and again.

Cookies layered with whipped cream in a white baking dish.

Ingredients

Thin crispy chocolate chip cookies (store bought is just fine)
Heavy whipping cream
Mascarpone cheese
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract

Whipped cream being spread over chocolate chip cookies in a white baking dish.

What type of cookies to use

The beauty of this recipe is that you use store bought cookies. Although I am usually a fan of baking from scratch, store bought cookies work beautifully here.

The key is to choose thin and crisp cookies. My favorites are Tate’s Bake Shop cookies (they are seriously the BEST). You can use any flavor, but since this is a chocolate chip icebox cake I use chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe tips

Make sure you use thin and crispy cookies. I use chocolate chip cookies for this recipe, but if there is another flavor that you prefer you can absolutely give it a try.
Allow the icebox cake at least 6 hours to chill in the refrigerator. This time is needed to soften the cookies, which makes them cake-like.
I like to serve this dessert within 6-24 hours of assembly. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for an additional day or so. Note that the cookies will continue to soften the longer it sits.

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Recipe

A piece of icebox cake topped with chocolate chips on a white plate.

This creamy dreamy Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake comes together in minutes! Whip up this no-bake dessert all summer long.

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 0

Chill time: 6

Total Time: 6 20

Servings:

Calories: 336kcal

Author: Allison Mattina

Ingredients

▢ 1 ¾ cups chilled heavy cream
▢ 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
▢ ½ cup powdered sugar, plus more, if needed
▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
▢ 24-30 thin crisp chocolate chip cookies, see note
▢ mini chocolate chips or chocolate sauce, optional garnishes

Instructions

Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat cream, mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Start the mixer slow, then gradually increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form (this took me about 3-4 minutes). Before the mixture is fully whipped, I recommend that you taste it and add more powdered sugar if desired. I like this mixture moderately sweet (since it's being layered with cookies) but if you'd prefer it sweeter you can add 2-3 more tablespoons of powdered sugar.
Assembly: Place one layer of cookies in the bottom of an 8×8 square baking dish. Break the cookies as needed to cover the bottom as much as possible; I used about 6 cookies. Top with one-quarter of the whipped cream mixture, spreading it into an even layer. Repeat three more times: cookies, whipped cream – cookies, whipped cream – cookies then the remaining whipped cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours, up to overnight.
To serve: sprinkle the top with mini chocolate chips and cut into squares. Drizzle chocolate sauce on top of each slice, if desired.

Notes

My favorite cookies for this recipe are Tate’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (regular or gluten free). Use your favorite brand of thin, crispy, chocolate chip cookies.