Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes Chocolate Chip Cookie Icebox Cake Cookies or cake? With this stacked creation, you don't have to choose. Prep Time: 50 mins Total Time: 50 mins Servings: 10 Yield: 1 9-inch cake Jump to recipe This icebox cake recipe is a chocolate-chip cookie lover’s dream. It features layer upon layer of pillowy mascarpone-whipped cream and crispy cookies. It's a spectacular dessert that's simple to put together—the most important ingredient is time in the refrigerator. The cookies soften overnight while the dessert chills, creating a sliceable treat worthy of a special occasion. Homemade cookies will give you the best flavor and texture, but to cut down on prep time, you can use a thin and crispy store-bought option. A touch of whiskey in the cream mixture adds an adult-friendly touch, but you can certainly leave it out if you’d prefer. 31 Easy Cake Recipes Every Home Baker Will Love Credit: Kelsey Hansen Be sure to build this recipe on the cake stand or platter you’re planning on serving it on as it’ll be difficult—if not impossible—to move once set. The Origin of the Icebox Cake The icebox cake has been part of the American dessert lexicon since the early 20th century. It was created to be chilled in an icebox—an insulated cooler used to keep food cold before modern refrigeration—but grew in popularity when mechanical in-home refrigerators became affordable for the average American household. This coincided with the rise of packaged cookies and cakes, which made creating these chilled, layered desserts easier than ever. Thanks to their ease and deliciousness, icebox cakes remain a dessert favorite 100 years later. Our Favorite Cookies for This Stacked Cake You'll have the best success with this recipe by using thin, crispy cookies rather than soft and chewy ones. Use our Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies if you plan to make them yourself—you'll need to make three times the recipe, or nine dozen, to have enough for the cake. Otherwise, seek out a similarly thin and crisp store-bought option, such as Tate's Bake Shop's Chocolate Chip Cookies, to cut down on prep work. Be sure to keep the cake covered while you chill it overnight; it will trap in the moisture from the cream which is necessary to soften the cookies. Why Add Mascarpone Cheese? This recipe calls for blending mascarpone cheese—a soft, Italian cheese typically featured in tiramisu and cannoli filling—into the whipped cream mixture. Why not just use whipped cream, you ask? Mascarpone is thick and creamy; it helps to stabilize the whipped filling, keeping it from deflating or becoming runny as the cake chills. Directions Credit: Kelsey Hansen Whisk cream and mascarpone: Whisk 3 cups cream and the mascarpone in a chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Add sugar and whiskey. Whisk until medium-stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use (or up to 3 hours). You'll whip the final cup of heavy cream later to top the finished cake. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Assemble first layer of cookies then cream mixture: Arrange 9 cookies in a circle (with cookies touching) on a cake stand or a plate. Place 2 cookies in center. Carefully spread 1 cup cream mixture evenly over cookies, leaving a slight border. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Credit: Kelsey Hansen Repeat layers and refrigerate cake: Repeat to form 7 more layers, ending with cookies (you'll have a few cookies left over). Refrigerate, lightly draped with plastic wrap, overnight. Credit: Kelsey Hansen Whip remaining cream and use to top cake: Whisk remaining cup cream until soft peaks form. Spread over top of cake just before serving. Garnish with chocolate shavings. Credit: Kelsey Hansen How to Cut and Serve This Icebox Cake It's essential that this cake chills (covered!) in the refrigerator overnight, which gives the cookies plenty of time to soften. Once that happens, you'll be able to use a sharp knife, such as a chef's knife or cake knife, to cut it into slices. When slicing, press down firmly with the blade and avoid sawing it back and forth to prevent disturbing the layers. Variations Try using a different flavor of cookies for the cake. We like it made with old-fashioned lemon sugar cookies, crispy coconut cookies, snickerdoodles, or these decadent chocolate ones. 5 More No-Bake Desserts to Try Blueberry-Cheesecake Icebox Cake No-Bake Strawberries-and-Cream Stack Cake Chocolate Eclair Cake Chocolate, Banana, and Graham Cracker Icebox Cake Strawberry Icebox Pie Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.