Film Reel Cookies

Calling all movie buffs! Take your next movie night to the next level with these fun and festive Film Reel Cookies! These delightful treats are not only delicious but impressive with their shimmering silver coating and playful film reel design.

These cookies look like classic film reels. They'd be perfect for an Academy Awards party, a movie-themed birthday party, or a movie night. I plan to serve them to my friends when they come to watch a movie in our cozy basement movie theater. 

Why these cookies are perfect for Movie Night:

• Themed Fun: Shaped like iconic film reels, these cookies add a touch of movie magic to your cinematic celebration.
• Double the Fun: Choose between classic ice cream or decadent homemade chocolate mousse for the filling, allowing you to customize the recipe based on your preference.
• Make-Ahead Friendly: Assemble the cookies and filling in advance, then freeze them until movie night arrives. This allows you to relax and enjoy the film without any last-minute stress.

Recipe Highlights:

• easy cookie dough recipe
• decorated with shimmering silver food coloring spray
• customizable filling: classic ice cream or decadent chocolate mousse
• freeze-ahead instructions for stress-free movie night prep

These Movie Night Stars are sure to be a hit with movie lovers of all ages. So grab your favorite film, whip up a batch of these delightful cookies, and settle in for a night of cinematic fun!

Let's make some cookies. I chose to turn my film reel cookies into ice cream sandwiches. Well, actually, I filled them with frozen chocolate mousse. They taste amazing! If you prefer, you can use chocolate ice cream.

Fun Party Recipes

Film Reel Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients: (makes 24 cookies = 12 ice cream sandwiches)

Cookie Dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting cutting board
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup butter, softened slightly
¾ cups sugar
1 large egg
¾ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract

Chocolate Mousse Layer: (use chocolate ice cream if you prefer)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
2 egg yolks, room temperature

Supplies:

rolling pin
3 ¼ inch round cookie cutter
¾  inch round cookie cutter
12 - 3 inch round metal pastry rings, if making mousse
or a 3-inch round cookie cutter,  if using chocolate ice cream
12 - 10 inch acetate strips to line pastry rings, if making mousse
parchment paper lined baking sheets

Instructions:

Whisk together 2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in egg, vanilla, and almond extract.

Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Pat dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap or place in a zip-top bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Dust a cutting board lightly with flour.

Cut out round cookie dough then turn the circles into film reels.

Roll dough out to ⅜ inch thickness. Cut rounds using the 3 ¼-inch cutter. Remove excess dough, and set rounds about an inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Use a ½ inch round cookie cutter to cut 5 holes around the outer edge of each cookie, so that each cookie looks like a film reel.

Place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake one tray of cookies at a time for 10-12 minutes until dry around the edges.

Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking pan.

Spray the cookies silver.

When the cookies have cooled, spray them with silver food coloring spray. Allow them to dry completely. I lined a large box with parchment paper and set the cookies inside before spraying to keep the spray from getting on my table.

If making chocolate mousse, follow these instructions:

Make the chocolate ganache (or you can use ice cream).

Whisk whipping cream to soft peaks. Set aside. Melt the chocolate in a large bowl. See my Chocolate Making Tips page for detailed chocolate melting instructions. Set aside. Pour water and sugar into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved creating a simple syrup.

Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl. Continue to whisk while slowly adding a small amount of simple syrup. Slowly drizzle in the remaining simple syrup continually whisking.

Combine eggs with melted chocolate, stirring until well incorporated. Heat chocolate mixture in the microwave for 20 seconds then stir until smooth.

Add one-third of the whipped cream and whisk until well incorporated. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until fluffy.

Line metal rings with acetate.

I chose to make perfectly round discs of chocolate mousse to sandwich in between two cookies. I loved the look and the taste. If you'd like to do this too, line twelve 3-inch round pastry rings with acetate strips. You could also use 3-inch round cookie cutters.

Pour mousse into a 16-inch disposable pastry bag and pipe into the rings, filling each about 1 inch deep. You can also just spoon the mousse into the rings if you prefer.

Freeze for at least one hour.

Create the ice cream sandwiches.

Remove mousse discs from the freezer, pop out of the rings, and peel off the acetate.

If using ice cream, cut ice cream into 1-inch thick slices, then cut into discs using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Set on parchment paper lined baking sheets and freeze until firm.

Just before serving, sandwich one round of frozen mousse or icing cream in between two cookies.

Tips

You can assemble these ahead of time, wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze until ready to serve.

Allow them to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before eating so cookies soften slightly.

Storage

Store the ice cream sandwiches in the freezer for up to a month.

Find the supplies to make these cookies.

You can find supplies needed to create this recipe on Amazon. I earn a small commission when you use the sales links in this post to make a purchase at no extra cost to you.

100% Edible White Chocolate Popcorn Bowl

Chocolate Chip Cookie Serving Bowl

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowl

Print

Film Reel Ice Cream Sandwiches

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

12 mins

Chill Time

1 hr

 

Film reel cookies filled with frozen chocolate mousse or chocolate ice cream make a great movie night or Academy Awards Party dessert.

Servings: 12

Calories: 305 kcal

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

Cookie Dough:

• 2 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting cutting board
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup butter softened slightly
• ¾ cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¾ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

Chocolate Mousse Layer: (use chocolate ice cream if you prefer)

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 egg yolks room temperature

Instructions

1. Whisk together 2 cups flour, salt, and baking powder together. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in egg, vanilla and almond extract.
3. Add dry ingredients and stir just until combined.Pat dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap or place in a zip top bag, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Dust a cutting board lightly with flour.
5. Roll dough out to ⅜ inch thickness. Cut rounds using the 3 ¼ inch cutter. Remove excess dough, set rounds about an inch apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheets.
6. Use a ½ inch round cookie cutter to cut 5 holes around the outer edge of each cookie, so that each cookie looks like a film reel.
7. Place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake one tray of cookies at a time for 10-12 minutes until dry around the edges.

9. Allow cookies to cool completely on the baking pan.
10. When cookies have cooled, spray them with silver food coloring spray. Allow them to dry completely. I lined a large box with parchment paper and set the cookies inside before spraying to keep the spray from getting on my table.
11. If making chocolate mousse, follow these instructions:
12. Whisk whipping cream to soft peaks. Set aside. Melt the chocolate in a large bowl. See my Chocolate Making Tips page for detailed chocolate melting instructions. Set aside. Pour water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved creating a simple syrup.
13. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl. Continue to whisk while slowly adding a small amount of simple syrup. Slowly drizzle in the remaining simple syrup continually whisking.
14. Combine eggs with melted chocolate, stirring until well incorporated. Heat chocolate mixture in the microwave for 20 seconds then stir until smooth.
15. Add one-third of the whipped cream and whisk until well incorporated. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until fluffy.
16. Line twelve 3 inch round pastry rings with acetate strips.
17. Pour mousse into a 16 inch disposable pastry bag and pipe into the rings, filling each about 1 inch deep. You can also just spoon the mousse into the rings, if you prefer.
18. Freeze for at least one hour.
19. Remove mousse discs from freezer, pop out of the rings, and peel off the acetate.
20. If using ice cream, cut ice cream into 1 inch thick slices, then cut into discs using a 3 inch round cookie cutter. Set on parchment paper lined baking sheets and freeze until firm.
21. Just before serving, sandwich one round of  frozen mousse or icing cream in between two cookies.

Recipe Notes

You can assemble these ahead of time, wrap them in plastic wrap, and freeze until ready to serve. Allow them to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before eating so cookies soften slightly.

• Author
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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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