Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich

These are for Dimitri, who emailed me requesting an ice cream sandwich recipe.

Today I had eight of these ice cream sandwiches ready to photograph and six of them mysteriously disappeared from my freezer, violating the Humble Household Rule: If you don't see it on the blog then you probably shouldn't eat it without asking.

Oh well. I still have two left and I can hardly blame the hungry thief. They do look and taste quite good.

I love making ice cream sandwiches from scratch. This is one dish I never have to fuss over to make look pretty. They are just naturally gorgeous. I also enjoy how customizable they are. There are nearly endless possibilities for shapes and fillings. I can roll the sandwiches in crushed candy or dip them in chocolate. I can cut the chocolate wafer dough into any shape I like. I could even use my crazy lobster cookie cutter...

A lobster shaped ice cream sandwich would probably be the coolest thing on the planet. (Pun not intended.)

Unfortunately, I was feeling rather conformist when I baked these and chose a fluted biscuit cutter. You will find tall cutters work best--like biscuit cutters--as you'll be using the same cutter to cut your ice cream as you do your cookies.



To keep this simple I decided to omit ice cream recipes from this post, instead giving the wafer cookie recipe and then discuss how to make these using either homemade or store bought ice cream. Yes, that's right no need for special kitchen equipment for these cuties.



The following is my favorite cookie recipe for ice cream sandwiches. They're crisp, rich with chocolate flavor and stay true to shape when baked. Be sure not to substitute plain non-alkalized cocoa for dutched cocoa. For the best color and flavor you need an extra dark dutch processed cocoa powder (sometimes labeled "extra-dutch" rather than extra dark). In the U.S. Hersey's Extra Dark Baking Cocoa is easy to find in most well stocked grocery stores.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
from Fran's Pure Chocolate
yields 3-4 dozen 2.5" cookies
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup extra dark Dutch processed cocoa, sifted
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

extra flour and cocoa for dusting

In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy.

Add the cocoa powder, mixing on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then add the vanilla and the egg and blend on medium speed until thoroughly combined.

Add the flour on low speed, mixing until uniform and comes together like a dough.

Remove the cookie dough from the mixer, wrap in plastic and chill until firm (4 hours to overnight). You can store the dough wrapped like this for 2-3 days if you wish to make it in advance.

When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 350°F.

Remove your dough from the refrigerator, if it is hard as a rock allow to stand at room temperature for a little while before exercising your rolling muscles on it.

In a small bowl, mix together enough flour and cocoa to dust your cutting board and your dough to keep it from sticking (a mix of 50/50 flour/cocoa). Using cocoa powder to dust will keep the surface of your cookies dark and chocolaty looking.

Roll out your chilled dough to about 1/8" thickness and cut out your shapes. If anyone is curious, I used the largest of the fluted cutters from this set: R & M Biscuit Cutter Set. Arrange the cutouts on parchment paper or silpats, they spread only a little so don't be too concerned about crowding.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the surface is no longer glossy. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. They will be soft fresh out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool.

Once cool, place the cookies in a ziplock baggie or other container and freeze until ready to use.

To make the sandwiches with homemade ice cream:

Line a baking dish (or other flat container with 1.5" sides) with plastic wrap. How large a dish will depend on both how thick you want your sandwiches and the capacity of your ice cream maker. A 9"x9" pan or a 9"x13" pan should work well.

Whip up your desired ice cream flavor, according to your machine's instructions. When ready to chill, pour the ice cream into the bottom of your prepared pan. Spread the ice cream to fill the pan evenly (aim for a thickness between 1/2" or 1 1/4") and then place another sheet of plastic wrap on top, pressing it onto the surface of the ice cream. Chill this in the coldest part of your freezer until very, very firm (ideally 24 hours).

When the ice cream is cold, remove the top layer of plastic and using the same cookie cutter you used for the chocolate wafers, cut out shapes from the ice cream. Working quickly, place the ice cream cutouts between two frozen chocolate cookies and return to the freezer.

If desired, roll the ice cream sandwiches in sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed candy or any other delicious topping you can think of.

Chill until firm and then they are ready to eat.

To make the sandwiches with store bought ice cream:

The easiest way to do this is to choose an ice cream that comes in a box, one that you can unwrap completely and slice. Cut out the shapes from these ice cream slices in the same way you would the homemade method.

You can also attempt to line a pan with softened store bought ice cream, as you would with the homemade version. However you need to be careful how soft the ice cream gets, or the texture will suffer when it refreezes.

Again, while cutting your ice cream, place each cutout between two frozen chocolate cookies and return to the freezer.

If desired, roll the ice cream sandwiches in sprinkles, chopped nuts, crushed candy or any other delicious topping you can think of.

Chill until firm and then they are ready to eat.

Enjoy!

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