Wednesday, June 19, 2013

How to Make Ice Cream Sandwiches


You can make delightful ice cream sandwiches better than those in the store--for much less than store-bought ones. Besides you get to be creative. You can pick your favorite ice cream, you can make different shapes, and you can use different cookies.  While these are square chocolate cookies with vanilla ice cream, be creative. Make them round with cherry ice cream or whatever you would like.

Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe or a Mix
The secret is in the wafer cookie.  You want a crisp, thin wafer that crumbles when bit rather than squishing the ice cream out.  Both sugar cookies and shortbread cookies make excellent ice cream sandwiches.  Or you can use a mix, a chocolate ice cream sandwich cookie mix.  Our Chocolate Sugar Cookie Mix works also. 
The following chocolate shortbread cookie recipe works particularly well. It makes thin, dense, rich shortbread cookies that are sturdy but crisp. The cornstarch in the powdered sugar holds the cookie together to make it less crumbly. (If granulated sugar was used, the grains would cut through the butter leaving tiny air pockets that would tend to leaven the cookie and make it less sturdy.)  This dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or frozen for two months.
If you are a chocoholic, you can make a richer, more intense chocolate cookie with four ounces unsweetened chocolate instead of the semisweet. Add two tablespoons powdered sugar.

Ingredients
3 one-ounce squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 dash salt 
4 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
Ice cream


To make the cookies
  1. Melt the chocolate and one tablespoon butter in the microwave. Set aside.
  2. Cream the remaining butter and powdered sugar together. Add the salt.
  3. Add the four egg yolks, beating after each. Add the vanilla and the chocolate.
  4. Add the flour in three parts, beating after each addition.
  5. Scrape the dough onto a large sheet of waxed paper. Pat the dough into a square or round log. Wrap it in waxed paper and smooth the edges into a uniform log. Refrigerate the log for at least an hour.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the dough into 3/16-inch thick slices. Place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for eight to ten minutes or just until set. Cool on a wire rack.
To assemble the sandwiches

Once the cookies have cooled, fill them with slightly softened ice cream. The top sides of the cookies should be facing out. Use a small spatula to smooth out the ice cream into an even layer and to help smooth up the edges.  Place the sandwiches in the freezer until they are completely firm.