Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

It’s hard to believe that two years have passed since my last celebrity guest blog.  Although I imagined my cooking days were over, I decided to come out of retirement in order to make Anne a birthday dessert.  (If you’re reading this, Brett Favre, don’t get any ideas.)  I presented Anne with several options, and she selected ice cream cookie sandwiches.  We had never made these before, but we really enjoyed the Trader Joe’s variety when visiting some friends recently, so I thought I could recreate them.  (I hold nothing against Joe, and in fact endorse his delicious but inferior ice cream sandwich.)

The first big decision when making these sandwiches is the type of cookie.  Although I have an award-winning oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe (if you’re reading this, MacSwans, you know what I’m talking about), Anne thought we could try these “BEST-EVER chewy chocolate chip cookies.”  Their narcissism notwithstanding, these cookies are phenomenal: delicious on their own and durable as an ice cream scaffold.

The second decision is the type of ice cream.  We went with the classic, vanilla.  Although Anne makes the best ice cream—in my humble but well-informed opinion—I didn’t want her making ice cream for her own birthday, and I wasn’t about to attempt two recipes on the same day (I’m just one man).  So we settled on Haagen-Dazs.

The final decision is the type (or in our case, types) of toppings.  I offered suggestions such as chocolate chips, M&Ms, Oreos, nuts, bananas (inside joke), or crumbled candy bars.  If you know Anne, you know she selected the Oreos.  But since it is her birthday (apparently that’s an excuse for anything), she also selected crumbled Reese’s peanut butter cups.  My taste buds were pleased by her prudent decisions.

I think it’s safe to say the entire recipe was a sweet success.  Other than the chocolate chips, which were technically semisweet.  The cookie recipe is given below.  I made the cookies the previous day.  For assembly, mold semi-soft ice cream in a measuring cup (I used a half-cup), place on an upside-down cookie, top it with another cookie, roll or sprinkle on the toppings, and chill the sandwiches in the freezer for at least one hour. (However, we were a little impatient and didn't wait an hour so while it still tasted incredible, it was a bit messy.)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients:

Recipe taken from: Food Network Canada via Kelsey's Apple a Day
Makes approximately 30 cookies

• 3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened 
• 3/4 c. brown sugar 
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 2 c. all purpose flour 
• 2 tsp. cornstarch 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 c. bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla and blend in.
3. Mix in flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chunks.
4. Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop dough onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.
5. Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.