There is general agreement that ice cream and cookies are one of the world’s perfect combinations. Put the two together in an ice cream sandwich and you add a do-way-ahead dimension. Brownie drop cookies are my cookie of choice. They can be sandwiched with any flavor of ice cream that goes well with chocolate (which in my opinion, includes every flavor except peach) and have such a soft fudgy texture that they do not become hard even when frozen. Chocolate chip cookie dough, coffee, peppermint, vanilla, or raspberry make especially good ice cream choices.
Many of the cookies in the “Big Chewy Cookies” chapter are also ideal ice cream sandwich candidates. For shape or flavor reasons, however, the Chocolate-Covered Chocolate Chip Cookie Mud Balls, Chocolate Caramel Pecan Clusters, Jumbo Black Bottom Coconut Macaroons, Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies, and Big City Black-and-Whites are the few cookies I would skip as an ice cream sandwich cookie. Chewy chocolate chip cookies make an especially great choice. A nice idea for a party is to make the sandwiches with a variety of ice cream flavors and let guests choose their favorite flavor.
For making any ice cream sandwich, the guidelines are the same. Let the cookies cool thoroughly before filling them. Letting the cooled cookies freeze for several hours is even better. Soften the ice cream (about 20 minutes in the refrigerator works well) just until it is spreadable but not melted, so the cookies do not become soggy. Wrap the ice cream sandwiches tightly and seal them tightly in a freezer storage container so they do not develop an “off” flavor or absorb odors. Give the wrapped ice cream sandwiches time to freeze firm before serving them. On a warm day, this can take at least 2 hours. Depending on the size of the cookie, plan on about 1/3 to ½ cup of ice cream for each sandwich.
makes 7 cookie sandwiches • cookie making 20 minutes • cookie baking 350 degrees, two baking sheets for about 13 minutes each
1½ cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon instant coffee, dissolved in 2 teaspoons water
2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 pints ice cream, softened just until spreadable
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Put the chocolate chips, butter, and dissolved coffee in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler). Stir the mixture until the chocolate chips and butter are melted and smooth. Remove from the water and set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla until thickened and light yellow in color, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the melted chocolate mixture. Mix in the flour just until it is incorporated. Set the batter aside for 15 minutes to thicken slightly.
Using a measuring cup (which works best with this sticky batter) with a ¼-cup capacity, scoop up portions of batter and drop onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart. Use a rubber spatula to scrape all of the batter from the measuring cup for each cookie.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cookie comes out with moist crumbs, not wet batter, clinging to it, about 13 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to loosen the cookies from the parchment paper and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Wrap the cookies individually in plastic wrap and freeze them for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
Remove the cookies from the freezer and turn half of them bottom side up. Use a thin metal spatula to spread one cookie with about 1/3 cup ice cream. Smooth the edges of the ice cream and top the ice cream with another cookie, flat side facing down, pressing the cookie gently onto the ice cream. Wrap the ice cream sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and freeze it. Continue filling and freezing the remaining cookies. (You will not use all of the ice cream.)
Freeze the ice cream sandwiches for at least 2 hours, or up to 1 week, before serving. For longer than overnight storage, seal the wrapped ice cream sandwiches in a clean container. Serve frozen.
