Tag Archives: Ice cream Sandwiches

The Ultimate Ice Cream Sandwich (Mocha Almond Fudge)

The problem with most homemade ice cream sandwiches is that the cookie part of the sandwich becomes rock hard upon freezing. It becomes impossible to take a bite and the ice cream just squishes out and makes a huge mess. You need a cookie with a soft texture.

The talented folks at America’s Test Kitchen have figured out how to make a squidgy chocolate wafer, just like the classic ice cream sandwich of my youth. A chocolate wafer, so moist, it stuck to the paper wrapper. I had to lick the chocolate crumbs off my fingers when I was all done. The secret ingredient to keeping that cookie layer super fudgy is chocolate syrup. All the ingredients are mixed in a bowl and spread into a thin layer on a baking sheet.

For the ice cream filling, I had no interest in recreating the bland, insipid vanilla ice cream center of my youth. My goal was the ultimate ice cream sandwich. I decided to fill mine with Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream, my spin on Baskin & Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge.

The last time I made this ice cream I just scooped it into cones. I think the ice cream sandwiches take it to another level. I dipped the short sides of the sandwiches in a mixture of crushed chocolate covered espresso beans and chopped toasted almonds. The textural crunch they provide balance the soft ice cream and squishy cookie layer. Perfection.

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Servings ice cream sandwiches

Calories 747 kcal

Equipment

ice cream maker
2 quarter sheet pans (9×13 inches each)
1 offset spatula

Ingredients

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice cream

340 grams whole milk (1 1/2 cups)
680 grams 35% cream (3 cups)
98 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
20 grams corn syrup (1 Tablespoon)
8 grams Instant espresso powder (2 Tablespoons)
10 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract (2 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
94 grams roasted almonds, coarsely chopped (2/3 cup)
234 grams hot fudge sauce (3/4 cup)

Chocolate Wafers

210 grams all purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)
63 grams Dutch process cocoa powder (3/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
198 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
117 grams chocolate syrup (like Nesquick) (1/3 cup)
170 grams unsalted butter, melted (3/4 cup)

For Decorating

115 grams chocolate covered espresso beans, coarsely chopped (2/3 cup)
94 grams roasted almonds, coarsely chopped (2/3 cup)

Instructions

Mocha Almond Fudge Ice Cream

Freeze the work bowl of an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Usually, it needs at least 24 hours in the freezer before you start, so plan accordingly.
In a large measuring cup or bowl with a spout, whisk together milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, espresso powder, vanilla and salt.
Turn on ice cream machine and pour mixture into canister. Freeze for about 20-25 minutes, until the ice cream has soft serve consistency. Add almonds during the last minute of mixing.
Warm hot fudge sauce slightly, so that it has a drizzling consistency. Set out a 9×5 inch loaf pan to transfer the ice cream into.
Drizzle ¼ of the hot fudge sauce into the empty loaf pan. Scoop ⅓ of the ice cream over the fudge sauce and smooth out with a spatula. Continue drizzling and layering ice cream until you have 3 layers of ice cream and 4 layers of sauce. Freeze for at least 4 hours, until firm.

Chocolate Cookies

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 350°F. Lightly spray two 9×13 inch quarter-sheet pans with non-stick cooking spray and line with parchment paper (do not grease parchment).
Sift flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda into medium bowl.
Beat eggs, sugar, and chocolate syrup in large bowl until light brown. Add melted butter and whisk until fully incorporated.
Add dry ingredients to egg mixture. With rubber spatula, gradually incorporate dry ingredients into wet; stir until evenly moistened and no dry streaks remain. Pour half the batter into each prepared baking sheet. Use an offset metal spatula to spread batter evenly in pan. Bake until cookie springs back when touched with finger, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes, then run paring knife around perimeter of baking sheets to loosen.If you want the classic look of a store bought ice cream sandwich, dock the surface with a fork. Invert cookie onto work surface or large cutting board; carefully peel off parchment. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Assemble Sandwiches

Line one 9×13 inch quarter sheet pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 4 inch overhang on each of the four sides. Place one cooled chocolate cookie, upside down, onto plastic wrap.
Remove ice cream from freezer and let sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften. Scoop the ice cream onto the cookie in the pan, and using an offset spatula, spread it out evenly. Top with second chocolate cookie. Cover with overhanging plastic wrap and freeze for at least 8 hours.
Unwrap ice cream sandwich and place on cutting board. Cut into 12 rectangles. Place ice cream sandwiches back onto baking sheet to keep frozen while you get the decorating ingredients ready to use.
Mix chopped chocolate covered coffee beans and chopped almonds together and place in a shallow bowl. Remove ice cream sandwiches from freezer and press the long sides of each sandwich into the crumble mixture. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and store in freezer bag until ready to serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 747kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 12gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 294mgPotassium: 466mgFiber: 6gSugar: 46gVitamin A: 1301IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 156mgIron: 3mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Salted Honey Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches

4 Replies

I consider Honey Cake to be the Jewish equivalent to Fruit Cake. It’s always served at Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) celebrations but no one really likes it.

Honey figures prominently in Rosh Hashanah menus as it symbolizes our desire for a sweet new year. The choice of honey was brilliantly explained on the website torah.org with this insight:
“A bee can inflict pain by its sting, yet it also produces delicious honey. Life has this same duality of potential. We pray that our choices will result in a sweet year.”

But nowhere is it written that honey must be baked into a cake. This year, Salted Honey Gingerbread ice Cream Sandwiches are on the menu. I’m a rebel.

Watch how they come together.

The cookie stamps I used are from Nordic Ware. Rolling the cookie dough in granulated sugar prevents the cookie from sticking to the cookie mold. You could certainly just bake the cookies without the bee themed stamps, but I couldn’t resist.

I tested out this recipe this summer and I wrapped each ice cream sandwich individually in plastic wrap and stored them in the freezer. We quickly discovered that the frozen cookies become rock hard making the sandwiches really difficult to eat. So in the recipe, I suggest you cut out the ice cream circles and store them a baking sheet wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer. Assemble the sandwiches, with the room temperature, soft and chewy cookies, just before you want to eat them.

The addition of the salt to the honey ice cream keeps it from being cloyingly sweet. The spicy chewy ginger cookies are a perfect match for the sweet honey ice cream. Wishing you all a sweet and healthy new year.

Click here to print recipe for Salted Honey Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Hazelnut Almond “Waffle” Ice Cream Sandwiches

6 Replies

This started out as a post about some simple “Nutty Crunch Cookies” that were featured in the March 2014 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine, in their “Fast, Easy, Fresh Weeknight Favourites” column. I think that there is no better way to end a meal than with a cookie, so I am always on the hunt for new cookie ideas. I filed it away and got on with more important stuff like the actual eating of cookies.

Somehow, a simple cookie seems to have snowballed into” waffle” ice cream sandwiches. If you have ever read the children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” (or the ever popular sequel, and my personal fave, “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”) , you will understand how these things happen.

It all started with my taking some photography classes with a talented food photographer. He encouraged me to start thinking less like a cook and more like a food stylist. I interpreted that to mean I needed to go shopping. A few trips to Target, HomeSense and Zone, and I had filled a baker’s rack with some lovely new props.
One of my favourite finds was this adorable cookie press set.I knew I had to use them to make those Nutty Crunch Cookies. As I was styling a “Milk and Cookies” shot, I kept staring at the “waffle” design on these cookies, thinking that they would be quite fantastic with a scoop of ice cream sandwiched between them. The Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche Ice Cream sitting in my freezer called out to me.One of my favourite childhood memories is going to the CNE (The “Ex”) with my older sister and our Auntie Susie. After going on all the rides and playing all the games with us, we would head to the Food Building for Tiny Tom Doughnuts, Candy Apples and Ice cream Waffles. We used to beg for the treats before the rides, but Auntie Susie, wise beyond her years, knew that ice cream waffles prior to a wild and crazy ride on The Scrambler would not end well.

When my kids were little I would sometimes make them waffles and ice cream for dinner. Dinner and dessert all in one! I was a very efficient mother. Steaming hot crunchy waffles, wrapped around a cold scoop of ice cream is one of life’s perfect food combinations. While these cookies are not real “waffles”, the combo of the nutty crunch from hazelnut and almond cookies and the swirled caramel ribbons of dulce de leche ice cream is quite an unbeatable duo.

Click here to print recipe for Hazelnut Almond _Waffle_ Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Love Letter in a Hazelnut Macaron Coffee Ice Cream Sandwich

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I became a regular coffee drinker late in life. I had my first cup of coffee when I was in university and I needed to stay up late to study. I put 50 cents into the vending machine in the library lobby and a stream of steaming hot black sludge was emptied into my styrofoam cup. (This was before the days of Starbucks.) I took a sip, spit it back into the cup and never drank a drop of coffee again for the next 15 years.

Then when my kids were little I started going away on “girl’s weekends” with all the other harried moms in our neighbourhood. We traded up from morning playdates with apple juice and cookies to weekend getaways with wine and cheese. In those days we all bought cute new pyjamas for the weekend and gathered in the living room of my cottage on Saturday and Sunday mornings for breakfast. My friend Brigitte was shocked when I said that I didn’t like coffee. She made it her mission to convert me from tea to coffee. She filled a large glass measuring cup with milk and heated it in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Then she put the immersion blender into the measuring cup, turned it on, and “whoosh”, the milk foamed up like magic. She got a huge cereal bowl and filled it with about 1/4 coffee and 3/4 hot milk. She tipped in about 2 teaspoons of sugar and handed it to me. I took a sip, and fell in love. It was like having hot coffee ice cream. None of the bitterness of my first coffee experience. Saaaay, I do like coffee!!

When I got home I was so excited to tell my husband that I was now a coffee drinker. The next morning he made me a cup of his coffee. It tasted nothing like Brigitte’s! As soon as I lifted the cup to my mouth, an overwhelmingly strong unpleasant aroma hit me. Hazelnut vanilla?? What the f**k?? I affectionately dubbed his coffee “smelly coffee” and promptly bought my own plain coffee. Gradually over the years I increased the amount of coffee and decreased the volume of sugar and milk. My husband is still a proud card carrying drinker of Van Houtte Vanilla Hazelnut Coffee.

Because I occasionally give him a hard time about his “smelly coffee”, I decided to make him a special treat to make up for it. I made hazelnut macarons and sandwiched them with vanilla and coffee ice creams. An edible love letter!

Ground hazelnuts replace ground almonds in the classic macaron recipe. Bob’s Red Mill sells hazelnuts already ground. Hazelnut meal and icing sugar get pulsed in the food processor and then get pushed through a sieve.Egg whites and sugar are whisked into stiff peaks.Everything gets mixed together and then piped into circles for the cookies. I made a template for piping so I would end up with even sized macarons.I briefly contemplated making my own ice cream but I don’t love my husband that much! I did splurge and buy Haagen Dazs vanilla and coffee ice creams. I let the coffee ice cream soften and spread it out on a baking sheet. I froze it for several hours and then spread softened vanilla ice cream over the coffee. I let the whole thing freeze for several more hours.Assembling the sandwiches was easy with a cookie cutter.These ice cream sandwiches are quite versatile. They make an excellent late night snack.They are also eminently suitable for breakfast with a cup of coffee (smelly or not, your choice!)