Cookie Monster Ice Cream Sandwiches from I Scream Sandwich by Jennie Schacht

There is a local ice cream shop in my hometown that has the best ice cream sandwiches. Chocolate chip cookies with chocolate chip ice cream. The cookies are thick and they turn chewy once frozen. They also have just enough of a salty flavor to offset the sweetness of the ice cream, making the whole treat incredibly tasty.

I’ve not made many ice cream sandwiches myself so it’s never occurred to me to try and recreate that version I loved growing up. Then I received a copy of I Scream Sandwich by Jennie Schacht. Those ice cream sandwiches from back home came to mind, but I wanted to try something that sounded different. Maybe the Vietnamese Breakfast with coffee flavored ice cream or the Got Your Goat with goat’s milk ice cream.

This book is full of ice cream sandwiches that will spark your curiosity. You’ll be pulling out the ice cream maker and calling dibs on bringing dessert to all your summer picnics. Creamy ice creams, rich gelatos and fruity sorbets are surrounded by more than just cookies.  Croissants, cakes, bars and buns are just a few of the creative exteriors to the sweet sandwiches in this book.

After my husband voiced his craving for something more classic, I decided to make the Cookie Monster. Let’s just say that after reading the recipe I realized that this sandwich was classic only in flavor. I wanted something a little different and, wow, did I get it.

Why? Well, this sandwich isn’t surrounded by a cookie, but by cookie dough! Frozen (yet soft) cookie dough around homemade chocolate chip ice cream. It’s a brilliant idea.

And you know what is even better? Despite the fact that it’s cookie dough and not a baked cookie, it tastes almost exactly like that ice cream sandwich I grew up with!

Just a few tips if you are not a regular ice cream sandwich maker (like I wasn’t). Plan, plan, plan ahead. You will need to plan for freezing time, greased parchment paper and cold bowls. Read through the recipe and read it again. It’s really not that much work when all is said and done, but you’ll want to know what to expect before you get into it. Also, some of the methods for assembly are explained in the first few pages of the book so give them a browse before you start the recipe.

Finally, don’t expect to have much will power around these things. I thought a batch would last us a while, but these have to be the most vocal desserts I have ever made. I could hear them calling me from the freezer all day long.

Cookie Monster Chocolate Chip Ice Cream on Cookie Dough

Copyright © 2013 Jennie Schacht, reprinted with permission from Abrams Books

Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (GF)

2 cups (480 ml) whole milk
¹⁄3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup, inverted sugar syrup or light agave nectar
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup (100 g) bittersweet (60 to 70 percent) chocolate, chopped or chips
1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil or coconut oil

Whisk ½ cup (120 ml) of the milk with the sugar, syrup, tapioca, and salt in a medium saucepan until no lumps remain. Stir in the remaining 1½ cups (360 ml) milk and the cream. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until it begins to steam and slightly bubble at the edges. Adjust to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of a cream sauce, about 3 minutes longer; do not fully boil.

Transfer the mixture to a metal bowl set over a larger bowl of ice and water. Stir occasionally until the mixture is cool, taking care not to slosh water into the bowl. Stir in the vanilla, then cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 2 hours. Transfer the bowl to the freezer for the last half hour before spinning it.

Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. While the mixture spins, melt the chocolate and oil in the microwave or in a small saucepan until you can stir it smooth. Let cool to room temperature, keeping it fluid. With the machine running, drizzle in the cooled melted chocolate during the last minute of spinning. (Alternatively, drizzle the chocolate over the ice cream as you transfer it to the container, folding it in with a spatula or ice cream paddle to break it up as you go.) Transfer the ice cream to a chilled container, cover, and freeze until firm but still spreadable, at least 4 hours.

Cookie Dough

½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter
¹⁄3 cup packed (67 g) light brown sugar
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk, whole or 2%
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1¼ cup (165 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (200 g) mini chocolate chips
Neutral vegetable oil, for the waxed or parchment paper

Melt the butter with the brown and granulated sugar in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the milk, vanilla, and salt until well blended. Stir in the flour until completely smooth. Let cool completely, then stir in the chips. (If the chips begin to melt, stop stirring—the swirls will be pretty.)

Line an 8-inch (20-cm) freezer-safe baking pan with two pieces of lightly oiled waxed paper or parchment paper so the papers extend well beyond the edges of the pan on all four sides as a sling for easy removal. Scatter half of the dough into the pan and use your fingers to pack it into an even layer. Top with lightly oiled waxed or parchment paper, oiled side down.

Place another lightly oiled waxed or parchment paper in the pan, leaving 2 inches (5 cm) of paper extending at each end. Scatter and press the remaining dough into an even layer. Top with lightly oiled waxed paper or parchment, oiled side down. Freeze the dough layers until firm, at least 1 hour.

SANDWICH!

Use the flaps to lift out the top cookie dough layer. Peel the paper from one side and loosely replace it. Flip the layer over and do the same to the other side. Repeat with the second cookie dough layer. Place both layers back in the freezer.

Form sandwiches using Method #4* on page 19, starting with step 3, using the bottom two pieces of parchment extended on all sides to line the pan in place of the plastic wrap. Freeze hard before cutting the sandwiches into 4 strips in each direction to form 16 bars. To make 64 bite-size treats, cut each bar into quarters.

*Place one slab of cookie dough top-side down in the pan and spread softened ice cream over it in an even layer. Top with the second slab, top-side up, pressing firmly to evenly distribute the ice cream. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until very firm, at least 6 hours or overnight, for easiest cutting.

I should probably mention that I happily have many cookbooks to review this summer. Don’t worry, I haven’t stopped creating my own recipes. They will be interspersed regularly. But I have a passion for cookbooks and enjoy the opportunity to support the art by sharing ideas for new books for your library. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I was not required to post about it and received no compensation for doing so. Thoughts here are my own.

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