Cookie ice cream sandwich

Ice cream between two cookies, frozen firm. The trick is that the cookie has to stay soft — a hard one snaps when you bite and the ice cream shoots out.

Sandwiches and bars · Hands-on: 25 min · Waiting: 3 h · Total time: 3 h 25 min · Servings: 8 · Difficulty: Easy

The ice cream slab needs 2 hours to set, and the finished sandwiches at least another hour before they can be picked up.

The ice cream sandwich is the most practical thing to do with ice cream: made ahead, holds its shape and is eaten by hand.

The one problem to solve is the cookie. A hard, crisp biscuit is like stone at −18 °C — bite into the sandwich and both snap at once, sending the ice cream out the sides. You want a soft, chewy cookie (the American style with plenty of brown sugar and butter), which stays pliable even frozen. Brown sugar holds water, and that water does not harden in the freezer the way a dry biscuit does.

The second detail: do not scoop the ice cream, cut it from a slab. Spread the ice cream on a tray in a two-centimetre layer, let it set, then stamp out discs with a cutter or a glass. The sandwiches come out even and nothing squeezes out.

What you need

  • 16 soft chewy cookies about 7 cm across (bought or baked)
  • 600 g ice cream
  • 80 g chocolate beans, chopped nuts or sprinkles for the edges
  • a pinch of sea salt — optional

Method

  1. Line a tray or tin about 20 × 30 cm with baking paper, letting it overhang the sides.
  2. Let the ice cream soften for 10 minutes, then spread it on the tray in an even layer about 2 cm thick. Cover and freeze for 2 hours.
  3. Lay the cookies on a board and put them in the freezer for 10 minutes — a cold cookie will not melt the ice cream as you assemble.
  4. Lift the set slab out by the paper onto a cold board. Stamp out 8 discs with a cutter or a glass the same width as the cookies.
  5. Put a disc on each cookie and top with a second one. Press gently until the ice cream reaches the edge.
  6. Roll the edges in the topping: scatter it on a small plate and roll the sandwich around its rim.
  7. Lay the sandwiches on a tray, cover and freeze for at least an hour to firm up.

Serving and storage

Wrap each sandwich in baking paper and keep them in a sealed box. They last a month in the freezer and can be eaten straight from it.

Tips

  • A hard, crisp biscuit cannot be eaten frozen. If that is all you have, let the sandwiches stand for 5 minutes before serving.
  • Ice cream higher in fat and sugar stays softer — it suits a sandwich better than sorbet.
  • No cutter? Slice the slab into squares with a knife and use square cookies or wafers.
  • Rolling the edges is not only decoration: the topping catches ice cream that would otherwise squeeze out as you bite.
  • Two flavours fit side by side on one tray — make half the sandwiches from each.

Which ice cream works

Shop-bought will do, but homemade makes it a different dessert. These recipes of ours fit:

Amount: about 75 g per sandwich

More desserts

  • Ice cream cake

    Two layers of ice cream on a biscuit base with a crunchy layer between them. Made a day ahead, and the only hard part is slicing it.

  • Ice cream sundae with hot chocolate sauce

    The classic sundae: vanilla ice cream, warm chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The sauce must be hot and thin — a thick one sets into a hard shell on the ice cream.

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