Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ice Cream Sandwich from the Perfect Scoop

Foods and experiences reminiscent of your childhood are precious.  Being almost 40 I love things that remind me of my youth and give me a glimpse of my past.  Some of my triggers are soaring high on a swing, the scent of honeysuckles and buying ice cream from a Mr. Softee truck.  Remember bomb pops, Good Humor bars (chocolate eclair, strawberry shortcake and toasted almond), creamsicles and ice cream sandwiches?  Last week I heard the music of an ice cream truck near our house and ran out with my kids to find it.  My younger son picked a Dora popsicle while my older son chose a snow cone.  The snow cone was underwhelming and given the thumbs down. Dora on the other hand was well-received and eaten with enthusiasm on the porch.  In any case, I was wondering if the $4 I spent would create a fond memory for my kids.  I highly doubted it.

I have been eager to try out my first recipe from the cookbook, The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz.  I love his blog and requested his cookbook as a gift from my mom.  I made ice cream sandwiches using both the Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies  and the Philadelphia-Style Vanilla Ice Cream recipes from his book.  I had such fun making them! It almost felt taboo licking ice cream from the bowl at 9am :-).  I used vanilla bean paste for the ice cream because I don't normally have vanilla beans in the house.  I also rolled out the cookie dough and cut them into fluted rounds instead of making balls and flattening them. I wanted to try to create the look of the original ice cream sandwiches.

The taste didn't remind me of the ice cream sandwich of younger days, but it definitely was yummy.  The kids really enjoyed eating them as did I. But I think for me the excitement was more about the journey than the end result.

Rolled out cookie dough

Baked Chocolate Cookie

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
6 T unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1 t baking powder
1/8 t salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Beat together the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Whisk together the cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt. Stir the dry ingredients gradually into the creamed butter mixture
until completely incorporated and there are no streaks of butter.
Form the dough into sixteen 1 1/2 inch rounds.  On the baking sheets, flatten the rounds so they are 3 inches across, spacing them evenly.
(I rolled out the dough and used a fluted cutter to make the rounds. I used a fork to make the holes on the dough prior to baking).
Bake for 20 minutes**, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking. Cool the cookies completely.
Sandwich ice cream between 2 cookies, then wrap the sandwich in plastic wrap and store in the freezer.

**I thought 20 minutes was too long. I baked mine for 15 minutes and they were still more crisp than I would have liked.

Churning the Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia-Style
From The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

3 cups heavy cream or 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
3/4 t vanilla extract

Pour 1 cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot.  Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 cups of cream (or remaining 1 cup of cream and milk) and the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according
the the manufacturer's instructions.

**I used 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste in place of the vanilla bean since I didn't have it on hand.

Scooped on Ice Cream