Ice-cream sandwiches are one of those treasured joys of summer. But you don't have to resign yourself to chasing down the ice-cream truck just to enjoy a cool treat. You can easily make these frosty confections yourself at home. The recipe below uses a homemade chocolate cookie recipe as the sandwich base, but if you don't have time to do any baking, you can easily adapt this recipe with store-bought cookies as well, such as a Nilla wafer, French butter cookie, or Nabisco's Famous chocolate wafers. In place of ice cream, you can also use fruit sorbet or sherbet.
You can also make these ice-cream sandwiches in advance. Just assemble the sandwiches, wrap each sandwich in waxed paper or parchment paper and then transfer to the freezer until the ice cream hardens. They'll keep for about a week, but during a long stretch of hot summer weather, it's doubtful you'll be able to keep them around that long.
RECIPE
Homemade Ice-Cream Sandwiches
Makes 12 Sandwiches
1 quart best-quality vanilla ice cream
1 batch Chocolate Cookies, cooled (recipe follows)
Place a scoop of ice cream on a cookie and top with a second cookie. Serve immediately. Or, wrap each ice-cream sandwich individually in a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper and freeze until ready to serve.
Chocolate Cookies
Makes 2 Dozen, 4-Inch Cookies
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups best-quality cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt with a whisk; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together until light and creamy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract; beat until combined. Add the dry ingredients, about 1/3 cup at a time, and mix just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the butter-and-sugar mixture. Do not overbeat. Fold in the chopped chocolate.
3. With a small ice-cream scoop, place about 1/4-cup balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or an Exopat nonstick baking mat (see sources below). Arrange the dough in rows of two lightly pressed balls to allow for spreading while baking. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and cracked slightly. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Sources: Valrhona unsweetened cocoa powder, $8 per pound, from New York Cake & Baking Distributor, 56 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010; 212-675-2253 or 800-942-2539. Exopat baking mats, $24.95 per 12 1/2-by-16 1/2-inch sheet, $27.95 per 16 1/2-by-24 1/2-inch sheet, from Bridge Kitchenware, 214 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022; 212-838-6746 or 800-274-3435.
