Make Your Own: Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ice cream sandwiches have always been my favorite of the ice cream novelties. And, if truth be told, it’s really the old-fashioned oblong chocolate wafers filled with vanilla ice-cream that I still have a hard time resisting. But I also love to make my own varieties.

Seafair parties are the perfect time to share them with friends, too. At least when the weather cooperates, as it did this past weekend. On Saturday Seattle finally hit 90°F – the first time in two years!  I spent the day at a friend’s house watching the air show over Lake Washington.  After the Blue Angels performed we took a break and I handed out the cold, creamy treats.

I made two varieties: cocoa nib cookies with vanilla ice cream and ginger-molasses cookies with peach ice cream.   The cookie recipes were both from The Grand Central Baking Book and the ice cream recipes were both from  The Perfect Scoop.

While making ice cream sandwiches is not hard, allow enough time for making all the parts.  Make the cookies and the ice cream at least two days before the event so the cookies can cool and set and the ice cream can go into the freezer for a few hours before you assemble the sandwiches.  Let the ice cream soften just a little before assembly – about 10 minutes – so that it’s easier to scoop and shape to the cookie. Assemble the sandwiches several hours before your event or, better, the day before so you can return them to the freezer before serving them.  If you are making two varieties don’t forget to calculate how much time you’ll need to let your ice cream maker bowl refreeze between batches.

Of course instead of making both the cookies and the ice cream you can make just the cookies or just the ice cream, purchase the other part and assemble; or even buy both parts and assemble.  You’ll still have the benefit of making your own creative combinations.

No matter what method you choose I recommend that you make them a little smaller than you think you should.  These homemade sandwiches are generally much richer than anything you’ll buy so a little will go a long way.  I tend to use cookies that are no more than 3″ in diameter.  Once you’ve assembled them, wrap each sandwich in parchment paper, freeze for at least a couple of hours and you’re ready to go!