Having recently purchased Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream – I was trying to think of a way to empty my ice cream container of the milkiest chocolate ice cream (post pending approval from Jeni’s publisher) so that I had an excuse to make a new flavor. Now I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better way to store ice cream than between two chocolatey cookies. Can you? Didn’t think so.
bf took this picture – he’s quite the photographer, no?
I was tempted to call these “Wicked Witch Ice Cream Sandwiches” because they were so melty! So I learned a valuable lesson, that I will now pass on to you – make these cookies a day (or at least several hours) ahead of time. Because even though you might put them in the fridge to chill faster, and even though you were very patient, and even though they may feel cool to the touch – they’re not. Not really. There is still some warmth lurking inside them.
The first batch resulted in a pile of cookies in a puddle of melted ice cream – delicious cookies in a delicious puddle of ice cream, but a puddle no less. You want a picture, don’t you? BF was really excited to show everyone my failure, so here it is…
I did what I could to salvage them, I even separated the top cookie from the bottom to try to get them to stop melting, but there was no hope. No sense in crying over spilt milk (or melted ice cream) so … I ate some anyway… (I know, I should be ashamed of myself… but they were SO GOOD). I also saved a couple in with the ice cream that I re-scooped back into the container, so that I could crumble it into a new flavor… what sounds better? “Wicked Witch Ice Cream” or “Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich” … hmmm both sound like great flavors, don’t they? hahaha
The cookie dough comes together very quickly. I could tell mixing them up that they were gonna be great, they just smelled like ice cream sandwich cookies. It’s a smell I’m quite familiar with, as I usually eat only the cookies and throw the ice cream away (don’t judge me).
As you let the “dough” set it will become a consistency somewhere between a brownie batter and a ganache. I used a scoop to put them onto the tray, and then smooshed them down a bit with my fingers to make sure they’d be more flat than rounded. As they sit on the counter they will solidify a bit, no worries. Both the soft “batter” and harder “ganache” batches baked the into the same tasty cookie treats in 11 minutes flat. You’ll know they’re done when they get crackly on top. They’re super fudgy and soft, make sure you make an odd number of cookies so you can test one for “quality control”….
Fudgy Ice Cream Cookies for Ice Cream Sandwiches – Adapted from Serious Eats
- 4 Tbs unsalted butter
- 12 oz extra dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 C AP flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 C sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment
1. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool.
2. Sift pr stir together flour and baking powder, then add salt.
3. Whip the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract together until thick. Then gently stir in the cooled chocolate mixture. Stir in the flour mixture and let the batter rest until it thickens slightly. (It will go from brownie batter-y to ganache-y. I scooped mine slightly before it hit the ganache phase, see picture.) This could take anywhere from 5 -15 minutes, depending on the temperature of your chocolate when you added it to the eggs.
4. Scoop by large tablespoonfuls onto parchment and flatten slightly with your finger or the back of your scoop. You should end up with about 20 cookies.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes until they’re no longer shiny and they begin to crack. Cool FOR A LONG TIME VERY PATIENTLY on a cooling rack.
6. When you’re ready to assemble your ice cream cookies, set your ice cream out for about 10 minutes to soften, then put a scoop on each of 10 cookies, and top each scoop with another cookie. Freeze in a single layer for about 20 minutes, then wrap in plastic wrap and store in a ziploc bag for future enjoyment.