ice cream sandwiches | e2 bakes brooklyn

Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches When I posted Flourless Chocolate Cookies a couple months ago, my first thought was “these would be perfect for ice cream sandwiches.” Short story shorter, I was right.

Like all the best ice cream sandwich cookies, Flourless Chocolate Cookies are fairly flat and aren’t too hard or too soft. They also have this lovely, crinkly brownie-like quality, and are super easy to make and naturally gluten-free. Like I said, perfect. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches These cookies are on the sweeter side (confectioner’s sugar provides a lot of the structure), so I added a teaspoon of granulated espresso to the recipe to keep them from being cloying with ice cream. I also cut the size of the cookies in half for a dozen medium cookies instead of six large ones.

The assembly process begins by matching cookies, meaning determining which are the most compatible shapes. Mine all turned out fairly round, but there are always a couple that are a little oblong. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches Next up, you’ll need to freeze the cookies for about 30 minutes. This helps the ice cream to stay on the solid side and the cookies from getting too soft during assembly. This step is not strictly necessary, but it is good insurance against ice cream sandwich frustration. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches Regarding ice cream, use whatever flavor you want. I went with a mid-level nationwide brand’s vanilla here and it was fine—good, even—but I will go higher quality next time. Oh, and I’ll probably go with mint chocolate chip because it’s my favorite. The point is to use what you love and not settle for less. Cookies are an important part of ice cream sandwiches, but ice cream is the *most* important part.

There are many ways of getting ice cream into ice cream sandwiches—slicing it, pressing it into molds, etc.—but I like to use the very easy and imprecise method of measuring out roughly 1/4 cup (1 small scoop) and lightly smashing it on a cookie. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches Freeze the sandwiches before rolling them in your sprinkles of choice or chopped nuts or mini chocolate chips or candy bar pieces or crushed Oreos. Again, use what you love and don’t settle for less. <—good life advice? The last step is to freeze your ice cream sandwiches again for several hours or up to a day before digging in. Yes, you can eat them right after assembly, but the ice cream squidges out the sides and then you’re just eating two cookies with a translucent smear of ice cream and a weird smattering of sprinkles and then licking ice cream off a salad plate like a wild animal.

Maybe that’s just me. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches Anyway, freezing the completed ice cream sandwiches for a few hours allows the ice cream to adhere to the cookies so that the sandwiches become single entities. That’s something I really care about with my ice cream sandwiches. Considering how much I loathe the patriarchy, I sure do love to be able to eat things in a ladylike manner. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches I assure you, they’re worth the lengthy freezer time. The cookies never fully freeze, instead softening a tiny bit and getting extra chewy. And then there’s the ice cream and crunchy sprinkles. Like I said, perfect.

Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches
makes 6 medium-large ice cream sandwiches

For cookies:
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder (natural or dutch processed)
1 teaspoon granulated espresso
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 large egg whites, room temperature

For assembly:
1 1/2-2 cups (about a pint) ice cream of choice
sprinkles of choice, optional
chopped nuts, optional
chopped candy bars, optional
crushed cookies, optional
miniature chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 325F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, espresso granules and salt. Add egg whites and whisk until smooth, glossy and a bit thick. If it seems dry during mixing, just keep going—it will get smooth. Let batter rest for 10 minutes–it will thicken slightly.

Drop batter in 1 tablespoon increments on the prepared baking sheet, making sure to leave them at least 3 inches apart. Bake 11-12 minutes, until puffed and crackly.

Let cool completely on their pan on a rack. Carefully peel parchment away from each cookie to release.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Place cooled cookies on the prepared pan and freeze for 30 minutes.

Assemble the ice cream sandwiches. Match cookies by shape and size so that you have six pairs. Turn 6 cookies upside down. Place 1/4-1/3 cup ice cream (roughly 1 small scoop) on each upside down cookie and use the back of the scoop to lightly smash it so that there’s a small perimeter (1/4-1/2 inch) of bare cookie all the way around. Top with one of the bare cookies. Smash down lightly with the heel of your hand to adhere. Freeze for 1 hour.

Place sprinkles (or other toppings of choice) in a shallow bowl(s). Working with one ice cream sandwich at a time, dip the edge into the sprinkles and carefully rotate the sandwich until the entire perimeter is covered. Use a clean finger to brush off any toppings stuck to the cookies. Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Ice cream sandwiches may be enjoyed immediately, but will not stay intact. For the most “stable” results, freeze for 4 hours before serving. For longer storage, double-wrap each ice cream sandwich in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to a month. Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

I spent all day trying to come up with a fun way to introduce today’s recipe, but it doesn’t need any fanfare. I mean, how could I possibly go on and on about what I’ve been doing this week when we have Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches to discuss?!

That’s right. Brown Butter. Blondie. Ice Cream. Sandwiches.

Y’all. These are so good. I mean, how couldn’t they be? Ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip brown butter blondies? Sign me up!

This recipe is made with the same base I used for the Chocolate Chip-Pecan Brown Butter Blondies I made earlier this summer. I left out the pecans here, but that’s the only adjustment I made. I might also suggest using mini chocolate chips instead of the standard size, only because big chunks of frozen chocolate are a little hard to bite through. Not that I had any problem putting away two of these yesterday afternoon.

Anyway…for the ice cream sandwiches, you’ll need to make two batches of those chocolaty, brown-buttery blondies. Once they’re baked, stash them in the freezer for a half hour or so, until they’re a little cooler than room temperature.

Once your blondies are cool, scoop ice cream onto one batch and then use a spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Top the ice cream layer with the other batch of blondies, pressing down slightly to make sure everything is adhered together. Freeze the assembled ice cream sandwiches for at least two hours before slicing and serving.

These Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches are my new favorite summer treat! The blondies are a little crunchy from being frozen, but still retain their signature chew. And the ice cream…I mean, hello. Ice cream and caramelly, chocolate chip-studded blondies are a match made in heaven. Sure, they’re a little messy to eat, but what good ice cream sandwich isn’t?!

Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches
makes 16-25 ice cream sandwiches

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups light or dark brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (or 1 2/3 cups mini chocolate chips)
2-3 cups (1-1 1/2 pints) ice cream of choice

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch square baking dishes with butter. Line with parchment, leaving a little overhang for removal, and butter again. Set aside.

Brown the butter. Place butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Let butter melt. Butter will bubble and crackle as the water content evaporates. Swirl the pan frequently for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on the color. When the solids are turning brown and the butter is nutty and fragrant, remove the pot from the heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a large mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar to the brown butter and stir to combine (it will be thick and look like wet sand). Whisk in egg and vanilla. Use a silicone spatula to stir in flour and salt, scraping down the bowl as needed. Fold in chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans and bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Let blondies cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before placing them in the freezer for 30 minutes, until cool. Thaw ice cream just so that its scoopable.

Remove one pan from the freezer. Leaving the blondies in the parchment-lined pan, drop ice cream in scoops over the top, and then use a spatula to smooth it into one even layer. Remove the other pan from the freezer. Use the parchment to lift the un-topped blondies from the pan. Remove parchment. Place Blondies over the ice cream layer. Press down slightly to make sure everything is adhered. Cover the pan in foil and freeze at least two hours.

When everything is frozen, remove pan from freezer. Remove foil, and use parchment to lift ice cream-filled blondies onto a cutting board. Use a sharp chef’s knife to remove any ice cream that may have squished out the sides. Slice into 16-25 sandwiches. Place ice cream sandwiches in an airtight container, using wax paper between layers to prevent sticking.

Ice cream sandwiches will keep in the freezer for up to three months.

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Tag Archives: ice cream sandwiches

Easy Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

Brown Butter Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches