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Epicurious

Belted Galloway Ice Cream Sandwiches

Eating ice cream sandwiches always brings out the kid in me. Why not spread the joy? At a recent party, more than a few giggles erupted when I handed out overstuffed ice cream sandwiches for dessert. I owe my renewed interest in ice cream sandwiches to a herd of Belted Galloway cows that I often spot as I head home on Route 290 just outside of town. Those dark cows with the big white stripe running right around their middles remind me of great big ice cream sandwiches. I found the perfect recipe for the chocolate cookie part in an old favorite of mine, the Deer Valley Ranch Family Cookbook, a spiral-bound treasure trove of recipes from the kitchen of a Colorado dude ranch. The soft, slightly cakey cookies are the perfect foil for a creamy vanilla ice cream center. These cookies are also fabulous alone: sometimes I don’t quite get around to filling them with ice cream and before I know it they are gone.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes about 40 (3-inch) cookies, enough for about 20 ice cream sandwiches, or 20 (5-inch) cookies, enough for about 10 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients

Cookies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups firmly packed golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa (such as Scharffen Berger)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Filling

1 quart high-quality vanilla ice cream

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or butter, or line it with parchment paper or a silicone liner.

    Step 2

    TO MAKE THE COOKIES: Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla together on medium high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat for another minute. In a bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda until combined. Pour the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes for easier scooping. Using a 1-inch scoop (for 3-inch cookies) or a 2-inch scoop (for 5-inch cookies), drop mounds of dough about 2 inches apart (the cookies will spread) on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until there is no visible raw dough on top, 7 to 9 minutes (don’t over bake). Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes. With a spatula, transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

    Step 3

    TO ASSEMBLE THE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES: Place the cookies on a work surface, flat side up. Using a 2-inch scoop, drop a rounded scoop of ice cream on half of the cookies. Top with the remaining cookies, flat side down, pressing lightly and stopping just before the ice cream begins to ooze out the sides. Store 2 per bag in waxed paper sandwich bags, fold to close, and freeze until ready to eat.

  2. variation

    Step 4

    I’m a purist when it comes to ice cream sandwiches: I like them black and white, just like my favorite cows. Nonetheless, other fillings from mint chocolate chip to butter pecan are fantastic, too. And feel free to experiment with mix-ins: into soft ice cream stir ingredients like toffee bits, toasted nuts, mini M&Ms—whatever your imagination dictates.

Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved. A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café.  Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances. Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.
TagsFrozen DessertDessertCocoaNut FreeBakingStand MixerCookbooks
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