Ultimate Ice Cream Sandwich

My husband and his younger brother are quite different from each other in many regards. They look different, have divergent interests, and have unique skill sets. As an amusing example, my husband drives a compact car, while my brother-in-law drives a pick-up truck. My husband's car could likely fit in the bed of his brother's pick up truck, with room to spare.  You get the idea.  

 

 As different as they are, they agree on one thing: these brothers love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. For years, each of them has requested that I bake oatmeal chocolate chip cookies on their respective birthdays.  I've been using the same recipe since eighth grade, and it's a keeper.  My brother-in-law's birthday was last week and this year, I decided to change up the routine.  What if I were to incorporate the cookies into decadent, homemade ice cream sandwiches?  Two chewy cookies would surround vanilla bean ice cream rippled with a bittersweet fudge ribbon. As Ina Garten would say, "how bad can that be?" 

 

As it turns out, not bad at all.

 

 

This recipe requires a bit of prep work, but all of it is easy.  And I don't think you'll mind once you've tasted the end result.  Before starting, be certain that the insert to your ice cream maker is completely frozen.  Space permitting, we store ours in the freezer so that we can always whip up a batch of ice cream at a moment's notice.   

 

Ultimate Ice Cream Sandwich
(oatmeal chocolate chip cookies adapted from Sweet Surprises, a compilation of recipes from California Home Ec. teacher.  Chocolate fudge embedded within recipe for Hot Fudge Sundae Cake from Smitten Kitchen )

Click here for printable recipe

 

Ingredients
 
For the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the vanilla bean fudge swirl ice cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half-and-half
• vanilla bean
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup of chocolate fudge sauce, recipe below, at room temperature

For the chocolate fudge sauce:

• 2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With a wooden spoon or spatula, mix butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  
2. Add in eggs and vanilla, and stir until fully incorporated. 

3.  In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients.  
4. Carefully mix in oatmeal and semisweet chocolate chips.  If more moisture is needed, add 1 Tbsp. water
5. Use a 2-tablespoon scoop, such as a coffee scoop, to form cookie dough into rounds.  Space approximately 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.  When making ice cream sandwiches, it is important that the cookies be similar in size and shape.
6. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, until just slightly brown at edge.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.   
(Tip: If you're not making ice cream sandwiches, you can shorten the baking time if you prefer chewier cookies -- I usually bake for 8-10 minutes).   

For the vanilla bean fudge swirl ice cream:

1. Line a freezer-safe 9"x 13" pan with wax paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cream, half-and-half, and sugar.
3. Use a sharp knife to split a vanilla bean down the center.  Carefully remove the seeds using the tip of the knife in a scraping motion.  Whisk vanilla bean seeds into cream mixture, ensuring that all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
4. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and churn for approximately 30 minutes.  The mixture should have the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
5. Pour churned ice cream into prepared pan and smooth with rubber spatula.  Pour 1 cup of chocolate fudge sauce (recipe below) over top of ice cream.  Working quickly, swirl a butter knife through the ice cream to create a marbled effect.  (Tip: if the ice cream starts to melt, stop marbling!  We're not trying to create chocolate ice cream)
6. Freeze ice cream for approximately 2 hours, until firm.
7. Use a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut frozen ice cream into round "patties".  Dip cutter in warm water between each cut.  You should have 10 ice cream sandwich patties.  (Tip: I prefer a fluted biscuit cutter since it makes such pretty, decorative edges)


For the chocolate fudge sauce:

 

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil cream, corn syrup, brown sugar cocoa powder, salt, and half of the chocolate.
2. After mixture has boiled, continue to simmer over low heat for about five minutes.  Remove from heat and add in remaining chocolate, butter, and vanilla extract.  Allow to cool completely.
3. Store extra fudge in airtight container in fridge.


For the ultimate ice cream sandwiches:

1. Now for the fun part!   To serve, sandwich an ice cream patty between two oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  If not serving immediately, wrap tightly and keep in freezer.  When you're ready to indulge, make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand -- these melt quickly and are full of drippy, gooey, fudge-y goodness.  
 Yield: 10 ice cream sandwiches.  Recipe will yield extra cookies and fudge sauce.

Click here for printable recipe

 

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!