It’s so easy to get into a creative slump, so we try to have brainstorming sessions for ideas every Sunday morning. During one of these sessions, we started talking about the name “ice cream sandwich” and how they can basically be made into whatever shape you could possibly dream of. (I’ll talk about ice cream sandwiches for hours because there’s so much that can be done with them!) Aside from how great ice cream is, we reached an ah-ha moment; sandwich-shaped ice cream sandwiches! I have no idea how I hadn’t thought of this before, but after finding the most adorable tiny bread-shaped cookie cutter online, I knew I had to give these a go! Plus, ice cream sandwiches are probably my favorite dessert (right after donuts, of course)!
So I knew I wanted to make the cookies look like two different kinds of “bread,” and I’ve always had a love affair with chocolate shortbread cookies. Thus, the “pumpernickel” and “white bread” ice cream sandwiches were made. And they’re mini too, so double the cute factor! Get ready to learn how to make these for a fun take on dessert!
– Your favorite ice cream!
– Bread-shaped cookie cutter (I got mine here)
For vanilla shortbread cookies:
– 2 cups all purpose flour
– 3/4 teaspoon salt
– 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
– 1/2 cup powdered sugar
– 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For chocolate shortbread cookies:
– 2 cups all purpose flour
– 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
– 1 cup powdered sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For vanilla shortbread cookies:
1. Beat butter until fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt, set aside. Add sugar to butter and beat until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
2. Form 2 disks with dough, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for a least an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. On a lightly floured surface, roll out disk to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes and transfer to baking sheets. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until golden for 13 to 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before assembly.
For chocolate shortbread cookies:
1. Beat butter until fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa powder, set aside. Add sugar to butter and beat until pale and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
2. Form 2 disks with dough, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for a least 2 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. On a lightly floured surface, roll out disk to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out shapes and transfer to baking sheets. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake for 19 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before assembly.
Assembly:
1. Pour ice cream into a pan to get it about 1 inch thick.
2. Use the cookie cutter to cut out bread-shaped ice cream pieces and put in between two cookies. Freeze for an hour to get the ice cream sandwich to stay together.
Ice cream is SO hard to photograph in New York in the summer! It’s like a marathon to set up the camera and control the melting ice cream, so these kinds of shots are inevitable. (But I have no other option but to eat the sandwiches afterwards, so more for me!)
I can’t wait for you to try these, this is one of my favorite projects to date! You could even put some fondant cheese and coconut lettuce on these to make them look like real sandwiches like I showed how to do in my mini donut hamburger post. So what are you waiting for, there are sandwich ice cream sandwiches to be made!
