Easy Fruit-Swirl Ice Cream Sandwiches
Serious Eats / Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Julia Levy, Prop Stylist: Tucker VinesIf I could only eat one kind of sandwich, the ice cream sandwich would be a strong contender. But instead of getting lost in a game of Food Deals With the Devil, I'll just say I really, really like an ice cream sandwich. But making ice cream sandwiches from scratch? That always seemed a bit too labor intensive—especially at a time of year when I'd rather be at the beach than in the kitchen. My allergy to making my own ice cream sandwiches was cured when our test kitchen colleague Julia Levy created this easy, customizable recipe for homemade vanilla cookie–and–jam ice cream sandwiches.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoThese easy ice cream sandwiches use a quick homemade sugar cookie and call for store-bought ice cream and jam and require a mere 15 minutes of active prep time. Yes, yes, they have to sit in the freezer for a few hours before you can slice and serve them, but you can do whatever you want during that time—head to the beach, catch up on The Bear, take a bear-length nap in your air-conditioned apartment…Read on for the key steps Julia took to make these ice cream sandwiches as easy as they are delicious.4 Tips for Easy and Delicious Ice Cream Sandwiches.Store-bought is fine for the ice cream and jam. Unlike some food sites, we don't quote Ina Garten on a daily basis around here, but in the case of the ice cream and jam for these cookies, store-bought really is fine. By all means, if you want to make homemade ice cream and jam, absolutely do, but unless you're really passionate about making those from scratch, we vote for store-bought for these two elements.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoThe truth is that both ice cream and jam are store-bought products that—as long as you buy good quality—are as good as, if not sometimes better, than what you can make at home. Also note that if using store-bought ice cream, be sure to buy 1.5-quart or smaller containers. In our tests, we found that the ice cream in a 2-quart container took so long to soften at the center that the ice cream at the sides of the container was too soft to work with when building the sandwiches. Do make the cookie from scratch. For this recipe, as with Stella Parks' excellent chocolate and vanilla ice cream sandwiches, we opted for a from-scratch cookie. That allows us to formulate a cookie dough that bakes up soft enough that it doesn't break your teeth when you bite into it when frozen. The key to this is using oil instead of butter, since butter-based cookies turn very hard when frozen, while oil-based ones stay chewy despite the cold.The homemade cookie is cooked in one big slab so it can be assembled as one giant sandwich and then sliced into smaller sandwiches. We've given guidelines for slicing, but feel free to go smaller or larger with your sammies. You'll know what's right when you get home from the beach.Clean your knife between slices. For clean edges on your ice cream sandwiches, wipe the knife with a hot, wet kitchen towel between each cut.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoCustomize your little heart out. While we stuck to a simple vanilla and summer fruit jam flavor profile in the base recipe, you can really use any flavor of ice cream or fruit jam you want. Try pairing ginger ice cream with marmalade, chocolate with cherry preserves, or doubling down on the strawberry by using strawberry ice cream with strawberry jam.Prepare the Vanilla Cookie: Preheat oven to 350°F (175℃). Spray the bottom and sides of an 18- x 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper. Also, line a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, so 2 inches overhang on the long edges. Set both aside.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoWhisk together flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk together 1 3/4 cups sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a large bowl until smooth and glossy, about 30 seconds.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoAdd flour mixture to sugar mixture and stir until just combined, about 30 seconds.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoSpread cookie dough on prepared baking sheet, spreading with an offset spatula dipped into warm water just to the edges. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoBake until lightly golden, puffed, and dry on top, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes at room temperature before placing in the freezer at least 15 minutes and up to 24 hours.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoPrepare the Sandwich: When ready to assemble the sandwiches, place ice cream in the fridge to soften, about 30 minutes. Remove cookie baking sheet from freezer. Run an offset spatula or knife around the edges of the cookie to loosen it and transfer to a cutting board. Remove parchment and cut cookie in half crosswise to yield 2 (12- x 8 1/2-inch) rectangles. Flip both of the cookie halves sugared-side down. Using your hands, gently press down the edges of both cookies to help flatten the edges. Place one of the cookie halves sugared-side down in the prepared parchment-lined 13- x 9-inch baking pan. Once ice cream has softened, spread over the flipped cookie. Use a spoon or offset spatula to spread ice cream into an even layer, pushing into the corners of the pan (for best results with homemade ice cream, use it immediately after it's finished churning in your ice cream maker).Serious Eats / Robby Lozano Dollop desired jam over ice cream and use a knife or long skewer to swirl it into a marbled pattern throughout ice cream.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoPlace the cookie sugared-side up on top of the ice cream. Freeze uncut ice cream sandwiches in the pan, covered with plastic wrap, until ice cream is frozen and firm, at least 4 hours or up to 1 month.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoOnce fully frozen and ready to cut, hold the overhanging parchment to gently lift the uncut ice cream sandwich from the pan. Transfer to a cutting board. Using a large chef's knife, cut it into 12 (4 1/4- x 2-inch) rectangles. Serve immediately or freeze the sandwiches in an airtight container.Serious Eats / Robby LozanoSpecial Equipment18- x 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, 13- x 9-inch baking pan, parchment paper, offset spatulaNotesIf you would like to individually wrap the sandwiches, here's how to do it:To make your own waxed foil, simply take a large sheet of tin foil, shiny side up, and use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat it lightly with a neutral oil like safflower oil or coconut oil.Press a similarly sized sheet of parchment paper against the oiled surface of the foil. Use your fingers to smooth the parchment down, pressing out any air bubbles. We recommend using a bench scraping for removing air bubbles. Cut the newly formed waxed foil into 7-inch squares with scissors or a safety knife such as an exacto. Repeat until you have 12 squares altogether. Set aside until needed.To wrap the ice cream sandwiches, remove half of the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer. Place each on the center of the foil or parchment square. Wrap much like you would a present: Fold the long sides to the middle. Then at each edge, fold the short sides to the middle. Then fold the long sides. The foil will crease and stay in place without tape. Return to the freezer, and repeat with the other half. Make Ahead and StorageThe cookie sheet can be baked and frozen (through step 5) up to 1 month before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.Store leftover sandwiches in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
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