Are you seeing this bonkers recipe title? I’ve got Liz from Floating Kitchen here with an ice cream sandwich recipe that will blow your freaking mind. For those of you who are out of the loop, this month I am featuring guest posts from other excellent bloggers while I am getting accustomed to motherhood. I’ll be back with my own recipes soon, but until then, enjoy meeting and exploring these bloggers’ recipes!
Hello loyal Sift and Whisk readers! I’m Liz. And I’m so happy to be chatting with you all today so Maria can have some much deserved snuggle time with her new baby and husband.
Before we get into today’s recipe I thought I would introduce myself a little bit, since I’m guessing many of you don’t know me. And I’d really like for us to be friends!
I grew up in a family that considers making, eating and sharing good food to be kind of a big deal. So consequently, I think food is a big deal too! I started my blog, Floating Kitchen, in 2013 as an outlet for sharing my passion and enthusiasm for cooking with others. And at the same time, I left my career as a research scientist to start working in the restaurant industry. So needless to say, my hobby very quickly turned into a whole new lifestyle for me!
I currently live in Seattle, Washington on a floating home. If you aren’t familiar with floating homes, they are exactly as named: homes that float on the water at all times. My house is supported by giant logs and barrels, so I am literally ON the lake. It’s a lifestyle that is pretty unique and I’m just completely in love with it. The most common question I get is “does your house move?”And the answer is YES!
But enough about me. Now for the REAL reason we are all here today. These ridiculously good ice cream sandwiches!
Ice cream sandwiches are one of my favorite treats to make in the summer. And while I’ll always have a place in my heart for the classic pairing of chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream, I love playing with different flavor combinations. And I think I hit a home run with this recipe for White Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches with Cherry-Pistachio Ice Cream.
Individually, the cookies and the ice cream are outstanding. But when they come together something truly magical happens. The sweetness of the cookies gets balanced out by the little pieces of tart cherries and salty pistachios in the ice cream, making each bite of these ice cream sandwiches somewhat complex and downright satisfying. It’s a winning combination that you’ll be reaching into your freezer for all summer long.
Cheers,
Liz
WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM SANDWICHES WITH CHERRY-PISTACHIO ICE CREAM
- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup roasted and salted unshelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoons vodka, optional
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cups brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- Before you start, make sure the canister of your ice cream maker is frozen. To freeze completely, the canister should be in the freezer for at least 6 hours before you attempt to churn your ice cream.
- In a heavy bottom saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, 1 cup of the heavy cream, 1/2 cup of the chopped pistachios and 1/2 cup of the chopped cherries. Cook until small bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the mixture steep at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl, pressing with a spoon to get as much liquid out of the solids as possible. Discard the solids. Return the liquid portion back to the saucepan.
- Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and remaining 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream in a small bowl until smooth and pale yellow.
- Re-warm the milk/cream mixture over medium heat. Temper the egg yolk mixture by whisking about 1/2 cup of the warm milk/cream mixture into egg yolks. Then whisk the tempered egg yolks back into the saucepan with the remaining milk/cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the ice cream base thicken and coats the back of the spoon, about 4-6 minutes. Do not let it boil. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in the almond extract. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pushing the plastic wrap all the way down to the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Once chilled, pour the ice cream base into the canister of your ice cream maker. Churn until the mixture is nearly frozen and the consistency of soft serve, about 20 minutes. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of the chopped pistachios and cherries (and the vodka if you are using it) and churn for another 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the ice cream to a 9×9-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Spread it out so the surface of the ice cream is relatively flat. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until very firm, at least 4 hours. This recipe makes about 1 quart of ice cream.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, sugars and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and beat until well combined.
- With your mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour, corn starch, baking soda and salt, mixing until no more white streaks remain. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Transfer the cookie dough to your refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
- Once the cookie dough is chilled, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop tablespoon sized balls of the cookie dough onto your baking sheets, placing the dough balls about 2 inches apart. It’s important to make the cookies all the same size, so they fit together nicely in the sandwiches. A cookie scoop really helps here. Using the palm of your hand, press gently on the dough balls to flatten them slightly.
- Transfer to your oven and bake for 9 minutes. Then rotate the pans and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on their baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to continue cooling. Once cooled, the cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-7 days. This recipes makes about 30-32 cookies.
- Place the cookies in your freezer for 30-60 minutes to chill. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove the ice cream and the cookies from your freezer. Working quickly, cut out a round of ice cream using a cookie cutter that is approximately the same size as your cookies. Place the ice cream round on the flat side of one of the cookies, then top with a second cookie. Press gently to adhere. Place the ice cream sandwich on your parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Continue working until all the ice cream sandwiches are assembled. I made 15 ice cream sandwiches and had about ½ cup ice cream left over.
- Transfer the ice cream sandwiches to your freezer. Freeze for about 1 hour before serving or before wrapping individually in aluminum foil for storage.
- Using a cookie cutter to cut out rounds of ice cream for the ice cream sandwiches will give you the neatest looking results. But feel free to just scoop the ice cream out onto the cookies using an ice cream scoop or spoon. The ice cream sandwiches will still taste delicious!
