Chocolate Wafer Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice cream sandwiches are one of those treats most of us know best in their mass-produced, store-bought form. My version takes that lovable classic one step further with the goodness of homemade wafers and fun sprinkles for extra flair.
Ingredients
| 1/2 | cup | unsalted butter, room temperature |
| 1 | cup | sugar |
| 2 | large | eggs, room temperature |
| 1-1/2 | teaspoons | vanilla |
| 2 | cups | flour |
| 1/2 | cup | Dutch-process cocoa |
| 2 | teaspoons | espresso powder |
| 1 | teaspoon | baking powder |
| 1 | teaspoon | salt |
| ~ | favorite ice cream, slightly softened |
| ~ sprinkles, tiny chocolate chips, chopped candies or nuts for decoration |
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy–approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl as needed.
- Blend in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, Dutch-process cocoa, espresso powder, baking powder and salt.
- Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add the dry mixture, scraping as needed. Don’t overmix.
- Gather the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lightly flour a clean working surface and roll the dough to approximately 1/8-inch thick. Cut the wafers using a biscuit or cookie cutter, sturdy glass or lid.
- Place the wafers on the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 1-2 inches apart.
- Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake until barely set. Small shapes will require 5–6 minutes while larger ones require 7 or more minutes. Wafers will have a sheen and appear raw. Don’t worry; remove them and cool. They firm up and make a soft texture that works best when frozen with the ice cream filling.
- Gently transfer the cookies to a metal rack and cool completely.
- Place the cooled, empty, parchment-lined cookie sheets in the freezer.
- Working in batches, place six cookies on a flat working surface and fill with ice cream. Top with a second cookie.
- Lightly press the sandwiches to distribute the ice cream.
- Using clean hands quickly press the sprinkles or decorations on the sides of the sandwich.
- Set the sandwiches on the cold cookie sheet in the freezer and firm up for several hours. Repeat the process until completed.
- Wrap the sandwiches with plastic wrap and store in the freezer.
Preparation Time:
approximately 60 minutes baking, cooling and assembly time. At least two hours freezing time.
