Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches 7.01 The Long Morrow

“How can you not have ice?” “You know I don't cook.” “That is not cooking. That is the opposite of cooking. That's freezing. All you have in here are like batteries and film and something I think used to be an ice cream sandwich.”

Ingredient:

For the vanilla ice cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream

• 1 cup whole milk

• 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

• ½ tsp salt

• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste*

For the cookies:

• 1 cup butter, softened

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• ½ tsp vanilla

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ¼ cup dark chocolate cocoa powder**

• ½ tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

*You can use vanilla extract; it’s much more affordable, but I find the flavor of vanilla bean paste creates a much richer flavor for vanilla ice cream.

**You can use regular cocoa powder, but if you’re looking for the signature black color of Oreos, you’ll want to use dark cocoa powder. Hershey’s makes some that isn’t too expensive

Directions:

Make the ice cream:

1. Combine all ice cream ingredients in a medium bowl.

2. Churn mixture in an ice cream maker or by hand.

3. Place a piece of parchment paper in a baking dish (ideally that is 5.5 in wide, but use what you have!). Keep some of the paper above the edge of the baking dish so that you can easily remove the ice cream later.

4. Spread the ice cream across the bottom of the dish, and do not exceed about 1.5 inches in height.

5. Allow to firm up in the freezer for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

Make the cookies:

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars.

2. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

3. Sift in the flour and dark cocoa powder and mix until smooth.

4. Mix in the baking powder and salt.

5. Allow dough to chill for 30 minutes.

6. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

7. Roll out your dough between two sheets of parchment paper until you reach a ¼ in. thickness. You can do it on a floured surface (I did), but it will alter the color of your cookies.

8. Cut your dough into 3 in x 5.5 in rectangles (if your baking dish is not 5.5 in wide, you can also cut your rectangles in a size that minimizes needing to cut the ice cream too much). You will want to have an even number of cookies.

9. Bake at 325 for 12 minutes. Be sure to bake on parchment paper or a silicone mat so the cookies won’t stick to your baking tray.

10. Allow the cookies to cool completely before assembling.

To assemble:

1. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and using the excess parchment paper, pull the block out of the baking dish.

2. Working quickly so the ice cream doesn’t melt, cut the ice cream to 3 in x 5.5 in rectangles.

3. Sandwich the ice cream between two of the chocolate cookies. If you need to tidy up the edges, use an offset spatula to spread the ice cream.

4. Place the ice cream sandwiches in the freezer for about 15-30 minutes to firm back up depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Ahhh, I can’t believe we are on season 7! When I started this project in 2020, I truly did not think I would make it this far. But here we are! This is a deep-cut from this episode, but it’s when Rory tries to find ice for Lorelai’s swollen eye after getting hit by a racquetball. I definitely struggled to make these ice cream sandwiches because although it’s not technically summer yet, we have been reaching 90 degrees F in Texas already, so my ice cream was eager to melt. But I managed in the end!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and I can’t believe we are nearing the end (but don’t worry, I will be cooking my way through a Year in the Life as well!).

Happy cooking from the Hollow!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!

The perfect summer treat!