Gingersnap Ice Cream Sandwiches

That's what's for dessert at the THAG BBQ I'm co-hosting this weekend.  What is THAG you may ask?  Well, it was discovered almost immediately that everyone in my core group of actor friends loves tea and hummus.  And then we formed an accountability group to make sure we were all working our tushies off trying to make it in this lovely town called LA.  Hence, TeaHummusAccountabilityGroup.  We're really cool.  And I'm grilling for everyone Sunday.

Enough about the background of all of that, more about the dessert. 



My mom has been making these ice cream sandwiches since the early 90s.  She still has the original magazine clipping with the recipe.  Adorable.  I associate this dessert with summer and outdoor dining, so it was a go-to choice for my bbq (which features an array of dishes to be elaborated on in a later post).  The cookie is a simple mix of butter, sugar, molasses and spices.  And the filling is this amazing thing called Dreyer's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.  Someday I'll make my own ice cream for these, but not today when I'm prepping a million other things as well.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
1 Cup plus 3 Tablespoons Sugar
1/4 Cup Molasses
1 Egg
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Cups Flour
1 teaspoon each Ground Cinnamon, Ginger, Cloves
About 1 1/4 Quarts Vanilla Ice Cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease 2 large cookie sheets.

2. Blend butter and 1 cup sugar.  Blend in molasses and egg.  Combine all dry ingredients in a second bowl.  Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture, blending until well combined.

3. Put 3 Tbs sugar in a small bowl.  Using fingers (don't worry, it's not a super sticky batter), shape batter into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Roll in sugar and place 3 inches apart on baking sheet.  Pay attention to that 3 inches apart thing!  These guys spread out when they cook!

4. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes until golden brown.  Cool for two minutes on pan, then transfer cookies to cooling racks and cool completely before assembling sandwiches.

5. For sandwich assembly, place one cookie upsidedown on a square of foil.  Scoop 1/4 cup ice cream onto the cookie.  Press a second cookie on top.  Serve immediately, or wrap in foil and freeze for up to two weeks.

If you think vanilla ice cream is too plain an idea, try out a caramel or dulce de leche ice cream in its place.  Those will be some intensely sweet ice cream sandwiches!