I recently was invited to a summer BBQ and was requested to bring some baked goods to the event!   I wanted to create a fun summer treat and landed on making ice cream sandwiches.  I decided to bake my favourite Peanut Butter Cookie recipe that I discovered earlier this year to use as the ‘breading’ for the sandwich.  I was too lazy & too pressed for time so I didn’t make my own ice cream, but store bought vanilla ice cream worked just fine!  I did a couple different variations in the sandwiches:  strawberry jam, skor bits, chocolate chips, and rainbow sprinkles.  Deciding what decorations I wanted for the sandwiches was definitely the funnest part in making these ice cream sandwiches!  Make sure the cookies are completely cooled and that your ice cream isn’t too soft – as I found my ice cream was not frozen enough so it started to melt a bit when I was taking pictures.  Also, let the sandwiches sit overnight so that the ice cream can set properly to the cookies.  This is definitely a fun and unique treat for a summer BBQ.  :) YUM!

RECIPE

Peanut Butter Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Ice Cream & Decorations
1 tub of vanilla ice cream (was too lazy to make my own ice cream!)
1 cup of skor bits
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 cup of rainbow sprinkles
1/2 cup of strawberry jam

PREHEAT: oven to 350 F

COMBINE: flour, baking soda, and salt. set aside.

CREAM: the butter and peanut butter on medium to high speed until well blended.  Add the granulated and dark brown suagrs and continue to cream until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat briefly.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the vanilla and beat again to combine.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

COMBINE: turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.  Drop 24 equally sized portions of dough onto prepared cookie sheet.  (the cookies do turn out large, so you can cut down the size and make more cookies if you don’t want your sandwiches so large)

BAKE: in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges.  remove from oven and transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely

ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICH: make sure the cookies are completely cooled and that the ice cream isn’t too soft (or else the ice cream will melt and the cookies will not hold together!).  Poured out the toppings into small bowls and have a large plate so you can use as a station to assemble the sandwiches.  Scoop as much ice cream as you want onto one side of the cookie, then press the other cookie on top to form an ice cream sandwich.  I found the easiest way to decorate was to hold the sandwiches and sprinkle the decorations over the ice cream while turning the sandwich.  The large plate below helped catch all the decorations that didn’t get caught in the ice cream.  Set the sandwiches back into the freezer until you are ready to devour!

#RecipeTags
#icecreamsandwiches
#peanutbuttercookies
#BBQtreats