Ice Cream Sandwiches

Oh boy, did I have trouble with these.  The cookie part turned out ok but when I went to put the ice cream in it was melting faster than I could handle.  I also made these for the same church function and they didn't freeze so well at the church either.  They were very melty.  Once I got them home, however, they froze in my freezer just fine and I was able to eat a whole one without any drips at all.  In order to hold all the sandwiches I made (about 40) I had to put them in my deep freeze, which I guess isn't so frozen as my fridge/freezer.  So lesson # 1 make sure your ice cream is really frozen before you begin and freeze them quickly after assembly.

As for the chocolate cookie, after being frozen it is not soft like a store bought ice cream sandwich, but sort of hard as in it cracks when you bite it but its not hard like an oreo hard, just not bendy cake-like soft. Kind of chewy.  I liked it, it was sort of an addicting texture to me. 

I used 3 different flavors of ice cream in my cookies, Chocolate Chip, Peppermint and French vanilla.  I liked the Peppermint best.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup cocoa, sifted
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
extra flour and cocoa for dusting

In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy.
Add the cocoa powder, mixing on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then add the vanilla and the egg and blend on medium speed until thoroughly combined.  Add the flour on low speed, mixing until uniform and comes together like a dough. 
Remove the cookie dough from the mixer, wrap in plastic and chill until firm (this should take several hours). You can store the dough wrapped like this for 2-3 days if you wish to make it in advance.
When ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 350°F.  Remove your dough from the refrigerator, if it is hard as a rock allow to stand at room temperature for a little while before exercising your rolling muscles on it.  In a small bowl, mix together enough flour and cocoa to dust your cutting board and your dough to keep it from sticking (a mix of 50/50 flour/cocoa). Using cocoa powder to dust will keep the surface of your cookies dark and chocolaty looking.  Roll out your chilled dough to about 1/8" thickness and cut out your shapes. (I tried some cookies with holes and some without.  It didn't seem to matter much.  Holes had a little less but not much bubbling.)  Bake for 10 minutes, until the surface is no longer glossy. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. They will be soft fresh out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool.  Once cool, place the cookies in a ziplock baggie or other container and freeze until ready to use.

To fill with ice cream, open carton and slice desired size slices.  Cut to same size/and shape as cookies then sandwich together.  Freeze until serving time.
If you use home made icecream or can not slice it, quickly spread in a baking sheet and freeze again, then cut desired shapes.