summer of sandwiches

I can't believe that summer is just about over. Seems like we were just eating ice cream sandwiches yesterday... oh wait, we were! But in all seriousness, the end of the summer also means the end of our summer of sandwiches — after all, we have to make room for new fall features! However, just in case you missed any of them, here's a full recap.

1. Minty Fresh: Fresh Mint Ice Cream with Ice Cream Cone Cookies
2. Classic Choco-Vanilla: Chocolate Cookies with Vanilla Ice Cream
3. The Americone Dream: Americone Dream Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunk Cookies
4. Peachy Keen: Peach Ice Cream with Ginger Cookies
5. Salty Sweet: Vanilla Caramel Ice Cream with Saltine Crackers



6. Graham Caramel: Dulce De Leche Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers
7. Cravers: Crave Treat Cookies with Coffee Ice Cream
8. Puff Ups: Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream with Puff Pastry
9. Bisco Inferno: Chocolate Citrus Biscotti with Orange Ice Cream
10. Minis It's Its: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Bite-sized Oatmeal Cookies



11. Berry Heaven: Vanilla Berry Ice Cream with Fudgy Brownies
12. PB Choco: Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Ice Cream
13. Old School Nilla: Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream with Nilla Wafers
14. Coo-Coo for Coconut: Coconut Macaroons with Creme Brulee Ice Cream

Sadly, the end of summer is this weekend. With its finish comes the conclusion of our 14 week series on ice cream sandwiches. For my last batch of sandwiches, I focused on the perfect pairing of cookie and ice cream flavors. I was a little disappointed in the overpowering peanut butter taste of my last ice cream sandwiches, so I found myself spending quite some time debating in the grocery store. First I picked out the chewy perfectly sized coconut macaroons. Next, after much time staring into the freezers, I decided on the custardy creme brulee ice cream.

Eureka! The pairing was sheer sweetness! To see how I made this super easy and delicious dessert, read more

When I was a kid, one of my favorite desserts was banana pudding with Nilla Wafers. My mom used to make it often, and my siblings and I would chow down on it like there was no tomorrow. I haven't had it in years, but recently someone mentioned Nilla Wafers to me, and they've been on my brain ever since.

So naturally, when it came time to make this week's ice cream sandwiches, Nilla wafers were my first choice. Originally I wanted to make my own banana ice cream, however my ice cream maker wasn't ready. So I picked up a pint of the next best thing — Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey — and headed over to my sister's house.

While there I decided that her strawberry ice cream looked great too, and that a slice of banana would be a nice touch — cut yours thinner than mine so the sandwiches stay bite-sized. The Nilla Wafers were smaller than I remembered them, so I ended up using a melon baller to scoop the ice cream out. I then created a little assembly line — wafer, ice cream dollop, banana, ice cream scoop, wafer — in order to make a bunch to enjoy at once. I then stuck them in the freezer and counted down until dessert time. They made perfect appetizer sized sandwiches, and would make great desserts for a party.

I recently realized that I had never made homemade chocolate ice cream. So naturally, I decided chocolate ice cream would be involved in the next round of ice cream sandwiches. What complements chocolate more perfectly than peanut butter? I made pairs of crisped peanut butter cookies and smashed the gooey, gorgeous ice cream in between. The end result? A delicious and satisfying dessert that will please both chocolate and peanut butter lovers alike. You could easily make these sandwiches with store bought cookies and ice cream, but to check out how I made them 100% from scratch — if I had a cow I would have milked it! —, read more

It was my turn to make ice cream sandwiches this week — I know, tough task! — and I was staring at some leftover rich, fudgy brownies when it hit me. Duh! Why not cut the brownies in half and fill them with ice cream?

Once I had a plan, it was time to determine the flavor. I really wanted mint-chip, but we had vanilla in the house, and more than one open container of ice cream at a time is really bad news in our house... However, I wasn't totally thrilled with plain vanilla, so I took some fresh blueberries and raspberries and mixed them in.

To learn how to do it yourself, as well as more pictures of brownie-ice cream goodness, read more

Last Saturday night I met up with a few of my Spanish friends who happened to be traveling through San Francisco. Earlier that day I found myself enjoying a glass of wine at the Ferry Building when I suddenly realized I should host an impromptu dinner for them! Dessert, of course, would be in the form of ice cream sandwiches. Not just any ice cream sandwich, the It's It — a San Francisco tradition since 1928 — is vanilla ice cream smashed between two oatmeal cookies, and then dipped in chocolate. Everything is so much cuter in mini form, so I made mine bite-sized. I prefer It's Its with mint chocolate chip ice cream rather than boring old vanilla, so that's what I used as well. To see how I did it — it's really simple, you can do it too! — read more

While I was chomping down on the biscotti I made the other day, I realized that it would be an even better treat if there was ice cream involved. The biscotti had an citrus hint to it, so I figured why not up the ante a bit and add an orange flavored ice cream. I found a recipe for a simple (no cooking involved, just mix, chill and freeze) recipe for orange ice cream, and the results were fantastic. It was almost like adding a creamsicle between two crispy crunchy cookies! The cornmeal in the biscotti really paired nicely and this ice cream recipe is one I'll definitely be making again. To get the recipe, and see more photos of drool-worthy ice cream sandwiches, read more.

After obsessing about what to make for my next ice cream sandwich — seriously, I discussed it nonstop with my poor friend Deiter for over 20 minutes — I finally decided on puff pastry "cookies" and cherry ice cream with chocolate shavings. Because the ice cream mixture is whisked, the most difficult part of this recipe is pitting the cherries - unless you have a cherry pitter of course! If you don't own an ice cream maker simply purchase Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. These babies are big and you may need a fork to eat them. To kick it up a notch drizzle warm chocolate over the top. Take a look at how I made these ice cream sandwiches - Dieter thinks "it's a winner" - just read more