Thursday, July 26, 2012

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches



Because 2012 has been such a hot, dry summer, I wanted to re-post this delicious, cooling mint ice cream sandwich from a few years ago. Even smelling mint makes you feel refreshed on a hot day!


Paired with fudge-y chocolate cookies, this mint ice cream makes an ideal combination. By the way, these fudge cookies are delicious on their own or with any other flavor ice cream you prefer.  If you like to grow mint in the summer, as I do, give this a try.

Note - never put mint in the ground - always grow it in a pot.  I learned the hard way a few years ago how invasive it can be - even here in Wisconsin.



Mint Chip and Fudge Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Adapted from A Passion for Ice Cream by Emily Luchetti
~from Savoring Time in the Kitchen

Mint Chip Ice Cream


2-1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup sugar
4 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

In a medium, heavy saucepan, heat the cream, milk, mint, and 1/2 cup of the sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almost simmering.  Turn off the heat, cover pan, and steep the mint in the cream for 15 minutes.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and salt.  Slowly add the hot liquid into the eggs, whisking constantly so as not to make scrambled eggs.  When done, return the pan to the stove and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or silicon spatula, until it reaches 175F and lightly coats the back of the spoon.  Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Chop the chocolate into very small pieces.  Put the chocolate in a bowl in the freezer.  Place the cooled ice cream base in an ice cream machine and mix according to machine directions until it resembles soft serve ice cream.  Place the ice cream in a freezable container and add the chocolate pieces and fold together.  Freeze for about 4 hours or longer.

Fudge Cookies

2 ounces (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liner. Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler over hot water.  Stirring occasionally until melted.  Let cool to room temperature.

Sift the flour and baking powder together and add the salt.  In a medium bowl, whip the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until thickened with an electric mixer set on high speed.  Stir the cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture a little at a time until combined.  Stir in the flour mixture and let the batter rest for 5 minutes.  Drop large, heaping tablespoons of batter onto the prepared baking sheets, spreading them to about 3" and leaving 2" between each cookie.  There should enough batter for about 20 cookies.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until the tops crack and are no longer shiny on top.  Allow to cool and then remove from the pans with a spatula. 

To assemble the sandwiches, top a cookie with a scoop of ice cream and top with a second cookie and gently press down to adhere.  This is easier if the ice cream isn't frozen solid.   Serve immediately or freeze until ready to serve.

56 comments:

  1. Look georgeous absolutely georgeous I love them:)
    Beauty pics too!

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  2. They look like summer:)

    We had the boys for a sleepover last night..I smiled at your note..and we played badminton..we keep our shoes on these days cause the straw grass hurts our feet..
    Same weather too Susan..
    This looks like a sweet way to beat the summer heat and drought.
    They are gorgeous..she is right:)

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  3. Perfect! We are sweltering down here as well. We've had a few "teaser" rains but not nearly enough moisture. If I complain about the winter weather, I hope someone will tell me to "shut up"!!

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  4. I feel cool just looking at them! Thanks for letting us know about the ice cream social. xo

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  5. Yum! I will have 2 please. :D
    The Summer is flying by. Another hot one here today also.

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  6. una vera tentazione irresistibile!!un abbraccio Susan!

    ps: ti seguo anche su Facebook!!^_^ ciaoooooooooooo

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  7. Hmmmm...those sound so delicious. I love chocolate mint combinations. I no longer have an ice cream maker, which I was planning to remedy a year ago and here it still hasn't happened.

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  8. Glad you brought the mint chip back to the top, it's looks so cool and refreshing in this heat. Paired with the cookies, I'd say that is one fantastic ice cream sandwich!

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  9. what a lovely treat!Have a nice weekend Susan! A warm hug...

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  10. The homemade sandwiches sound great and the cookies look TDF! Glad your container plants are treating you well-enjoy:@)

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  11. I'm screaming for ice cream in this heat and these look delicious Susan! We're sweltering here, but have had some spotty if not horrific thunderstorms so things are green at the moment! Stay cool :)

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  12. It rained a little bit this week, so I have a few blades of green grass. At least our mint is green! I just saw a recipe for mint chocolate chip ice cream in one of my summer magazines, and considered making it. These sound wonderful!

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  13. my mouth is watering just thinking of this creamy mint concoction. I love that last photo - I can almost smell the fragrance. I picked my first two tomatoes yesterday, the earliest I've ever picked one of my own. And I had fresh beans for dinner tonight. This heat has been brutal though - I've been watering every day too. The full impact will not be known for years to come. My rain gauge read .7 this morning, so I was happy about that. I hope you're keeping cool! happy week to you Susan.

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  14. I'm glad to know about this ice cream social. I just got an ice cream maker this year and have been enjoying it a lot. I have a bunch of mint in my herb garden and was thinking of making ice cream with it - your recipe looks great (especially in between those yummy cookies!).

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  15. Yum! I cannot believe how much ice cream we have eaten during this extra hot summer! Your little sandwiches look delicious!

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  16. Hot and dry here, too. I can't remember the last time we had rain. Some areas close to us received rain last night, I think we got about 10 drops. These are a perfect summer treat. Stay cool and enjoy what's left of summer.

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  17. Now I have a good recipe for that waist-high mint plant that has taken over the slope of my garden. It's everywhere! This looks like quite a dreamy treat for this hot summer. Glad to have you back Susan!

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  18. What a delightful way to cope with the heat! Here too the heat and mugginess are intolerable at times! Love this ice-cream!(and the cookies of course!)

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  19. Your ice cream looks so good! Weather is hot here too, and have not been doing much gardening myself! It's great that you have your homegrown herbs, I don't seem to have much luck with mint!
    Have a great weekend!

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  20. Mint and chocolate are such a wonderful combination...
    These ice cream sandwiches look really yum...

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  21. Your sandwich has me dancing to your tune my friend, it looks incredibly addictive and fresh :D

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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  22. I agree with you, it's the hottest days of the summer! These Mint Chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches sound refreshing and cooling! I need to make these to cool off a bit. :)

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  23. I think there is nothing like homemade mint ice cream. It's like a zillion times better than that nasty green stuff. Gorgeous combination with those cookies. Is there anything better than a homemade ice cream sandwich in summer?

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  24. The fun thing about these is you can make a bunch of them way ahead of time, have them in the freezer and impress everyone! Taste can't be beat and it's the perfect treat for the dog day afternoons.

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  25. Gorgeous! I can't imagine how good these taste. I like what Barbara, the commenter before me said. Keep them in the freezer.

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  26. Susan I love mint ice cream sandwiches but typically I just purchase the Skinny Cow brand. Now I have a recipe to make them. How exciting! Thanks for sharing this and coming from Emily Luchetti I know they're delicious.

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  27. I have mint like crazy and I only grow things in pots. Despite the record-breaking heat, the mint (and my basil) is thriving! I may give this a try. I just this morning made some mint-infused simple syrup to use to sweeten tea.

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  28. I can't believe that August is upon us. Your ice cream sandwich looks so good. Everyone is posting ice cream recipes and I don't have an ice cream machine.

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  29. I remember those, Susan. They still look good!
    My gkids prefer store bought to my homemade ice cream, so I won't bother making it for them anymore. I do find it isn't as creamy after a few days, gets a little icy. I did the vodka trick too!

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  30. Summer is very hot here in Greece too Susan! This ice cream sandwich sounds like the best idea for me now!

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  31. This is what I have been craving! The picture of the milk soaking up all that minty goodness made my mouth water! These ice cream sandwiches looks delicious... and cool!
    Thanks for letting us know about the ice cream social!!!
    I would love you to join me for ON THE MENU MONDAY,linky goes live at 8:00 this evening. I hope you will come over with your great summer recipe and share it with us!

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  32. These look delicious, I just know my husband would love these ice cream cookies!

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  33. I've I didn't know any better I would have said its a whoopie pie, regardless of what anyone calls it I think it looks delicious. Richard

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  34. Great treat for a hot day hope you get rain and I think we will visit carmel ;-)

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  35. Chocolate and mint are my very favorite flavor of ice cream so this recipe looks perfect for me. I don't have an ice cream machine otherwise I would make this sooner rather than later. The cookies look great so I might make them and fill with a good store bought ice cream. Wouldn't be nearly as good as yours but might be a decent substitute. Ice cream would be good to have today because we are supposed to have another 90 degree day.
    Shanno

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  36. Both of my favorite flavors! We love to make homemade ice cream sandwiches. This one will be perfect for us to try!

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  37. Pure Temptation! They look absolutely delicious and very refreshing too :) Lovely clicks-I hope you enjoying your summer, Susan.

    Hugs <3

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  38. I love chocolate mint ice cream --it is my second favorite flavor after coffee ice crea. I really have to invest in an ice cream maker very soon!

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  39. Ice cream is my favorite summer dessert, Susan, and ice cream sandwiches would be a big hit at any family gathering. My ice cream maker is getting a real workout this summer. Love the way you infused the mint flavor into the milk and cream.

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  40. I think that's the best looking ice cream sandwich I've ever seen. The cookies look so rich and fudgy.

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  41. Susan, these sandwich cookie ice cream sound and look delicious, perfect combination chocolate and mint....so refreshing. What a great treat for this warm days.
    Thanks for the recipe and hope you are having a wonderful week :)

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  42. I was craving for some choc chip ice cream sandwiches! Mint flavour would be nice too!!

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  43. This is first time I saw mint ice cream with REAL mint! The sandwich looks scrumptious with fudge cookies!

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  44. Mint chocolate chip is one of my greatest weaknesses. Love it as an ice cream sandwich.

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  45. It's incredible how fast this summer has passed and I feel like it's barely been here. Besides the heat! Love these cookie sandwiches - and the cookies themselves look just amazing. I'm featuring this post in today's Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and I love the inspiration I get from your food…

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  46. I've got pots of mint growing on my deck too and I'd love to try making this ice cream. The cookie sandwiches take it over the top.

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  47. Mhmm, what a delicious looking treat!

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  48. Dear come and see I have a little giveaway in my blog!

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  49. Oh, mint chocolate, ice cream...food for the gods.It looks so good. My mint is rampant at the moment, lovely purplish flowers, but taking over everything...in a way it is pretty and the smell gorgeous when walking past it...I'm still procrastinating the cutting back...love that heady flavour.
    Ronelle

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  50. Time surely flies fast! Thankfully for us in my part of Arizona the summers weren't as harsh as last year. Hopefully it would stay the same for the remaining part of it. Ice cream is of course the best way to fight the summer heat and mint makes it even better! These ice cream sandwiches look great!

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  51. Wow, these ice cream sandwiches are awesome! I love fresh mint !

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  52. WOOW.. lucen espectacular es una delcia,abrazos hugs,hugs.

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  53. Can you believe I killed my mint plant?!
    Otherwise I would have given a go to this recipe since my husband likes his mint chocolate icecream a lot.
    I need you to inject some of your green thumb to me.
    I hope you guys get good rain soon. It has been maddeningly hot here but we have been lucky with the rain.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ilke. My mint plant needs so much water every day as I have it planted in a container so it doesn't overtake the garden.

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  54. Congrats my friend, I have awarded you and your awesome blog the Versatile Blogger Award :D
    Check it out here: http://gobakeyourself.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/wishing-for-spring/

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

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