Bourbon-Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches
I don’t think I’m patient enough to make ice cream sandwiches. I can make cookies – those are quick. I can make ice cream – at least then I can throw it in the freezer and let it finish making itself. But I’m not good at the make-ice-cream-then-wait-long-enough-but-not-too-long-to-fill-the-cookies part of things.
This time, I ended up with too melty ice cream when I wanted to fill the sandwiches. Sometimes I end up with rock hard ice cream that doesn’t sandwich well. Someday I’ll find the right balance.
Either way, These are filled in my freezer right now, and I think they’ll be PERFECT for dessert tonight. Plus, I’ve had a few tastes of the ice cream itself, and the bourbon is definitely a strong flavor here.
Start by making the ice cream, ideally a day or two in advance of when you want to eat these.
In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla bean. You should slice the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape the insides into the pan, and then throw the whole casing in, too.
Heat over medium heat until just before a boil – it should have bubbles around the outside and steam rising from the middle. When it’s there, remove from heat, cover, and set aside to steep for 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until light yellow in color.
Add about 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture slowly into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs.
Whisk the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan and return to heat for 10-ish minutes, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a separate container, and mix in the bourbon. I used Eagle Rare, because that’s what I had. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
When the batter has sufficiently chilled, churn it in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. If it’s still soft, throw it back in the freezer until it’s the right consistency.
Meanwhile, make the cookies. Start by melting 10 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling as necessary.
As you can see, this is now my preferred butter browning pan. Keep cooking the butter over medium heat until rich brown in color. Pour immediately into a large bowl and stir in the remaining four tablespoons of butter until melted. Set aside.
I’m a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Once the butter has cooled a bit, whisk in the brown sugar until smooth.
Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
Whisk in the bourbon next to distribute.
Next, stir in the dry ingredients (I switched to a spatula for this).
Chill the dough for at least 15 minutes. Spread the sugar on a plate and scoop the dough into 2 tablespoon balls. Roll each ball in the sugar and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Flatten each ball a bit with your fingers.
Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes, until edges are set. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.
When you’re ready to make the sandwiches, just scoop in some ice cream and assemble.
As you can see, mine were a little goopy. But if you look carefully in that picture, you can see Elwynn’s little ears poking up because he was interested!
I wrapped these in tin foil and put them in a bag, and am hopeful that in a couple of hours, I’ll have edible ice cream sandwiches!
Enjoy!
Bourbon-Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients:
Bourbon-Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- 7 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup bourbon
Brown Sugar Bourbon Cookies
- 14 tablespoons butter, divided
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 1/3 cup sugar
Directions:
Bourbon-Vanilla Ice Cream
- In a medium saucepan, combine heavy cream and milk. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out insides into pan, then add casing into pan, too.
- Cook over medium heat until almost boiling – bubbles around the edges and steam rising from the center. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar and salt until pale yellow in color.
- Whisk in about 1/4 cup of the hot cream mixture slowly, whisking constantly, to temper the eggs.
- Whisk the egg mixture back into the cream mixture in the saucepan. Return to medium heat and continue cooking until mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon – about 10 more minutes.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in the bourbon. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
- Once chilled, churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. If it’s still soft, return to freezer.
Brown Sugar Bourbon Cookies
- In a small saucepan, melt 10 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
- Continue cooking over medium heat until butter turns brown, then immediately pour into a large bowl and stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until melted. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- Once the butter has cooled slightly, whisk in the dark brown sugar until smooth.
- Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
- Whisk in the bourbon to incorporate.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until fully mixed.
- Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Spread sugar on a plate.
- Scoop dough into 2 tablespoon balls. Roll in sugar to coat, then place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten each ball a bit with your fingers.
- Bake at 350°F for 12 minutes, until edges are set. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheets.
- To assemble, scoop some ice cream between two cookies. Wrap in tin foil and freeze.
