The other day I made these delectable Salted Caramel Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches for a dinner party I was hosting. The perfect summer treat if I do say so myself! Cold ice cream on a hot summer day or night is a given, but the salty meets sweet of these snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches is just divine! The flavors are unexpected yet make perfect sense all at the same time. One thing I love about this recipe is you can make them ahead of time and then just pull them out one at a time as your heart desires.
To begin, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper then get started on making the snickerdoodle cookies. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together the butter, brown sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla and egg until just combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated, about 1 minute. The dough will hold together and be loose and sticky. I then put the dough in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes just so it was a little bit firmer.
Divide the dough into 12 equal portions, about 1 heaping tablespoon each. Using your hands, roll each portion into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Roll the dough balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are set and the edges are slightly golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
When ready to assemble the ice cream sandwiches, place the pecans on a small, flat dish. Using a serrated knife, cut 1-inch rounds of ice cream–straight through the containers–to make big beautiful circles of ice cream to fill the sandwiches. Add an ice cream round to the bottom of one of the cookies and pop it out of the cardboard and then cover with a right-side up cookie, pressing down to form a sandwich. Roll the sandwich on end in the pecans, using your hands if necessary to help the nuts adhere to the exposed ice cream edge. Serve immediately or freeze, covered, for up to 3 days.
Salted Caramel Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 pint size containers of caramel swirl ice cream (I used Ben and Jerry’s Salted Caramel Core) slightly softened
18 ounces pecans, coarsely chopped
Recipe adapted from cooking channel by Tiffani Thiessan
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