Hazelnut Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

Shavuos is basically the ultimate holiday. There are flowers, traditions to eat dairy that result in copious amounts of cheesecake, long, relaxed meals and beautiful weather to accompany it all.
This year, as always, I was in charge of making dessert. I tried to think beyond the usual cheesecake (though that will definitely make an appearance) and as I was browsing Pinterest for inspiration, it suddenly hit me: ice cream sandwiches! What better way to cool down from the heat than with a sweet, cold treat?
Getting creative with the flavors, I made coffee and hazelnut liquor ice cream and chopped up a bar of cacao nib chocolate to add in. Browned butter chocolate chip cookies seemed like the perfect sandwich base, and the result was a crazy good, grown-up version of the classic ice cream sandwich; one that has all the flavor of your favorite ice coffee, but is sandwiched between two chewy and buttery cookies. Oh, and did I mention this ice cream is no-churn? It’s a win-win for everyone.
Happy holiday!
Chaya

Ice cream recipe lightly adapted from The Vanilla Bean Blog, one of my favorite sites! 

For the ice cream:

• 1 fourteen oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1/4 cup strong, cold coffee
• 1/4 cup frangelico liquor
• 3 oz. cacao nib chocolate

For the cookies:

• 12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg + 1 yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• 6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces

1. In a medium bowl, stir together condensed milk, vanilla, frangelico and coffee.
2. With a standing mixer, whip the heavy cream on medium-high until soft peaks form. Whisk one third of the whipped cream into the frangelico-coffee mixture. Fold the remaining whipped cream into the mixture until it is incorporated.
3. Pour into a loaf pan and freeze until firm, 6 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Rearrange the oven racks so that one of them is in the middle.
5. Brown the butter in a small saucepan. It should smell nutty. Then let the butter cool to warm.
6. In a medium size bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt and combine. Set to the side.
7. In bowl of a stand mixer, add the melted butter, brown and white sugar. Beat on low until combined.
8. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium until combined.
9. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and mix until it is just combined and no longer visible. Add the chopped chocolate and stir with a spatula.
10. Divide the cookie dough into 38 small dough balls.
11. Space the cookies on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes depending on the cookie size. Remove them from the oven when they have puffed up in the middle. They will sink once you remove them from the oven.
12. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 – 10 minutes, cool enough to touch, and then place them into the freezer.
13. Remove the cookies and the ice cream from the freezer. Let the ice cream melt for a few minutes so that you can easily mold it between the cookies. Place a scoop of ice cream on one of the cookies. Place the other one on top and press down. Freeze and serve.