Remember way back when I shared that awesome Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream? And I said I had ‘grand plans’ for it? Well, it may have taken me a bit longer than anticipated to realize those plans, but I think the result is worth the wait. Initially inspired by Mallomar cookies, but sort of a s’more too, that’s been frozen and sandwiched and dipped in chocolate. On a hot summer day they soften into a perfect mess of a dessert, dewy and melty and oozing liquid marshmallow (so have a napkin handy).
Granted, this is not a ‘throw together’ kind of dessert, and does require a bit of advance planning. But your effort will be rewarded with 16 perfectly sized sandwiches, which, if you ration them right (meaning hiding them in the way back of the freezer and refusing to share) will last you quite a while. Or not. Regardless, it’s not like other crazy complicated ice cream sandwich recipes that give you maybe 6 sandwiches. All that time for a day or two’s worth of desserts is (despite all the freezing) not cool. But this recipe is sized to perfection, each sandwich measuring about 2 1/4 inches square. What they lack in proportion they make up for in flavor, and I think you’ll find the size to be more than satisfying.
It took me a few tries to get the cookie just right, not too crispy or crumbly or heavy with molasses flavor. I’d describe them as somewhere between a traditional graham cracker and shortbread cookie, the perfect amount of tenderness and flavor to compliment the ice cream without overpowering it.
I suggest you start the process a solid 3 or 4 days before you’re going to need them. I myself took almost 7 days to complete a single batch. Which is perfectly fine because each element needs to be frozen in between steps, so it’s not like your hard work will go to waste. Remember when we talked about baking on your own schedule? This is a prime example. Day 1: Toast the marshmallows and make the ice cream base. Chill it overnight. Day 2: Churn the ice cream, and spread it in the baking pan and freeze it overnight. Bake the cookies too and freeze those overnight as well. Day 3: Cut up the ice cream and assemble the sandwiches. Freeze them overnight or until they are really good and frozen solid. Day 4: Dip in chocolate. And freeze again until ready to serve.
So while it might SEEM like a lot of work, when your active time is interspersed with lengthy periods of required chill time (required both for you and the sandwiches, to be clear), it’s quite manageable.
