Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Most people right now are thinking about grilling. They're planning what kinds of hot dogs or burgers, steaks or chops or chicken, kabobs or seafood they're going to throw on the backyard barbecue or on the portable one they might be taking to the park or the beach. Or maybe they're planning how they're going to marinate and carry their contribution to cook on someone else's grill

I, meanwhile, am enjoying cooler thoughts this year.

Yes, I love to grill over an open fire. Anyone who knows me or has eaten in one of my restaurants knows that I do.

Homemade ice cream sandwiches are a wonderful treat that everyone can enjoy on a hot summer's day. And, because you can buy good-quality ice cream for them in any supermarket, there's very little work involved apart from baking the cookies -- which is something you can and should do the day before.

The basis for the sandwich is a variation on the classic chocolate chip cookie. Here, the dough gets a rich chocolate flavor and rich brown color from the addition of a little cocoa powder, and crunchy, buttery-tasting macadamia nuts replace the usual walnuts, pecans, or peanuts. Feel free to play with the recipe yourself, changing the nuts or the kind of chocolate you use, or even leaving out the cocoa to get the more familiar tan-colored cookie dough.

Whatever you do, though, be sure to bake the cookies long enough. I know that very soft cookies are popular, but I personally am not a big fan of the flavor of undercooked dough.

For the cookies, it helps to have two baking sheets. That way, you can have a second batch ready to go into the oven as soon as the first one comes out. (The cookies won't bake as evenly if you try to put both sheets in at once on two different oven racks.) If you have only one baking sheet, you can reuse it for another batch. Just be sure to let it cool before arranging more balls of dough on it, so they won't spread out too much from the heat.

The ice cream is up to you. I enjoy good coffee ice cream, and I think its flavor goes well with these cookies. But vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, chocolate chip, or some more creative flavor would work just as well. It's your own choice.

MOCHA MACADAMIA NUT CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Makes about 30

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large cage-free eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into pieces about the size of large chocolate chips

1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped unsalted macadamia nuts

1 quart coffee ice cream

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Fit an electric mixer with the paddle or beaters, or insert the beaters into a hand-held electric mixer. Put the butter in a large bowl and beat it at medium speed until softened and smooth. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until incorporated; raise the speed to high and beat until the mixture is fluffy, stopping as necessary to scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Reduce the speed to medium and, 1 at a time, add the eggs, beating until incorporated and stopping as necessary to scrape down the bowl. Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the flour mixture, just until incorporated. Add the chocolate and the nuts and beat or stir with a sturdy wooden spoon, just until evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Scrape the dough out of the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 to 3 hours or as long as overnight.

Before baking the cookies, position the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap it. With clean hands, divide it into pieces about 1 ounce each, about the size of an unshelled walnut, rolling each piece between your palms to form an even ball. Arrange the balls on the parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until slightly firm to the touch, 13 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets for even baking about halfway through. Transfer the baking sheets to wire racks to cool for a few minutes, and then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies from the sheets to the racks to continue cooling. (If reusing a baking sheet for another batch, let it cool before arranging balls of dough on it.)

Remove the ice cream from the freezer and leave it at room temperature to soften slightly, 10 to 15 minutes. When the cookies have cooled completely, spread about 2 ounces of ice cream on the flat side of half of the cookies. Top with another cookie, flat side touching the ice cream, and lightly press together to seal.

Wrap the sandwiches in plastic wrap and freeze until firm.

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Mocha Macadamia Nut Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches - Wolfgang Puck Recipes

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