I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, WE ALL SCREAM FOR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Have you ever seen a kid crying while eating ice cream?chocolate chip cookie vanilla bean ice cream sandwich

No! Never during eating. Maybe crying before and maybe after, but not during eating ice cream.

It's nearly impossible to be unhappy when you're eating ice cream, whether it be on a cone, in a bowl or my favourite: shmudged between two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies! mmmm
I dare you to eat one of these babies and stay mad or unhappy.

Bebe was smiling fierce while she was eating this ice cream sandwich.
Until I heard a thud. Then it was this high-pitched wail and real tears. Nothing's so sad as a kid with dropped ice cream. The sandwich was so thick, she had problems biting into it but she was doing quite well until the drop. She was inconsolable until I made her another one.

a pretty darned good cookie. but i'm not committing myself to saying it's the best
here's the cookie's innards. i used callebaut dark chocolate chunksi adapted yard's recipe and tossed in some coarsely chopped lightly salted, roasted almonds into half the dough. way better!

I'm ready, willing and able to commit myself to researching the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Of course, there are those who love crispy and chewy cookies and there are those that like cakey cookies. I think there might even be a few who like crunchy cookies. I like mine underbaked slightly so that they stay soft in the middle. I do like a crispy and chewy cookie too. The cookies I don't really like are those "Dad" cookies you buy in the supermarket. Narey a chip to be seen and when you taste it, it's akin to dirt. Crunchy, yes...but dry and not very chocolatey. The chocolate chips are waxy and not so sexy. They're little specks, nubbins in a vast plain of blahness.

For my decadently yummy ice cream sandwich, I decided to use Yard's "Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe. I like my Toll House recipe very much and haven't strayed too far from it. Yard's is very close to the Toll House recipe. I also have a recipe I like to use sometimes to make huge cookies that resemble the ones you get at the mall. It's from my Professional Baking cookbook, by Wayne Gisslen and it requires bread flour. It's one of my favourites. Apparently, Alton Brown makes a chocolate chip cookie using melted butter, but I haven't tried the recipe yet. I have it on queue...

CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIE VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

(adapted from Sherry Yard's "Quintessential Chocolate Chip Cookies" in Desserts by the Yard)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 12 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1-inch pieces
• vanilla bean ice cream [any kind will do, but homemade is always best!]

NB: I divided the dough in half and added coarsely chopped lightly salted roasted whole almonds to one batch. This improved the cookies in that the bit of extra salt and the crunch of the almonds gave the cookies more flavour and a wonderful texture!

1. Place racks in the middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour and baking soda and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter on medium speed until lemony yellow about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Continue creaming the mixture on medium speed until it is smooth and lump-free, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed for 15 seconds, or until the egg is fully incorporated. Do not overbeat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. On low speed, add the sifted flour mixture. Beat slowly until all of the flour is incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the chocolate chunks and mix in.
6. Remove small handfuls or spoonfuls of one half of the dough from the bowl and center them along the bottom of a sheet of parchment or waxed paper, creating a log about 1 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold the parchment over, creating a sausage. Twist the ends over and wrap in plastic. Repeat with the remaining dough. Chill for at least 1 hour, preferablly overnight. (The dough can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.) When the dough has chilled, remove it from the paper, and using a serrated knife, slice 1/3 inch-thick rounds off the log. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. (To bake the dough without chilling, spoon heaping tablespoons 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets)
7. Bake, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through the baking, for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment off the baking sheets onto a work surface. Cool the baking sheets between batches. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. (They will keep for up to 3 days at room temperature.)

*cakebrain's ice cream sandwich hints: soften the ice cream a bit before scooping balls between the cookies. Wrap well in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. They won't last long!

Recipe Taste-rating: Good cookies. Better with those almonds. Very good with the vanilla ice cream. They're of course best on the day of baking. Still soft 3 days later.

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