Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwhiches, oh My!

Ice cream sandwiches are one of those things that my little guy feels pretty bad about when all the other kids are getting one and he gets a banana Twin Pop (okay his mommy misses them too).  I hadn't ever thought about trying to make ice cream sandwiches at home, that's just one of those things we always bought.  There are gluten free ice cream sandwiches available, but they are very pricey, and not exactly what I want.  I want those soft sweet ice cream sandwiches I remember!

I saw this recipe on King Aurthur's blog and realized how easy it would be!  And it is.  This recipe calls for homemade ice cream, and someday, I might go to all that work, I'm sure it will be worth it.  But in the mean time, I'm perfectly happy using the cheep ice cream that comes in the fold up carton.  I choose this kind of ice cream because it is so easy to peal the carton away from the block and slice it up to make the sandwiches.

I made them as a test while my kids were in Disneyland with their dad.  I told my little guy what I had done, and sent him the picture.  He squeed like an excited dolphin and then dropped the phone and ran around yelling YES YES YES!  If I had known how happy he would be, I would have tried this sooner!

These are so quick and easy, I think they will be kept in my freezer at all times.  And they were so good, I blew my good intentions out of the water and ate them all in 3 days.

printable recipe

Ice Cream Sandwiches, Gluten Free

A  2qt carton of ice cream

1 1/4 cupsPancake and baking mix

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder or all-purpose baking cocoa

If using commercial baking mix, add 1 Tablespoon psyllium husk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cube (1/2 cup) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 350°

 
Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and lightly oil.

Whisk together the baking mix, cocoa, and salt.



 

Combine butter and sugar in mixer bowl and beat on high speed until creamy.  Scrape sides of bowl and add vanilla.  Beat again until somewhat fluffy (lighter colored).

On low speed add half the flour/cocoa mix and then the half and half.  Beat in remaining flour, scraping the bowl between each addition.

Spread the batter thinly on the prepared parchment paper.  It will be thin, but it should completely cover the pan.

Bake 8-10 minutes until it is no longer shiny, but don’t over bake, it will get hard.  Remove the pan and cool for 10 minutes.  Prick the top of the cookie evenly with a fork to make the pattern on the outside of the sandwiches. 

 Place the pan in the freezer for an hour.

Remove the cookie from the freezer.  Trim the edges and cut in half. Gently turn the cookie over on the tray so that the side with the pattern is on the bottom.   Remove the ice cream from the freezer and peal the cardboard away from the sides.  

 Using a large knife, slice the ice cream about ½ to 1 inch thick.  Layer the ice cream slabs on one of the cookie slabs. They should be touching and completely cover the cookie.  Trim the ice cream as needed to fit. 

  Place the second cookie on top of the ice cream and gently press down to stick the sandwiches together.  Using the large knife, cut the sandwiches into the size/shape you want.  Put the tray back in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

When the ice cream sandwiches are frozen, wrap each sandwich in plastic and then place in an airtight container.  Eat within 3 months.  If they last more than a day!