Emily Luchetti

Gingersnap Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches

banner

Preparation info

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Makes

    12

    Sandwiches

Appears in

A Passion for Ice Cream

A Passion for Ice Cream

By Emily Luchetti

Published 2006

I first created this dessert for Mickey and Minnie at Disney’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival in Orlando, Florida. Nicole Lago, the Farallon restaurant purchasing agent, and I were a human assembly line as we put together over six hundred sandwiches. It was sweltering in the kitchen, and to keep the ice cream from melting, the Epcot purchasing agents loaned us the winter parkas they wear for putting food away in the large walk-in freezers. We assembled the sandwiches in a freezer. We laughed as our fingers got frozen stiff and thought about how it was 85°F outside. I wrapped each in a strip of parchment paper and sealed it with a Farallon sticker, making pickup and devouring simple. Go to your local paper shop and find a festive sticker of your own.

Ingredients

Lemon Ice Cream

  • 1½ cups whole milk
  • 3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
  • Zest stripped from 2 lemons
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Gingersnaps

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 ounces (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 tablespoons molasses

Method

To Make the Ice Cream

Combine the milk, cream, lemon zest, and ½ cup of the sugar in a heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until almost simmering. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, the remaining ½ cup sugar, and the salt. Slowly pour the hot liquid into the egg mixture, whisking as you pour. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook, over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant plastic or a wooden spatula, until the custard reaches 175°F and lightly coats the spatula.

Strain the custard into a clean bowl and cool over an ice bath until room temperature. Stir in the lemon juice. Refrigerate the custard for at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze until scoopable, about 4 hours, depending on your freezer.

To Make the Cookies

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, white pepper, and allspice. Stir in the salt.

Beat the butter, ¼ cup of the granulated sugar, and the brown sugar together until smooth. Stir in the egg. Mix in the molasses. Stir in the dry ingredients in 2 additions. Refrigerate the dough until very firm, at least 3 hours.

Divide the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 4 days. When firm, roll the dough on a lightly sugared work surface into two 9-inch-long logs.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 3 baking pans with parchment paper. Cut the dough into ½-inch-thick slices. There should be at least 24 cookies. Put the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Coat the cookies with the sugar. Place the cookies 2½ inches apart on the prepared pans. Bake the cookies until set and no longer wet looking, 10 to 12 minutes. They will be puffy when you take them out of the oven and will sink as they cool.

In Advance

The cookie dough can be rolled up to a week in advance and refrigerated. The sandwiches can be assembled a couple of days in advance.

To Assemble the Sandwiches

Place 12 of the cookies, bottom side up, on the work surface. Place a large scoop of ice cream on each. Top with a second cookie, bottom side against the ice cream, and gently press to adhere the sandwiches together. Serve immediately, or freeze until ready to serve. Once frozen, wrap well in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container.

© 2006 Emily Luchetti. All rights reserved.