Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches

YEEEESSS.

I finally made ice cream sandwiches! I have been dreaming of making homemade ice cream all summer... as well as making homemade ice cream sandwiches. So I did. Both! At the same time. And it was awesome.

Good News and Bad News.
Bad News:
My dear friend Nicola is leaving us here in Cow Town to go to school in the States. :( This is sad because I will miss her soft hair (this sounds creepy, but it is seriously the softest hair out there), her pretty face, and pastel/floral filled wardrobe.

Good News:

When people you love go away, you hold a party for them. Or at least, your friend Chelsea does, and you make dessert. That is the good part about people leaving: fantastic friends, and scrumptious snacks to send them off.

I made these coconut ice cream sandwiches for Nicola's farewell. Ice cream sandwiches are a grand summertime treat! I do enjoy a good ice cream sandwich. And I do enjoy a hefty dose of coconut in my diet. Because it is delicious. These sandwiches start off with a chewy coconut cookie. They are flavoured with coconut extract, which you could totes replace with any other extract you wish and make: maple, vanilla, lemon, rum, chocolate cookies... etc etc.

You pipe the batter onto the cookie sheet in little pinwheels like so...

Pop em' into the oven...

Aaaaaand... 

Tadaa!! Chewy Coconut Cookies

Chewy Coconut Cookies

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp coconut extract (or any other extract you prefer!)

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a mixer bowl, whisk the eggs until nice and fluffy which takes about 3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar, beating for 3 more min. Mix in the extract. Reduce speed to low to add in the flour mixture.

This is where things get a little crazy. These cookies get piped onto the baking sheets... weird! But it totally works. And works well. So, place the cookie batter into a piping bag with a round tip attatched (or use a ziploc and snip off one corner). Pipe 2 inch round pinwheels onto parchment lined baking sheet, and bake cookies 8 to 9 minutes in a 350F oven. (My oven likes it hot, so I put mine at 325. Use your own discretion.) The cookies are done when they are pale in colour and the tops start to crack a little.

Cool for about 5 minutes on the sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Whenever I look at this next picture, I get very, very excited. Like the same feeling you get on Christmas morning. The feeling of: This box contains something extensively awesome, and has the potential to be life changing. Also the feeling of: Oh my gosh I seriously am finally making homemade ice cream. Which was a great feeling, let me tell you.

OOOO... EXCITED YET?!?

HOW ABOUT NOW?! Cuz I am. The only unfortunate thing about this is that I don't actually own this here ice cream maker. Sad face. It belongs to my Aunt, which isn't so bad because she only lives one block away, and says I can borrow it whenever I wish. Awe yeah. I love how retro it looks :)

For the ice cream recipe, I tried one by Anna Olson that has cream cheese, coconut extract, and coconut milk. The cream cheese made it super delish and creamy.

Coconut Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Recipe from Anna Olson

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp coconut extract
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 whipping cream, whipped

Beat cream cheese and sugar together, then add coconut milk, lemon juice, extract and salt. Fold in the whipped cream.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the machines instructions. (or if you can't get ahold of one, try this method)

Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches

Assembly time!

Note! It is easiest to use slightly softened ice cream to assemble these, but don't make it too soft, otherwise the ice cream will just spill out the sides. If your ice cream is getting too soft, put it back in the freezer for a bit to firm up.

I like to work in batches, a few cookies at a time so that the sandwiches don't melt as I am making them.

Take a scoop of ice cream, sandwich it between two cookies and roll the edges in some golden and toasty shredded coconut. Place sandwich on a baking tray and after you've made a few, place tray in the freezer. Repeat until you have made your desired amount of sammies!

Let the sandwiches set in the freezer for at least 30 minutes or so just to re-freeze the ice cream. ENJOY!

<3 Lari