Red Velvet Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches with Bing Cherries and Chocolate
I’m not sure about you, but I just love an ice cream sandwich. Crunchy and creamy, with melting ice cream running down your arm – one of life’s perfect moments. While usually associated with a hot summer day, we’ve changed things around just a little to make these just right for Valentine’s Day. Red Velvet Sugar Cookies with a good hit of chocolate, cut into hear shapes and filled with store-bought ice cream that has been gussied up with sweet bing cherries and big hunks of chocolate. Something fun for the entire family to make together – and that says love. The cookie recipe has been adapted from the McCormick website: www.mccormick.com/recipes. Ice cream thoughts are all ours.
Ingredients
- COOKIES
- 2 ¼ cups flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks butter softened
- 1 package cream cheese 8 ounces, softened
- 1- cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring
- ICE CREAM
- 1 container the closest thing you can find to half gallon vanilla ice cream (we used Tillamook Old Fashioned Vanilla, 1.75 quart)
- 1, 1 pound package frozen sweet Bing cherries thawed and drained (we used Trader Joe’s)
- 1 12- ounce package chocolate chips chopped into very large pieces (or 12 ounces of a dark chocolate bar, chopped)
Instructions
- COOKIES
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Using a mixer and large bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and food color until light and fluffy.
- In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix into the butter mixture on low speed until thoroughly combined.
- Divide dough into two equal sections and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for two hours or until firm.
- When dough is firm, roll out until about 1/8 inch thick on a well-floured surface (Note: this dough can get really sticky so no need to be stingy with the flour – it will help your sanity). Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter (if you have one and are feeling romantic, or any other shape you like), cut out dough and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet about an inch apart. No need to use cooking spray.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for a coupe of minutes to set up before moving to a cooling rack. Cool to room temperature before filling.
- ICE CREAM
- Allow ice cream to set out at room temperature until you are able to stir easily.
- While ice cream is softening, drain cherries and slice each cherry in half. Set aside.
- Chop chocolate pieces into the size you prefer. Set aside.
- When ice cream has softened enough to stir, gently fold in the cherries and chocolate.
- Line a 13x9 inch-baking dish with plastic wrap, making sure the sides overlap, and spoon ice cream mixture into the baking dish. Place in freezer and freeze until firm, preferable overnight.
- TO ASSEMBLE
- Remove ice cream from freezer and lift out of the baking dish with the sides of the plastic wrap.
- Using the same cookie cutter you used on the cookies, cut shapes out of ice cream, place in between two cookies, and pop back into the freezer to set up. Continue on until you have all the cookies filled – chances are you will have cookies left over.