Does anyone remember Sandra Dee? She the femme fatale of teen angst movies of the 60’s? Let’s pretend I’m that Sandra, OK? Mostly because I was enamored of Troy Donahue for the longest time and I still can get a bit verklempt when I hear the theme from ‘A Summer Place,’ a movie that seemed racy when I saw it that would most likely considered acceptable for kids today. Still, I digress…why Sandra Dee?
Well…for some of us the type of dessert I made for the blog today might be considered more akin to another Sandra, she of the tablescapes and semi-store bought recipes (even using the homemade in reference to this Sandy seems a stretch so let’s call it what it is, OK?). Lee? Dee? Close enough for me!
My pal Karen called me recently and wondered if I was interested in the ice cream that had been offered to both of us by the folks at Blue Bell Creameries. Karen hails from Texas where Blue Bell is an institution and she has brought me into the fold. We visited their local facility a couple of months ago…if you recall it was 107 in the shade in Denver and I wanted to move into their freezer it felt SO good. That was discouraged by management though so instead I made an ice cream dessert and I’ve survived to have another opportunity to sample some of their wonderful ice cream.
When Karen also offered to run by and pick up both of ours and bring by what we knew would be a seasonal flavor I was most grateful; my overbooked schedule is totally out of control and I’m not sure a half gallon of ice cream was going to be able to pull me away.
Karen arrived a bit later and I’m sorry all of you weren’t here. I’m sure between us we could have served ice cream to every one of our readers…OK, maybe an exaggeration but still, four half gallons for each of us. What was a girl to do?!!
My first order of business was to give the Christmas Cookies half gallon to my neighbor with a 3 yr old girl; it just seemed so fitting. When a friend arrived a couple of days later with his two boys…I sent them home with the half gallon of Gingerbread; I mean how better to share the goodness of Blue Bell than to share the goods, right?
That left two for me and I knew I wanted to make something with one of them and I was leaning towards the Peppermint; it’s always been a favorite. So, I decided to open the half gallon of Spiced Pumpkin Pecan ice cream and just taste it. To be honest…I’m not a pumpkin crazy person…but I LOVED that ice cream. Pumpkin ice cream is combined with crunchy sugar-coated pecans and a rich cinnamon-honey-praline sauce; I had no problem at all eating a bowl of it every night until it was all gone. Sob.
That left me and Peppermint, a cool, refreshing peppermint flavored ice cream sprinkled with peppermint candy pieces. While my first inclination was to create a cocktail, Karen had the same thing in mind so while she went cocktail crazy I decided to go in another direction. The Sandy direction. I decided to try making some mini ice cream sandwiches and using those thin chocolate wafer cookies available at the grocery store seemed the perfect choice. These were really too easy. Ice cream spooned and pressed between two cookies, drizzled with some white chocolate and sprinkled with some crushed candy cane pieces. Can I just tell you that I was unprepared for how totally fabulous they are? Those chocolate wafer cookies? They taste JUST like the cookie part of ice cream sandwiches…I’m not sure anything I made would have re-created that flavor so this ‘Sandy’ moment was truly meant to be. 🙂
The perfect party treat for adults or kids..we seriously LOVED these…you will too!
Serves Approximately 16 depending on number of cookies in package
15 minPrep Time
5 minCook Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1/2 gallon peppermint ice cream
- 1 package chocolate wafer cookies (I got mine from Walmart; loved the scalloped edges)
- 8 oz white chocolate chips
- 2 oz half and half
- 1/2 package candy canes, crushed (I found candy canes with streaks of chocolate and they were perfect but regular candy canes would be fine too).
Instructions
- Put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place in freezer at least 10 minutes prior to making the sandwiches.
- Press a large tablespoon of ice cream between two of the wafers cookies and put on chilled cookie sheet; continue until you have used all of the wafers. Put cookies in the freezer.
- Melt the white chocolate and half and half in a double boiler or in the microwave on low power, whisking as necessary until it is a smooth consistency.
- Remove the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer and drizzle them with the melted chocolate; immediately scatter the candy cane pieces on the top. Return to the freezer.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours; remove from the cookie sheet and store in a container; putting a piece of waxed paper between each treat.
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