Ginger Ice Cream Sandwiches

, from Issue #76. January, 2018
Photography by Kelly Gibney.
Ginger Ice Cream Sandwiches

Fun to eat and full of warm gingery flavours, I love these partnered with a strong iced espresso on a hot afternoon.

INGREDIENTS

100 grams softened butter
¾ cup light muscovado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 free-range egg
½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 cups spelt flour (white or wholemeal will both work)
Ice cream
1 litre vanilla ice cream
100 grams crystallised ginger, diced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer. Add the egg, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon and allspice and beat together. Add the spelt flour and mix until the dough comes together.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll ping pong-sized balls of dough and place on the tray. Press down with 3 fingers to flatten. They will not expand much while cooking so can be placed quite close together. You may need to cook in two batches, depending on the size of your oven and tray.

Bake for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Place on a rack to cool completely.

Allow the ice cream to soften for 5 minutes, add the cinnamon and crystallised ginger and mix well. After mixing in the ginger and cinnamon, if the ice cream has melted too much to assemble the cookie sandwiches, place back in the freezer to harden for 20 minutes.

To assemble: Top a cookie with a big spoonful of ice cream. Place a second cookie on top and gently press together. Run a knife around the filling to smooth it.

Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes to harden. Can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Makes 16 cookies (8 sandwiches)