Our Old-School Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe Is Downright Pavlovian (2024)

Why It Works

Using both granulated sugar and light brown sugar keeps the chocolate wafer firm yet chewy even when frozen, making it ideal for sandwiching ice cream.
Instant espresso powder and coffee complement the flavor of the cocoa powder in the chocolate wafers.

Proust may have famously flashed back to his childhood with one bite of a madeleine, but our sense of taste isn't the only mode of sensory time travel. Little wormholes float on the breeze, tangled up in the scent of honeysuckle and apple pie. We inhale them, crossing their tiny event horizons, and find ourselves reliving a memory. Sound waves can also warp the fabric of space and time, temporarily and temporally displacing anyone in their wake. In summer, when the barrier between past and present is at its thinnest, this sort of accidental time travel is commonplace; we've all experienced it.

While sitting on our sofa at home, going about our day at work, or walking down the street, we hear theclang, clangof the ice cream truck. Our pulse quickens, we scramble for a quarter and then, just as suddenly, the sound has passed and so has the experience. We find ourselves having jumped to our feet, or halfway to the door, with a hand thrust into a pocket to fish out change. We smile and think, "Oh, for a second I felt like a kid again."

Our Old-School Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe Is Downright Pavlovian (1)

Cynics call this a Pavlovian response, but they have fancy degrees that make them yearn to connect superficial dots like the presence of a bell and salivation.I think that for a second youwerea kid again.The sound of the ice cream truck sliced through the ages, depositing your heart and soul into a body you outgrew twenty-odd years before. In that instant, you relived everything you once felt, exactly as you felt it.

Me? I'm bookin' down the sidewalk. MyGenerra Hypercolort-shirt maxed out in the summer heat and a fistful of quarters clutched in my sweaty palm. The ice cream truck seems impossibly far away...And then it's over. I'm back.

Olfactory and sonic time travel are fickle modes of transport; we never know when they will strike and each visit lasts only seconds. That's why I rely on culinary time travel. So long as you've got the taste on your tongue, your passport is valid for travel.

Before summer draws to a close, I want to run out to the ice cream truck, one last time. I wish I could recreate every frozen confection from the (retrospectively super creepy) ice cream trucks of the 1980s, fromBubble Playto Bomb Pops. But since I can only choose one Ice Cream Truck Ambassador, I have to pick my beloved, theGiant Vanilla.

Our Old-School Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe Is Downright Pavlovian (2)

It was like an Oreo made anew by some Arctic Fairy Godmother. She transformed its icing into ice cream, softened crispy cookies into supple black velvet, blinged it up with a shiny silver wrapper, placed it in a carriage, and sent it off to the ball. Or uh. My stomach. A happy ending for me, at any rate...

Most homemade ice cream sandwich recipes don't even try. Ice Cream Sandwiches in name only. It's a Squares and Rectangles issue. All ice cream sandwiches are sandwiches of ice cream, but not all sandwiches of ice cream are ice cream sandwiches. Think about it.

Arealice cream sandwich always had a particular sort of anemic vanilla ice cream, molded into a slab with delightfully square corners. It came sandwiched between super dark, ultra chocolatey, sticky as hell... thingies. Supple wafers that gave way at the mere suggestion of teeth. Most importantly, regardless of brand or origin, ice cream sandwiches always came wrapped up like a Christmas present.

Typical homemade recipes use the wrong kinds of sandwich material: random cookies, slivers of cake, or thin sheets of brownies. Do they even think about the logistics? You'd have to unhinge your jaw to wrap your mouth around most of 'em. Even if you could, the very act of having to chomp your way through a frozen cookie or brownie would cause the ice cream to squirt out in all directions, which would never happen with a real ice cream sandwich. And they're never wrapped.

You can't just leave ice cream sandwiches naked in the freezer, piled into a Tupperware like some sort of mass grave. What are we, animals?

If you have a brownie pan and a freezer, you can turn ice cream into a perfect slab. If you have an oven, you can bake sticky chocolate sandwich cookies. If you have a knife, you can cut perfectly rectangular sandwiches. If you have tinfoil and parchment paper, you can make shiny wrappers.

Chasing some stranger in a truck down the street? Optional.

This recipe is essentially for Fauxreos, but with the addition of hot coffee to create a thick, cake-like batter that is spread with a spatula, not rolled out.

The coffee here, both in instant and liquid form, is essential to the end flavor. I promise, once baked they don't have perceptible coffee flavor. If coffee's a problem for you, it still is a darned fine chocolate wafer without it, but the flavor will be a little off base. Simply omit the instant espresso and replace the hot coffee with hot water or tea.

A double batch of the "Blizzard" ice cream works perfectly in this recipe (sans Oreos of course), but use any ice cream you like.

August 2011

This recipe was cross-tested and lightly updated in 2024 to guarantee best results.

Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwiches

Prep55 mins

Cook15 mins

Active45 mins

Cooling and Freezing Time13 hrs

Total14 hrs 10 mins

Serves12 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients

4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
5 ounces (141g) granulated sugar
2 ounces (57g) brown sugar
2 teaspoons (9g) vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons (3g) instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons (5g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use half as much by volume
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
4 large egg yolks
5 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon; 148g), sifted (use rice flour for gluten free)
4 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder (1 cup; 112g), sifted
6 ounces hot coffee (3/4 cup; 180ml)
2 quarts (1.9L) vanilla ice cream, store bought orhomemade

Directions

For the Chocolate Wafers: Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175℃) and line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, espresso powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
With the mixer on medium speed, add the yolks one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition; scrape down sides of bowl, as needed.
Once all yolks are incorporated, reduce mixing speed to low and add flour and cocoa and mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, slowly drizzle in coffee, stopping mixer and scraping down the bowl about halfway through, until fully incorporated and mixture has a smooth cake-batter–like consistency, 1 to 2 minutes. (If any lumps remain, increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until only a few small lumps remain. Any remaining small lumps will disappear during baking.)
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared baking sheets (about 15 ounces of batter per sheet). Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the batter into a thin even layer; it’s okay if the batter does not reach to the corners of the pans, baked wafers will later be cut into an about 9-inch by 13-inch rectangle. Tap the baking sheets against the counter to help level the batter. Bake one sheet at a time until the wafer is puffed and firm to the touch, 7 to 10 minutes. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate or freeze, uncovered, until fully cooled and firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, If using store bought ice cream, soften the ice cream in the refrigerator until spreadable, about 30 minutes. Line a 9-inch by 13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. The paper should overhang the long sides of the pan by about 4 inches.
Cut the cooled chocolate wafers into 8 3/4-inch by 12 3/4-inch rectangles. Reserve the excess scraps.
Carefully transfer one cut wafer, shiny side down, into the bottom of the prepared pan. Gently press and fit the wafer into the pan then slowly peel off the parchment paper stuck to the bottom. (If the wafer cracks or breaks, use some of the reserved wafer trimmings to patch together. The wafers should meld together nicely just by pressing firmly.) Store the wafer-lined pan and the remaining chocolate wafer separately in the freezer until ready to use.
Once the ice cream is softened, spread over the wafer that is nestled in the prepared pan. Use a spoon or offset spatula to spread the ice cream into an even layer, pushing into the corners of the pan (for best results with homemade ice cream, use it immediately after it's finished churning in your ice cream maker).
Invert the remaining cut wafer onto a cutting board. Peel off the parchment paper and place the wafer shiny side up on top of the ice cream. Cover the wafer with a piece of parchment or plastic wrap, then use your hands to gently press the top wafer down and seal it against the ice cream. If you notice there are any thin or uneven places, gently push on the chocolate wafer to redistribute the ice cream below. Freeze the uncut ice cream sandwiches in the pan, covered with plastic wrap, until the ice cream is frozen, about 12 hours before proceeding.
Once fully frozen and ready to cut, run a knife under hot water to warm slightly then run the warmed knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Hold the overhanging parchment to gently lift the uncut ice cream sandwich from the pan. It may take a bit of tugging on one side of the parchment, then the other to remove. Transfer to a cutting board.
Using a large chef's knife, cut it into twelve 4 1/4-inch by 2 1/2-inch rectangles by first cutting it into quarters, then cut each quarter into three equal sized pieces. For clean slices, wipe the knife clean with a hot, wet towel between each cut. Serve immediately or freeze the sandwiches in an airtight container or wrap each in your own prepared waxed foil (see note).

Special Equipment

9- by 13-inch aluminum baking pan, aluminum foil, parchment paper

Notes

All measurements are in weights, as volume measures can be very imprecise. I strongly recommend using a scale for all pastry projects. Serious Eats' recommended kitchen scales are here.

Of course, you don't have to make wrappers. But it's fun and easy. To make your own waxed foil, simply take a large sheet of tin foil, shiny side up, and use a pastry brush or paper towel to coat it lightly with a neutral oil like safflower oil or coconut oil. Press a similarly sized sheet of parchment paper against the oiled surface of the foil. Use your fingers to smooth the parchment down, pressing out any air bubbles. I recommend using a bench scraping for removing air bubbles. Cut the newly formed waxed foil into 7-inch squares with scissors or an x-acto knife. Repeat until you have 12 squares altogether. Set aside until needed.

Wrap the ice cream sandwiches: Remove half of the ice cream sandwiches from the freezer. Place each on the center of the foil or parchment square. Wrap much like you would a Christmas present: fold the long sides to the middle. Then at each edge, fold the short sides to the middle. Then fold the long sides. The foil will crease and stay in place without tape. Return to the freezer, and repeat with the other half. They will keep quite well for about a month, if they last that long, which I doubt.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Wrapped ice cream sandwiches will keep frozen for about a month. (If they last that long, which I doubt.)

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