Hi Everyone! I hope you woke up this morning with tons of snow on the ground and an inexplicable craving for ice cream sandwiches. I know I did.
I’ve actually been craving these ice cream sandwiches ever since I made these Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies. I stashed a dozen of them away into the freezer just in case I needed to make ice cream sandwiches in the near future; that future is now. 
The soft, chewy, heavily spiced molasses cookies get sandwiched with the most soft, fluffy, bold coffee ice cream I’ve ever made. I made this ice cream two days before Christmas, when every surface of my kitchen was still covered in homemade goodies. Since I had no space, I decided to make this a no-churn recipe (aka you don’t need an ice cream maker!!). The base of this ice cream is heavy cream. No milk, no half & half- just heavy cream. Trust me, it’s the right choice for thick, fluffy ice cream.
The cream gets whipped with instant coffee granules, vanilla, maple syrup, leftover cold coffee, and a little cinnamon until it forms soft peaks. Essentially, you’re making coffee-infused sweetened whipped cream, then freezing it. The end result is a thick, fluffy, perfectly sweet, intensely coffee-flavored ice cream. 
This deep, dark coffee flavor balances perfectly with the smoky-sweet molasses cookies, but I bet it would be just as good sandwiched between chocolate chip or maple peanut butter cookies, too. Or you could just cut out the middle man and stir in some crushed up cookie bits to this ice cream and eat it by the bowlful. 
However you do it, you need this ice cream in your life. It’s thick and creamy from the heavy cream, yet maintains the intense flavor of a strong cup of coffee. Plus, with no ice cream maker required, you can make this recipe anywhere, anytime. I made these in my dad’s kitchen, and am already regretting leaving the leftovers in his freezer when I drove back across the state Monday. The good news is, I’ll be driving back down to the Cape Sunday for my birthday party, so I only have to wait two more days to eat one.
You, on the other hand, could make these TODAY. Preferably with the plan of serving them on New Year’s Eve: everyone knows eating ice cream sandwiches brings good luck in the new year. If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below, or take a picture and tag me on Instagram with #bakedgreens. Happy (almost) new year!
Molasses Cookie & Maple-Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 12 Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies or other cookies of choice*
- 3 cups heavy cream**
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup room temperature coffee
- 2 Tablespoons instant coffee granules
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- 1. Place all ice cream ingredients into the bowl of a standing mixer with the whisk attachment. Whisk, increasing speed slowly to medium, until soft peaks form. The mixture should look like soft whipped cream.
- 2. Pour the whipped ice cream base into a large, shallow freezer-safe dish, and put into the freezer. For best results, stir vigorously every 30-45 minutes until ice cream is scoopable (2-3 hours, depending on the depth of your ice cream and strength of your freezer). Alternately, you can freeze this without stirring for 3-12 hours, and just let the ice cream defrost at room temperature for 15 minutes before scooping.
- 3. While ice cream freezes, make the cookies. Mine were already made and waiting for me in the freezer when I made the ice cream, so I skipped this step. Once your cookies are made and cooled, transfer them to the freezer.
- 4. When ice cream is firm enough to scoop, sandwich it between cookies. If not eating immediately, transfer ice cream sandwiches to an airtight container or freezer bag, and store in the freezer for up to a month. You will be left with extra ice cream if only making 6 sandwiches.
Notes
**To make this ice cream vegan and paleo friendly, substitute canned coconut cream for the heavy cream. Do NOT use whole milk or light cream for this recipe, as heavy cream is necessary for making it light and fluffy without using an ice cream maker.