Hello from under a pile of scrawled recipe notes! I’ve been trying to keep up with regular blogging, but have been having such a tough time balancing, well, everything as of late. Between recipe writing and testing for my upcoming baking book, a whole lot of wedding clients and my less-than-smooth-sailing personal life (I’m recently single), things have been a little bit hectic.

So my friend Erin (you guys all know Sparkle Media) and I decided that we needed to have a little fun and shake things up a bit. She came over to my apartment yesterday and we, after way too much coffee, filmed a few quick, casual and easy recipe tutorials! I stress the word casual – these are by no means “professional” videos like the ones I’ve done in the past (over here). Heck, we weren’t even wearing socks – haha!

Below is the video and the recipe for my chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches, which were a best-seller in my shop, no matter what the weather was like. They’re essentially my chocolate chip cookies from this post, with slightly different baking instructions and of course, with ice cream and sprinkles! You’ll definitely see my goofy (and slightly over-caffeinated) side in this video, so if baking isn’t your thing, I hope you at least get a little laugh (I know that we did!).

Huge thanks to Erin for filming and editing this video!

Happy baking!

Tessa xo

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Makes about 18 cookie sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (210 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups (150 g) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, at room temperature (bring up their temperature quickly by placing in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 5 cups vanilla ice cream
• sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F, line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Place the butter and both of the sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix. Stop the mixer again and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl once more. Add the dry ingredients all at once, and mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together. Stop the mixer again and give the sides of the bowl a quick scrape again to release any clinging flour, then add the chocolate chips and mix just until blended.

Scoop the cookie dough, 2 Tablespoons at a time, roll into a ball and gently flatten the cookie slightly. Place on the first cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, being sure to place no more than 6 cookies on each cookie sheet, as they’ll spread while they bake.

Place the first two trays in the oven and bake until the edges are a light golden brown, about 10-13 minutes. The middle of each cookie should look lighter than the edges, which ensures a perfectly soft center. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, before carefully scooping them up with a spatula/cookie lifter and placing them on a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat these steps with the last baking sheet. Cookies will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Assembling the Sandwiches

Place a baking sheet (or a plate) in the freezer.

Begin by matching the cookies together, so that each cookie is paired with another that is of similar size and shape. Scoop out ice cream, ¼ cup at a time, place it on the bottom of one of the cookies and sandwich another cookie on top. Gently press the sandwich together, add sprinkles and pop it into the freezer to stay cold. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to one week.