Everyone’s Favorite Summer Sandwich

What is everyone’s favorite summer sandwich?  Why an ice cream sandwich, of course! How can you lose if you put delicious ice cream between two delicious cookies?  The possibilities of combinations are certainly endless and limited only by your imagination.  Today we want to share one of our favorites….homemade lemon ice cream on lemon butter cookies….YUM!

Growing up, my father was in charge of cranking the ice cream freezer and keeping it loaded with ice and salt.  The flavor he made most often was my Aunt Mary’s Lemon Ice Milk.  It is cool and refreshing and just a bit icy and delicious.  I make it often now myself.  I love the flavor of lemon in anything, really.  And though I love Aunt Mary’s Lemon Ice Milk,  I wanted something a bit more creamy and less icy for these lemon butter cookie ice cream sandwiches.  So I started experimenting.  The results of my experimentation was a rich and very creamy and lemony ice cream…easy to make and even easier to eat!  But for those who don’t have an ice cream maker or aren’t inclined to make their own ice cream, we’ve got a quick and easy way to come very close to this homemade version we’ll share with you below.

Special treats of summer become happy childhood (and adult) memories.  These are good for any family gathering or just as a hot afternoon refreshment for kids of all ages.  I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as my family has 🙂

Here’s to a summer filled with memories of more love, joy and abundant living,

Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches

Start with the recipe for Lemon Butter Cookies.

Homemade Lemon Ice Cream

3 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons lemon extract – (you can buy lemon extract from the market as well)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the milk with sugar until tiny bubbles form on the side of the pan but do not allow milk to boil. Remove from the heat.  Beat the egg yolks, then add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of scalded milk to the yolks.  This tempers the egg so that when you add it to the rest of the milk it doesn’t instantly scramble the yolks or cause curdling.  Add the yolks back to the rest of the  milk and continue cooking over a low flame for about 5 minutes stirring continuously, until the custard is thickened enough so that it coats a spoon in a thin layer.  Remove from heat and stir in salt and lemon and vanilla extracts.  Add in cream and stir to mix well.  Refrigerate the mixture until cold.  This will take several hours or it can be left overnight.

Freeze according to your ice cream freezer directions.  Store ice cream in purchased cardboard containers (these can be purchased at a restaurant supply store like Smart and Final) or store in a covered glass container in your freezer to allow ice cream to fully set up.

Quick Lemon Ice Cream

Purchase a high quality vanilla ice cream.  I prefer Haagen Daaz Vanilla because it is all natural and has essentially the same ingredients as our homemade ice cream does.  Allow the ice cream to sit out long enough to become slightly softened.  Place ice cream in a bowl and add 3 teaspoons of lemon extract. Stir well to thoroughly combine then return to carton and freeze again until firm.

Assembling Sandwiches

Bake the Lemon Butter Cookies as directed and cool completely.  Using a tablespoon, scoop spoonfuls of ice cream onto the underside of one cookie.

Top with second cookie and press together just slightly with enough pressure to make the ice cream begin to just barely ooze out of the sides.

Wrap in waxed paper and place on a cookie sheet.  Store ice cream sandwiches in the freezer until ready to eat.  They will keep well for about 1 week….if they last that long 🙂