Strawberry and Chocolate Butter Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches
Remember that time I was like, “Hey you guys, let’s totally make ice cream sandwiches out of savory butter crackers!”
You were like, “Um… that sounds pretty weird. Are you sure?”
And I was like, “Come on, this is going to be awesome!”
And you were like, “Ok, but we still think you’re weird.”
Remember that? Well… we’re doing that all over again, this time with strawberry ice cream, melty milk chocolate and coconut oil, and a happy dash of sea salt too!
The result is something sweet, something chocolate-y, something crunchy, something creamy, and something salty! It’s everything in one! Well… everything except meaty. We can only go so far.
Considering the crackers and the ice cream are store-bought, this recipe is so thrillingly easy!
Start by lining up butter cracker rounds, and topping them with small scoops of strawberry ice cream. I used this perfectly portioned cookie/small ice cream scooper.
Finish this ice cream and cracker homage by topping the ice cream with another butter round. Inevitably you’ll find some cheese in the refrigerator… at which point you’ll stand in your kitchen eating cheese and crackers for the next twenty minutes. I know. It’s a thing.
After scooping and stacking the ice cream sandwiches, it’s important to let them rechill in the freezer for several agonizing hours, though overnight is best. The sandwiches need to be frozen solid and extra confident before they’re dipped into warm melted chocolate. Patience is key.
It is very hard to convince melting ice cream not to melt.
The trick to perfectly loose and smooth melted chocolate is coconut oil! Yea, totally.
Melt chocolate chunks with a few tablespoons of coconut oil over a double-boiler and it will be perfectly dippable. Not too thick at all! The coconut oil will also help the chocolate to harden smoothly since coconut oil is solid at room temperature. It’s a really great trick!
Let’s not forget the sea salt! Where there is sweet and chocolate, there should be sea salt. The balancer.
I used this Vanilla Sea Salt I made a few months back. You can use any coarse sea salt you have on hand. Just a sprinkle will do!
Strawberry and Chocolate Butter Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches
makes 12 to 14 sandwiches
24 to 28 round butter crackers
1 pint strawberry ice cream
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chunks
3 tablespoons coconut oil
coarse sea salt (I used vanilla sea salt)
Arrange crackers, bottom side up, on a cookie sheet. Place small ice cream scoop in the center of 12 or 14 crackers. Press remaining crackers gently onto the ice cream scoop. Freeze for at least 4 hours (or overnight) to allow to harden and settle.
Melt chocolate chunks and coconut oil in a double boiler or in the microwave. Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Stir until smooth and drippable. Remove the frozen ice cream sandwiches from the freezer and quickly dip half of the ice cream sandwich into the melted chocolate. Allow the dipped sandwich to rest on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Once all of the sandwiches are dipped, return them to the freezer to harden for at least 1 hour before serving. Wrap sandwiches individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 7 days. They’ll never last that long. Promise.