Mondo Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches

Those of you who are regulars here have recently seen a recipe for an awesome Black Coffee Ice Cream, then a few days later one for sublime Macarons.  Well, today you see what glory can be achieved by combining these two into one of the best ice cream sandwiches you'll ever eat.  Inspired by Jeni Britton Bauer's example in her terrific cookbook Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home , we've combined her Black Coffee Ice Cream (along with some store bought vanilla and chocolate for a little variety) with some super-sized cinnamon macarons to make a few seriously dangerous sandwiches.

The macaron recipe is the same as the one we used a few posts back, save for the fact that they get piped out to a bigger size (duh), and cooked a little longer than their petite cousins.  They make for a great sandwich cookie because they tend to stay fairly soft and chewy even straight from the freezer, so you don't need to wait for them to soften before diving in.  

Let's face it, aren't we all just a tad too busy to have to wait for our ice cream sandwiches to soften?  

Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say.

Uncooked macarons, resting before baking

We kept our macarons a natural color as that seemed to fairly represent their cinnamon flavor, but by all means spice things up a bit by adding a few drops of food coloring to the cookie batter to bring some life to the party.  You can also add some citrus zest or cocoa powder for flavoring the cookies, and use whatever kind of ice cream you want for a filling.  We loved the cinnamon and coffee combo, but these will be your cookies, so make them any way you want!

Cheers - Steve

 

Cinnamon and Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

Adapted from recipes by: Jeni Britton Bauer

(Print Friendly Recipe)

 

Ingredients:

for the macarons:

• 8 ounces whole almonds (1 1/2 cups), or 8 ounces almond meal (flour)
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 3/4 cup egg whites, from 6-7 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
•  food coloring (optional)

ice cream of your choice for filling

 

Method:

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment, and using a 3" biscuit cutter as a guide, trace 12 circles on the parchment.  Turn the sheet of parchment over.
2. If using whole nuts, grind them with 1/4 cup of the confectioners sugar in a food processor just until a fine flour forms, but not so much as to turn the nuts into a paste.  Add the remaining confectioners sugar and cinnamon and pulse to combine.  Strain through a fine meshed sieve into a large bowl to remove any large pieces of nuts remaining.
3. In a standing mixer, whip the egg whites and salt until frothy.  With the mixer running at medium-high speed, add the granulated sugar in three additions until the meringue is bright white, glossy and holds medium peaks, about 4-5 minutes.
4. Using a spatula, gently fold the almond mixture into the whipped whites in three additions and lightly mix until all the dry ingredients are fully incorporated.  Add a few drops of food coloring at this point if desired.
5. Transfer the mix to a large piping bag fitted with a 1/4" plain tip.  Pipe the batter in a concentric circle pattern to fill the circles you drew on the parchment, beginning in the center and working out to the edge on each.  Let the cookies sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry a touch before baking, this helps ensure an even, uncracked crust on the finished cookie.
6. Heat your oven to 300℉.
7. Bake cookies 18-20 minutes, rotating them once during baking, or until they look dry and set on top.  Remove from the oven and let cool completely before using.
8. Match cookies to that they are even as possible, fill with the ice cream of your choice and enjoy!
9. If not eating right away, wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze for later use.

***  If you have extra batter after piping 12 large cookie shapes (as we did), either set up a second tray for large cookies as you did for the first, or dedicate a second tray for traditionally sized, small macaron.  If you make small ones, check them at 13-15 minutes as they will cook faster than their big brothers.