Ice cream sandwiches and summer go together like peas and carrots. It's my personal favorite frozen treat, mostly because it's two desserts in one <double fist pump>. Well, it's August so this was my cue to attempt making these puppies for the first time.

Strawberries are so hot right now so it was the obvious choice for the ice cream flavor. I chose this specific ice cream recipe because A: minimal cooking was involved = faster (some ice cream recipes have you make a custard first and then you have to wait for it to cool etc etc) and B: no eggs are involved #peaceoutsalmonella. I've made strawberry ice cream before, sans roasting, but used twice the amount of strawbs. When you roast the fruit, it requires less because it releases some of the water from the berries, giving it a more concentrated flavor. #science

As for my cookie recipe selection, I wanted the cookie to be tasty but understated, a perfect wingman for the ice cream, so I chose a white chocolate chip cookie recipe. You don't want a crispy cookie in an ice cream sandy, so I purposely undercooked them a titch to get that chewy texture.

Pro Tip: When making ice cream, especially in this case, be sure to make it the night before so it hardens in time. Another thing to factor in is the assembly time. The process of putting ice cream between two cookies sounds like NBD, but it's strangely tedious and brought me back to my sculpture class days. I've included my process below to help soften the blow.

Verdict? The strawberry ice cream is my new personal favorite- creamy with a bold strawberry flavor, thanks to the roasting. The cookie is just what I was looking for too: chewy, mellow and kindly lets its ice cream friend shine.

This sando is a real spot hitter for these summer days so go be a hero and make them for your favorite.

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches
Recipe from foodandwine.com & betsylife.com
Yield: 10 sandos

Ingredients
For the ice cream
3/4 lb fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the cookies
1 stick butter, room temperature (½ cup)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups white chocolate chips OR 1 cup mini white chocolate chips (what I used)

Directions
For the ice cream
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Toss strawberries with 2 tablespoons sugar and balsamic vinegar, and spread on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool.
3. Once cooled, finely chop, or puree the strawberries using an immersion blender.
4. In a large bowl whisk together milk, heavy cream, 1 cup sugar, salt, vanilla, and strawberries. Pour mixture into the freezer bowl of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers instructions.

For the cookies
1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugars. Add the egg and beat the mixture together into a smooth batter.
3. Sift the flour and baking soda into the batter and continue mixing until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Mix in the white chocolate chips.
4. On a parchment–lined baking sheet, arrange tablespoon-size balls of cookie dough a couple of inches apart, then freeze for about 10 minutes. (you should get 12 cookies all together).
5. Bake the chilled cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. They should seem slightly undercooked on top to get the amazingly chewy texture.
6. Cool entirely on a rack before making your ice cream sandwiches.
7. Assemble your ice cream sandwiches and enjoy. Tips below!

To assemble:
It's a process to assemble, and it took me several tries until I had some sort of system. Here's my technique.
1. Hold bottom cookie on the palm of your hand or plate, face down (don't crack it!)
2. Scoop ice cream with a regular spoon, not an ice cream scooper. Scoop strips (not balls) and layer them in a row as close to the edge as you can get, then repeat the process on top of that row, perpendicularly and so on until you have about 3/4" stack.
3. Create a <white walker> wall wrapping around the outside of your stack.
4. Even out the stack o' ice cream as best as you can with the back of your spoon, then place the second cookie on top, face up.
4. Smooth out the sides of the sando with a butter knife and add additional ice cream to the sides if needed.
5. Gobble that ice cream sando or put it back in the freezer until you're ready to gobble.

Dessert Fiend