I know I am a week late posting this recipe and I apologise for that, maybe the idea that I was going to edit the video for these cookies on my flight to Hong Kong was a tad ambitious. Either way I hope the wait was worth it, I certainly think so, plus at least the weather has changed to a more appropriate summer vibe. The ice cream last week was delicious, whether served on its own, as a sundae or just eaten straight from the freezer with a spoon, but then what monster would eat it like that! But, I think we could take it one step further and use it make peanut butter ice cream sandwiches. What better cookie for this than a peanut butter shortbread, dipped in chocolate? I know shortbread isn’t the go-to cookie for this sort of recipe but here me out as I think it’s the kind off perfect vehicle for ice cream. The texture of the shortbread means this is an easy cookie to eat, even frozen they have very little resistance and chew whereas a chocolate chip style cookie can become very firm and chewy in the freezer making it a little harder to eat. Also because this ice cream has such a delicious flavour already I wouldn’t want to overpower it with something more elaborate and the shortbread cookie just helps to intensify the peanut butter flavour. I don’t really know why I am trying too justify this recipe, knowing full well the picture was probably the only thing needed to convince you guys to make it immediately.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 12

Peanut Butter Shortbread Style Cookies
125g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g light brown sugar
300g smooth peanut butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 x batch peanut and caramel ice cream

Homemade Magic Shell
100g dark chocolate
1 tbsp coconut oil

To make the cookies, place the butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and, with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla and beat for a couple minutes more until fully incorporated. Finally, add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix together just until the flour disappears into the butter mixture. Don’t over mix the dough at this point as it will make the finished cookies tough and chewy.

Scoop the finished dough into a bowl and refrigerate for an hour before using. To form the cookies line a couple baking trays with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). Roll the dough into roughly tablespoon sized balls and use a glass dipped in flour to press them into discs just a tad over 7cm wide. The edges will be a little rough so use a 7cm round cookie cutter to trim the edges so you have nice smooth round discs of cookie dough. The cookies don’t really spread but make sure they’re have a little space just in case.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes or until the edges are starting to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking trays for a couple minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble the ice cream sandwiches place a scoop of the peanut ice cream onto one of the cookies and gently press together with another cookie. Because these cookie are in the shortbread style its best to press from the centre of the cookie rather from the edges, which would likely end up in more broken cookies. The recipe makes a few more cookies than needed so don’t worry too much if you break one or two. The ice. cream recipes makes an ice cream with a perfect texture, nice and scoopable straight from the freezer. If you make this with a shop bought ice cream you may want to let it soften slightly before assembling the cookies. Place the sandwiches back in the freezer to firm up the ice cream whilst you make the homemade magic shell.

To make the magic shell, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once melted stir through the coconut oil, making sure it is evenly distributed. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. You want the chocolate shell runny but cool. Too hot and the ice cream will melt when dipped into the shell.

When ready, dip one sandwich cookie at a time halfway into the chocolate mixture. Allow the excess chocolate to dip back into the bowl then transfer to a piece of parchment. If you want sprinkle with a few chopped peanuts before the chocolate sets, and it should set fast, within a minute or so. Transfer the cookies to the freezer until you’re ready to serve. As this uses homemade ice cream these will be best within a week or two.