Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches

When I was a kid I used to walk about a half mile to get to the penny candy store. Mr. Fina had a great selection of things like sour belts, lollipops, watermelon sours, and chocolate covered gummy bears. But for just a quarter I used to get these tiny square ice cream sandwiches. Since then I have loved ice cream sandwiches, from the ones that are super soft to chipwiches. I even consider that Choco Taco a pretty decent ice cream sandwich relative.

 

Since I’ve been gluten free, I have had a hard time finding every day treats that are gluten free. I can’t just walk into a convenience store and grab an ice cream sandwich, so I decided to make mine own that I can at least have a home. Waffle ice cream sandwiches just fell into place because I have been heavily relying on them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For a long time I could not find a gluten free bread I liked so I was using waffles I made in large batches as my bread substitute for sandwiches. So waffles are a pretty neutral flavor, even slightly sweet, so they would work well with ice cream.

 

I have been giving my ice cream maker a decent work out this summer with sorbet so I figured I would actually make some ice cream with it this time. I made a simple vanilla ice cream that I packed with vanilla beans, by using vanilla extract and homemade vanilla sugar. The waffles were simple since I used a mix since it was might convenient for something gluten free, however I highly suggest making waffles from scratch whenever possible. The overall process was really simple, but the thing to keep in mind is the time it takes for the waffles to get COLD. While I think room temperature waffles are acceptable, I think that you run less risk with ice cream melting with really cold waffles.

 

Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients

For Waffles

• use your favorite recipe or mix*

For Simple Vanilla Ice Cream (from Cuisinart)

• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

For Waffles:

Follow recipe instructions. Ladle batter into hot waffle iron, cook until waffle is a brown color. Waffle should be slightly crisp. Lay out all waffles, do not stack, allowing to cool and not get soggy from steam. Place waffles in fridge or freezer to get cold.

For Ice Cream:

In a chilled bowl, combine all ingredients using a hand mixer or whisk. Let mixture chill over night or at least one hour. Process the ice cream according to machine’s manufacturer’s instructions. Once the ice cream is formed, transfer to bowl and freeze until the consistency is thicker, but not hard to spread.

Assemble Sandwiches:

Once the waffles are cold, halve with a serrated bread knife. Spread a thick layer of ice cream over one half of waffle. Gently place other waffle portion on top to create sandwich. Immediately place into freezer. Freeze over night, or at least 2 hours, prior to serving,

Optional: 

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Dip frozen ice cream sandwiches into chocolate, place back into freezer immediately. Freeze for 15 minutes, prior to serving.

*I used Pamela’s Baking and Pancake mix because it’s one of my favorite gluten free mixes