My Nana taught me many important life lessons. For starters, she made sure I knew how to eat popcorn politely - "one piece of popcorn at a time [...will keep you from looking like a fool when you drop half a handful down your shirt while shoveling it in your face]." (My husband is still trying to teach me that lesson). She showed me how to turn miniature scraps of calico fabric into a patchwork quilt, and when in doubt: just bake it and see what happens.
Arguably the most intentional and influential lesson of all: she conditioned me to call her whenever I pass an Alaska license plate on the road.
As a kid, car trips around town with Nana were spent attentively peering out the window in search of the unicorn of license plates; A spotting of ALASKA in a sea of California plates meant the promise of a scoop of Baskin-Robbins' Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.
In case you're wondering, in my small hometown, that's the real life equivalent of finding Waldo. It happens infrequently enough to keep the wonder and excitement each time you spot one, but often enough that you never get discouraged.
To this day, I still report all sightings back to Nana, with the secret hope of earning a cone of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. We don't live in the same town anymore, but rest assured - I'm keeping a tally of owed scoops. Among all her life lessons, Nana made sure I inherited her favorite ice cream flavor. These double mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches are the comfort-food of ice cream in my book.
Earlier this summer, Baskin-
Robbins conducted a survey to uncover which ice cream flavors increase people's happiness the most. The results? Mint Chocolate Chip made the top ten, earning a slot just under Vanilla and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough as the #7 ice cream flavor that makes people happy. (Click here to see if your favorite flavor tops the list). Their behavioral food expert explained, “the ice cream flavors enjoyed as a child can actually trigger happy memories, release tension and remove distractions in the moment.” Spot on.
The most obvious conclusion is that other people's Nanas must also use the Alaska license plate pursuit. That, and I am one predictable ice cream fan.
Mint chocolate ice cream sandwiches used to be one of my go-to desserts to keep on hand. When scooping up ice cream (ahem - 7 nights a week), I just can't help but put half the quart into my bowl (a habit I picked up from my dad). Ice cream sandwiches are the best way for a dessertoholic like me to maintain portion control. Since they're usually not gluten-free though, I haven't had one in a year and a half. So when I teamed up with Baskin-Robbins to create a recipe using one of their Happiest Flavors (that's what I'm calling them now), I knew I had to figure out how to turn my favorite ice cream sandwich into a gluten-free treat.
We took a large scoop of Baskin-Robbins' mint chocolate chip ice cream and sandwiched it between two freshly baked mint chocolate wafers. These minty cookies are soft and nearly brownie-like, mimicking the wafers of the ice cream sandwiches from your childhood that always left chocolate-y residue on your fingers (THE BEST PART, amiright?).
Pro-tip: The key to keeping your homemade ice cream sandwiches from spewing ice cream out all sides when you bite down is to use a measuring cup to pre-measure and re-freeze discs of ice cream before assembling.
I'm slightly ashamed to admit how just quickly I ate all of these double mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches. Me: "Oh, it's melting while I photograph it? I'll save it. With my mouth." Repeat.
Stay in touch with the latest Baskin-Robbins flavors by following them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or head over to see their flavor of the month.
Disclosure: This recipe post is sponsored by Baskin-Robbins, but please rest-assured that all opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
Double mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches
Easy mint ice cream sandwiches with gluten-free chocolate mint cookies.
Ingredients
Sandwiches
- 1-½ quarts Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream
- 24 mint chocolate wafers (recipe below)
Mint chocolate wafers
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons white rice flour*
- ⅓ cup sweet rice flour
- ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (or corn starch)
- ½ cup oat flour
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
Sandwiches
- Prepare your ice cream by creating disks. Line a half-cup measuring cup with plastic wrap. One at a time, pack the measuring cup ¾ of the way full with ice cream.
- Use the plastic wrap to help you pull the ice cream out of the measuring cup and place the disc on a baking sheet or plate in the freezer. Repeat until you've made 12 discs. (You'll want to keep the baking sheet in the freezer while you go or the ones you've completed will melt all over the place!). Note: You can also forgo this step and just scoop ice cream onto your finished cookies, but because the cookies are soft, the might break while you try to press the ice cream down into a sandwich. You also might end up with soft ice cream oozing out the sides when you bite down.
- Once your mint chocolate wafers are cooked and cooled, prepare your ice cream sandwiches by pressing a prepared ice cream disk between two cookies.
- To store, you can line foil with wax paper to wrap the sandwiches individually for freezing.
Mint chocolate wafers
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the white rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, oat flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract, and mix until well combined.
- With the mixer on medium-low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until completely combined. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Divide the dough into two portions and roll out each half between two pieces of parchment paper until just under ¼-inch thick.
- Place each sheet of rolled-out cookie dough on a baking sheet and freeze for at least 20 minutes.
- One at a time, remove the top piece of parchment paper from one of the sheets of cookie dough and lay the frozen cookie dough on the back of the cold baking sheet (keep the second rolled-out dough in the freezer while you work with the first). Remove the other piece of parchment paper.
- Working quickly while the dough is frozen, use a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or the top of a glass;) to create your cookies. Carefully transfer each cutout to a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 1.5-inches apart (if you don't have enough baking sheets, you can transfer the cookies to a piece of parchment paper the size of the frozen cookie sheet you're working on and then move it to the cookie sheet when you're done).
- Roll any remaining dough between the parchment paper again and re-freeze while you work on the second sheet. Repeat until you've used all of your dough.
- Use a wooden skewer to poke 5 evenly spaced holes in the center of each cookie.
- Bake each sheet one at a time on the middle rack for 7-8 minutes, or until the center of the cookie springs back when touched gently (they'll firm up a bit as they cool). Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
*For a non gluten-free version, you can replace the first 5 ingredients (rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, oat flour, and xanthan gum) with 1-¾ cups all-purpose flour
Wafer adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring
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Tina -
Om nom nom nom nom! These look amazing, girl :D
Sarah Menanix -
I'd totally mail one to you, but I think they'd get ruined in the mail. ;)
Liz @ Floating Kitchen -
What a great story about your Nana! Mint Chocolate Chip is my childhood favorite too!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks, Liz! Totally brings back childhood memories, right? I love unique flavors like honey lavender, but when I want comfort ice cream, Mint Chocolate Chip is it!
Jessica Doll -
These look so delicious!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks, Jessica! I definitely I ate more than my fair share of Baskin-Robbins at BlogHer;)
Annie | MontgomeryFest -
there's only one drippy one and it makes it look cool...and delicious!
Sarah Menanix -
That's only because I left out the 100 other photos of the SUPER MELTY ones.
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter -
Aaw loved the story about your Nana :) These Mint Chocolate Chip sandwiches are so gorgeous, I would have a hard time not trying to eat all of them by myself- so so delicious :) Pinning :)
Sarah Menanix -
Hehe - I DID have a hard time not eating them all by myself...I caved and ate them all! ;) Thanks, Kelly!
Lisa / Good on Paper -
This looks SO good Sarah! Was waiting for it to come out. Will have to use some of your tips when we make our sandwiches.. Though my ice cream might have freezer burn by now. D'oh! Love that you were able to make the sandwiches gluten free too!
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you so much, Lisa! I'm SURE your ice cream still tastes delicious. In fact, I'm looking forward to the recipe because sesame ice cream? UM YES.
Crystal | Apples & Sparkle -
Your "save it with my mouth" comment made me laugh into my morning coffee! I LOVE the part of an ice cream sammy where it gets stuck on my fingers, it's essential! These are so pretty, I can't wait to give them a try, so great that they're GF. : )
Sarah Menanix -
Right?! I'm so glad that you agree! I hope you do make them and they stick all over your fingers;)
Min -
What? eat one popcorn at a time?!? I think I'd rather risk having them drop into my shirt ;). Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen any Alaska license plate in Austin either! My favorite flavor is also mint chocolate chip, but recently I discovered something even better - enter mint cookies n cream! So good..Love the gf wafers! And of course, your photos are stunning. p.s I subscribed to you via email, but I never got an email regarding this post. hmm..
Sarah Menanix -
Haha - I look like such a slob when I eat popcorn because I need it all in my belly RIGHT AWAY. Oooo - mint cookies n cream sounds delicious too!
Oh noes! I tried looking through my mailchimp but your e-mail isn't showing up! After you sign up, did you get the e-mail to confirm your subscription? (I hope it didn't go to spam!)
Min -
Make that 2 slobs ;). It's sooo good. I LOVE Blue Bell, and when I found the flavor at the store, I couldn't put it in my cart fast enough. However, it's not available all the time so I actually went to the customer service at H.E.B and filled out a request form. Haha..things I'd do for ice cream.
Thank you! I did find it in my spam :(, Yay! Looking forward to the upcoming emails ;)
ellie | fit for the soul -
Hehe your Nana sounds like a sweet lady, Sarah! You're giving me all sorts of fun ideas to do with Selah when she gets a little older. :D I think I've only seen an Alaska plate like, once...in my whole life...? And yayyy! Mint choc chip ice cream is one of my favorites! It used to be my first but now that I have a Handel's ice cream near me (the best in the US I think), their banana cream pie and graham ice creams are my faves. And great job with this. So beautiful!
Sarah Menanix -
Now you're totally going to be on the look-out for them! When you see one, just drive straight over to Baskin-Robbins - hehe. Thank you, Ellie!
Sheri Nix -
You know how much I love mint ice cream & chocolate cookies!! Yum!!!
Sarah Menanix -
These cookies also taste like your favorite Girl Scout cookie when dipped in chocolate - Thin Mints!
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen -
Can I just say: pinned, pinned, PINNED. These look so amazing, and I am a huge fan of Ice Cream Sandwiches - and what better than Mint Chocolate Chip. Did I mention PINNED? :-)
Sarah Menanix -
Oh my gosh - thank you so much, Kristi!
Katie | lovely letters -
Again with the photos... you're killing me. Holy moly yum!!
Miss you!
Katie
lovely letters
Sarah Menanix -
I miss you too! Looking forward to brunch! :)
Chris @ Shared Appetite -
What a sweet story about your Nana! That's so awesome... she sounds like an amazing person. And extra props to her for getting you to fall in love with mint chocolate chip... it's totally my fave ice cream as well (with caramel sauce and M&Ms... don't judge, it's a weird but amazing combo). These sandwiches... I want them all.
Sarah Menanix -
Dude - caramel + M&Ms + mint chocolate chip actually sounds weirdly yummy. But this is coming from the girl who puts: sprinkles, sour gummy worms, chocolate covered raisins, strawberries, mochi bites, and health bar pieces on her 1/3 vanilla, 1/3 mint, and 1/3 strawberry fro-yo....
Ashley @ A Lady Goes West -
Hi Sarah! So great meeting you last night at the POPSUGAR event. These ice cream sandwiches have me drooling. I'm a fan. Can I come to your house and have you cook for me? :) Oh, and I still live by so much advice from both of my wonderful grandmas who are no longer with us. Grannies are the best.
Sarah Menanix -
Ashley!! So great to meet you too. Thank you so much - and definitely. Come over any time. I can't promise I won't shove decadent sweets at you though;)
Karen @ The Food Charlatan -
I'm going to start playing your license plate game. Except I think I'll make it an easier one like Nevada :) Or maybe Oregon?
Sarah Menanix -
Your kids are going to be ice cream FIENDS! You should give everyone in the family a different state. Yours is Nevada - Charlotte gets Alaska, Truman gets Hawaii. When they ask why you get ice cream so often, just tell them you're REALLY GOOD at the game.
Alex @ DelishKnowledge -
So glad we got to connect last night! I love your blog! Yay! And I love ice cream sandwiches! These look amazing, especially a wafer over a large cookie because... more ice cream room.
Sarah Menanix -
Ha! I like how you think Alex. More room for ice cream is always a good thing! SOOOO lovely meeting you. I hope to see you in SF more often!
kelly - a side of sweet -
Omg I am also a complete popcorn monster! I don't have the patience to eat one piece at a time! These ice cream sammies look phenomenal!
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you! Popcorn monsters, unite! ;) Patience is not one of my virtues when it comes to eating...
Tash -
These look ridiculously perfect! And the photography is just....<3 as usual! Great tips to stop the ice cream spilling out everywhere, i always struggle with that bit and it really puts me off making certain things!
Sarah Menanix -
Thank you so much, Tash! Such an easy fix, but makes it so much easier to eat!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet -
Aww, I love your story about your Nana and the Alaska plates! So adorable! These sandwiches make me want to reach through the screen! They look amazing! Pinned!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks for sharing it, Anna! And for all your advice earlier today too!
Carla (@charliesue) -
Did you know mint chocolate chip is MY very favorite? MAKING THESE.
Sarah Menanix -
That's why we're friends <3
Christine -
Oh my! These are gorgeous! I honestly miss the days when I could just buy an ice cream sandwich from the shop, but having these in the freezer more than fixes that!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks Christine! I'm on a dessert every night kick and this definitely feels nostalgic.
victoria -
Wow, those look mouth watering! Yes, save it with your mouth, haha!
Sarah Menanix -
Thanks, lady! It was lovely to meet you the other night!
Meghan -
Do you happen to have your own copycat Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream recipe?