Cherry Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches

By David Tanis

Updated May 9, 2016

  • Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
2 hours, plus several hours freezing
Rating
4(77)
Comments
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Who doesn’t like ice cream sandwiches? These are miniature, just 3 inches in diameter. Bright pink fresh cherry ice cream (there’s a little coconut milk in the custard) is sandwiched between lemony butter cookies, with a dash of grated coconut. This is a bit of a project, but it only requires about 2 hours of active cooking time over the course of 2 days.

Featured in: The Cherries on Top: Three Desserts for Summer

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Ingredients

Yield:About 16 sandwiches

FOR THE ICE CREAM

  • 1 pound/450 grams pitted cherries (about 2 ½ cups)

  • ¾ cup/135 grams granulated sugar, plus another ½ cup/90 grams

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

  • 2 cups/500 milliliters cream or half-and-half

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 4 egg yolks

  • 1 tablespoon tapioca starch

  • 1 cup/250 milliliters coconut milk

FOR THE COOKIES

  • ½ cup/112 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature

  • ½ cup/90 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 egg, beaten

  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  • Zest of 1 lemon

  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

  • 1 ½ cups flour/190 grams all-purpose flour

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

  • ½ cup/60 grams grated unsweetened coconut, for garnish

  • Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

23 grams carbs; 73 milligrams cholesterol; 241 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 16 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 150 milligrams sodium; 3 grams protein; 20 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. MAKE THE ICE CREAM:

    1. Step 1

      Put cherries, ¾ cup/135 grams sugar and the salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir to dissolve sugar, add lemon juice, then simmer until softened, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

    2. Step 2

      Put cream, the remaining ½ cup/90 grams sugar and the vanilla extract in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. In a small bowl, mix egg yolks and tapioca starch together. Whisk a little hot cream into yolk mixture to temper, then add to saucepan, whisking well. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens slightly, enough to coat a spoon, about 5 minutes. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat.

    3. Step 3

      In a blender, working in batches, purée cherries and cherry juices until smooth. Add custard and coconut milk and blend mixture. Strain through a fine meshed sieve and chill in an ice bath (or refrigerate until chilled). Freeze in an ice cream maker according to instructions, then transfer ice cream to a covered container. Store in freezer until firm, preferably overnight. Makes 1 quart.

  2. MAKE THE COOKIES:

    1. Step 4

      Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in egg, vanilla extract and lemon zest and juice. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and mix until combined. Form dough into 4 disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

    2. Step 5

      Heat oven to 425 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment. Roll out dough carefully on a well-floured surface. Cut into 3-inch-diameter rounds and dock with tines of a fork. Bake until pale gold, about 6 minutes. (If desired, sprinkle cookies with a pinch of sugar before baking.) Let cool completely. Makes about 32 cookies.

    3. Step 6

      To assemble sandwiches, put a small scoop (3 to 4 tablespoons) ice cream between 2 cookies and carefully press together. Sprinkle edges with grated dried coconut. Store sandwiches in freezer until ready to serve. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
77 user ratings
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Comments

MH

The straining step is also to remove any solids in the custard (e.g. Curdled egg) and you don't want to skip that. However you could strain the custard before adding to the cherry mixture to retain cherry chunks.

CM

An easier way to make this recipe that's just as yummy is to get cherry ice cream and mix in coconut milk and then re-freeze it before scooping onto cookies. Did this for a BBQ and it was a hit! Highly recommend

hl

Could this be done without straining the cherry mixture? I know my family always likes the little chunks of fruit, and this step would seem to lose that nice texture/fruity bite effect.

MrsChill

The ice cream is divine. I wasn’t sure about the lemon with the cherry but it’s actually a great combo. We loved the ice cream sandwiches but ended up the elements more as a sundae! Ice cream, brandied cherries, cherry pit whipped cream and some chopped pistachios. So so so good.

Nicole

Lemon cookies and ice cream were lovely. Not sure the combination enhances them. Delicious nonetheless.

CM

An easier way to make this recipe that's just as yummy is to get cherry ice cream and mix in coconut milk and then re-freeze it before scooping onto cookies. Did this for a BBQ and it was a hit! Highly recommend

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