icy hot: diablo ice cream sandwiches

Uh, yeah, so that happened. Ice cream sandwiches. Like, whoa.

The first time I went to Tacofino, I went to their commissary, not their food truck. We went with another couple and when it came to dessert, one friend made the call to order every single dessert on the menu. It was an odd call, since we rarely order dessert, but it was also the best call to make. They only had 4 or 5 different sweet things, but we were that table at the restaurant. It was a little embarrassing having all the nearby tables gawk as every dessert item found a home on our table. But it was also fun and clearly a delicious time. One of the desserts was their diablo cookie which they turned into an ice cream sandwich. I liked it a lot.

I saw Julie’s post about Tacofino’s Diablo Cookies and knew I wanted to make them. But unlike Julie, I like spice in my cookies, so I followed the original recipe. I didn’t find them super spicy, but if that’s your deal, feel free to add in an extra teaspoon of cayenne. If you don’t care for heady spicy spices, make Julie’s angelic version here.

The cookies are easy to whip up. They call for vegetable oil, not butter, which makes them so much easier in terms of prep. Except I was out of sugar, cocoa and eggs. Doh! I ran out to the store anyway because these cookies were calling out to be baked. On a hot summer afternoon without air conditioning. Trust me, they’re good.

But they got better. Take 2 cookies, add ice cream.

The day after I made these cookies, I had some friends over for dinner – the same friends who ordered all the Tacofino desserts. I served the ice cream sandwiches for dessert and my friends thought they were even better than the ones served at the restaurant. I think it was the addition of the salted tops. Seriously, do not forget the salt here. It adds a salty ying to the chocolate yang. Skip the cayenne if it ain’t your thing, but don’t skip the salt. That’s an order.

For those of you who have bad luck with ice cream sandwiches (okay, maybe it’s just me), here are my tips. First, your cookies should be of the chewy variety, that’s why these fudgey ones work so well. Also, make sure your cookies have cooled down. Like totally cool. This is a no-brainer, but it needs to be said. Make sure your ice cream isn’t rock hard – let it sit a bit so it’s more scoop-able and smush-worthy. The final step is once you’ve sandwiched your cookies with ice cream, wrap them up tightly with plastic wrap and put them in the freezer to chill for a couple hours. They need time to set so they don’t go completely squishy once you bite into them.

diablo ice cream sandwiches
The cookies are delicious on their own. But go ahead and turn them into ice cream sandwiches – read my tips above. You’re welcome.
Adapted from Chatelaine.
1 1/2 call purpose flour
1 c cocoa powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t ground cayenne pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
1/2 c canola oil
2 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
3 T freshly grated ginger root
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
kosher salt or fleur de sel for sprinkling

1 pint of vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, cayenne and salt together until blended. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the 2 sugars, the oil, eggs, vanilla, and ginger. Slowly stir in the flour mixture along with the chocolate chips until you’ve got a thick, heavy dough.

Prep your cookie sheets with either parchment or silpat liners and use a tablespoon to drop the cookies onto the sheet. I was able to fit 12 cookies per tray with about a 1.5″ gap between each cookie. Press the tops flat with your hands and sprinkle with kosher or fleur de sel. Bake for 11-15 minutes, or until the tops crackle but are still fudgey in the middle. Once the cookies are out of the oven, let them set on the sheets for a minute or two before transferring to racks to completely cool.

To assemble the ice cream sandwiches, add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream to the cookie bottom. Gently press a second cookie into the ice cream so that the salted tops face outward. Wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve. Makes approx. 12 ice cream sandwiches or 24 cookies.
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