Caramelized Pear Gingersnap Ice Cream Sandwiches

In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and blended. Beat in egg and molasses.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk. Slowly stir the dry mixture into the molasses mixture just until dough forms. Cover and chill the dough for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Roll dough into 1-tablespoon-sized balls. Rolls the balls into the remaining sugar, and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 9–11 minutes. Makes approximately two dozen cookies.

Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the ice cream:
Peel pears, core them, and dice into small cubes. In a cast-iron pan (or another solid pan), heat sugar. Wait for it liquefy, not stirring at first, only when you see patches of liquid sugar. Stir until smooth and amber-colored. This should just take a few minutes.

Add the pears. The caramel will seize up and solidify, but keep on stirring and boiling the mixture. Try to dissolve and clumps. this will take around 10 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add milk, lemon juice and salt. Stir in the cream. Blend in a food processor, until smooth. Chill, then churn in your ice cream maker according to your manufacturer’s instructions. (Makes approximately 1 quart of ice cream.) Wait 4-6 hours before serving.

To assemble, thaw ice cream slightly to ensure it’s easy to scoop. Take two cooled cookies and place a generous scoop of ice cream between. Press slightly until the ice cream extends just a bit over the edge of the cookie. Roll in crushed pistachios or dip in white chocolate and freeze again 1/2 hour to 1 hour before serving.