Chocolate and Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

For the ice cream:
Combine the cocoa powder and the sweetened condensed milk in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk to combine and to break up any clumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then add the whole milk and heavy cream. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes and then remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs yolks until they are light in color. Slowly add in the sugar and whisk to combine. At this point, the mixture should be on the thicker side. Now slowly drizzle the hot cocoa/cream mixture into the egg/sugar mixture, adding 1/2 cup of the cocoa/cream mixture at a time. Once about half of the cocoa/cream mixture has been mixed in, you can pour the rest of the cocoa/cream mixture into the eggs.

Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from the heat and pour into a container. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes and then cover it and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

At this point, make sure you have done all of the necessary preparations for your ice cream machine (for example, make sure the container is in the freezer so it’s nice and cold when you are ready to start churning).

While your ice cream base is refrigerating, prepare your brownies.

For the brownies:
Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray and preheat your oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl combine the cocoa powder and baking soda. Whisk to combine and to break up any clumps. Now, whisk in 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and the milk. Whisk until it is blended and has thickened slightly. Now stir in the brown sugar, eggs and the remaining 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. Stir to combine.

At this point, sift in the flour. Mix until it is completely incorporated then add the vanilla extract and salt.

Spread the brownie mix evenly into your prepared dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely!

Once the brownies have cooled, cut into very small chunks (about 1/2 inch) and set aside.

Now pour the ice cream base mixture into your prepared ice cream machine and process per your manufacturer’s instructions. This should take about 25-30 minutes depending on your ice cream maker.

When it’s done remove ice cream from the canister to a freezer-safe container with an airtight lid. Gently fold in the brownie pieces until the brownie pieces are completely incorporated. Cover and freeze for 4-8 hours for hard ice cream.

While your ice cream is freezing, you will prepare your cookies for the “sandwich” part of the ice cream sandwich.

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter with the dark brown sugar and granulated sugar until well mixed. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until the eggs are completely incorporated. Now pour the vanilla extract into the cookie dough and mix for 30 seconds to combine. Add the chunky peanut butter to the bowl and mix for 2 minutes, or until the peanut butter is completely mixed into the dough. Now add the salt, baking soda, and flour and mix slowly for 2-3 minutes. The dough should be very sticky.

Scoop the dough onto un-greased baking sheets (2-3 tablespoons per cookie), spacing them about 2 inches apart. You get about 24 cookies in the end. Use the bottom of a glass and lightly press the cookie down to form a small disk (do not use a fork).

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the pan for a minute before moving to a cooling rack. Once the cookies are cool to the touch, move them to the refrigerator or freezer to cool completely.

To make your sandwiches, place a scoop (about 2-3 tablespoons) of ice cream onto the bottom of one cookie. Top with another cookie. Smash together very gently. You should have about 12 sandwiches in the end.

Place the sandwiches into individual plastic baggies or wrap in a sheet of parchment paper and store in the freezer until you are ready to serve.