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Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies – creamy homemade pistachio ice cream sandwiched between soft buttery, sugar cookies, and rolled in chopped pistachios.
Ice cream and summer go hand in hand. They always have. The only other thing that might be required in summer is popsicles. Strawberry Greek Yogurt popsicles have extra protein, so you don’t even have to feel guilty about eating them.
Obviously, I am talking desserts here. Thinking like Burger Recipes are required in the summer as well. But as far as summer desserts, homemade ice cream is way up there.
My husband has 2 kinds of ice cream he likes. Well maybe more, but homemade pistachio ice cream is his all time favorite. He also likes anything with fresh strawberries in it. Like this Strawberry Milkshake Pie. So I decided to take his favorite ice cream, put it with a cookie, and make it into an ice cream sandwich cookie.
I struggled deciding what kind of cookie to make with these sandwich cookies. At first I thought a perfect chocolate chip cookie might go. Because pistachios and chocolate go well together. But then I thought I wanted something more subtle, so the ice cream could really stand out. So I decided on a simple buttery sugar cookie. Almost like a shortbread cookie.
These cookies were the perfect compliment to make the ice cream be the star. I rolled the pistachio ice cream sandwich cookies in more chopped pistachios, so you would have no doubt what you are biting into, just by looking at it.
When you make pistachio ice cream at home, it isn’t green like when you buy it from the store. If you wanted it to be green, you could add food coloring. But naturally it is just off white in color. Which is why I added the nuts on the side of the cookie!
Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 1 1/4 cup shelled pistachio nuts
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
Cookies
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts, for rolling
Instructions
To Make Ice Cream
- Grind the 1 ¼ cup pistachios in a food processor. They should be finely ground, but not a paste.
- In a large saucepan heat the milk, sugar, and 1 cup of the cream over medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the ground nuts. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
- Strain the warm nuts mixture, pressing the nuts to remove as much liquid as possible. Throw away the nuts. Put the liquid back in the saucepan.
- In a separate bowl pour the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream. Cover this bowl with a strainer. Set this aside for later.
- In another bowl whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, stirring constantly. Then pour back into the saucepan.
- Stir constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. You will want to make sure you scrape the bottom when you are stirring.
- Pour the custard through the strainer and into the cream. Add the vanilla and almond extract. Stir to combine.
- Refrigerate until cold. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the directions. One finished churning, fold in the ½ cup pistachios. Store in air tight container in freezer.
To Make Cookies
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- In a stand mixer beat butter until smooth. Mix in powdered sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla extract. Slowly mix in flour and baking powder until well combined.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface. Roll to about 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2-3 inch circle cookie cutter (a drinking glass works well) and cut out cookies.
- Place cookies on a baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes until just turning golden on the edges. Remove from oven and place cookies on a wire rack to cool completely.
To Assemble
- Place a scoop of pistachio ice cream on one cookie. Top with another cookie and gently press together. Roll the edges through chopped pistachios.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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