Coffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

March is starting to feel like the most do-or-die month, and I sort of totally love it. I'm besickened with the worst cold I've had in over a year and one day from my organization's giant, fancy gala for which I'll be up all night barking into a walkie-talkie, yet all I can think about are ways to start a bicycle cafe and names for my weekend doughnut business (Dough-Zone Layer!). I've been staying up late to make earrings for Ginger Root, DC's most awesome custom clothes, jewelery, and design store, and am squeezing in a visit with my sister that has been full of SVU (pasttime numero uno), good food, and chest hair jokes. Joey and I are planning our symphony date and our vacation to San Diego, and right now even, I'm waiting for an assignment at work to come through and using my spare minute to blog. I'm straddling obligations and compulsions–and not really balancing them–but instead of making me feel crazy and weird, it's making me feel excited. I'm totally pumped for what's in store in the next few weeks, and hopefully these ice cream sandwiches are some indication of what will filter through this manic month!

Coffee Ice Cream

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 cups cream, divided

1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans

3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used turbinado)

Pinch salt

5 egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon instant espresso or superfinely ground coffee

1.  In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stir the milk, a half-cup of the cream, whole beans, sugar, and pinch of salt until the sugar is dissolved and the milk is steaming (not boiling!). Cover and let steep for one hour.

2.  Fill a large bowl with ice, and place a medium metal bowl inside it over the ice. Pour the remaining cup of cream into the metal bowl and put a fine mesh strainer over the top. Whisk the five yolks in a separate large bowl, and then reheat the milk and beans until the mixture is steaming (not boiling!). Slowly pour the milk into the egg yolks to temper, whisking vigorously the whole time. Pour the yolks and milk back into the pan, and. stirring the whole time, cook over medium heat until the mixture has thickened into a custard, seven to ten minutes. You'll know the custard is ready when you can run your finger across the back of a spoon dipped in the custard and it leaves a clear trail.

3.  Pour the custard through the sieve into the cold cream, pushing on the beans to extract as much custard as possible. You'll need to clear out the strainer every now and then so that it doesn't overflow. Mix the vanilla and superfinely ground coffee into the cold cream mixture, and stir the whole thing until it's cool. Allow the mixture to cool completely in the fridge, preferably overnight, and then process according to your ice cream maker's directions.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made these sandwiches using cookies that were leftover from last week's thin mints. Any not-too-crispy cookie will do though, and a stay in the freezer overnight will soften them up a little bit for perfect ice cream sandwich texture. The coffee ice cream goes really well with the chocolate wafers, but I think that a chocolate chip cookie with toffee would have also been amazing!

1.  Make half of this recipe to get about 35 cookies, or enough for 15 or so sandwiches. Once the cookies have cooled completely and the ice cream has hardened in the fridge for about an hour, scoop 1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons of coffee ice cream (or however much) onto a cookie back, then sandwich it with a second evenly sized cookie.

2.  Wrap the sandwiches in waxed or parchment paper and let them hang out in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to soften the cookie somewhat. Take them out about ten minutes before you're ready to serve, and enjoy!