Molasses Cookie and Pumpkin Ice Cream Sandwiches

Exactly three years ago, I was in Gearhart, a small town on the Oregon coast. (Really small, of maybe a thousand people.) I happened to find a wonderful ice cream shop that served Tillamook ice cream. (Tillamook ice cream is right up there with the best. You've probably heard of Tillamook cheese---their ice cream has a more limited distribution.) I ordered a homemade ice cream sandwich. This was new to me, the idea of homemade ice cream sandwiches---I thought they were limited to the packaged kind with vanilla ice cream. But, of course not! What an easy idea, homemade cookies with ice cream in the middle! What could be better? These particular sandwiches were made with gingersnaps and pumpkin ice cream. I've dreamed about them ever since.

Well, Mark had a coupon for a free pint of ice cream (Dreyer's, not Tillamook, sadly) and we stumbled upon their seasonally available pumpkin ice cream. I knew exactly what to do! After much deliberation, I decided to make Chewy Molasses cookies, from Martha Stewart's Cookies, for my ice cream sandwiches.

Martha Stewart's Cookies, what can I say? I've made dozens of different cookies from this book and they are all delicious. I'm really looking forward to making the Iced Oatmeal Applesauce cookies, Cashew Caramel cookies, Honey Florentines, Lemon Madeleines, Chocolate Waffles, Rugelach...OK, I could go on and on. That's one of the nice things about this book, there are more recipes that I want to make than I have time to make! I have a lot of cookbooks that end up having more recipes that I'm not interested in than the ones I am. Not the case with Cookies.

As you know, I am not a huge fan of the Martha Stewart empire or what she stands for. But, when you make a Martha Stewart recipe, you know it will turn out and it will taste good.

And these Chewy Molasses cookies really did pair well with pumpkin ice cream.

Molasses Cookies
~PRINT RECIPE~

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar.
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Beat butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, followed by the molasses and oil.
2. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm---1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Put remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a bowl. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, form balls of dough. (Caution--the dough is extremely sticky!) Roll balls in sugar to coat and space 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are flat and the centers are set---about 17 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
   

Sandwiches

• Homemade cookies
• Ice cream of your choice

1. Take ice cream out of freezer for a few minutes, until it is soft enough to work with but not melt-y.
   
2. Grab 2 cookies. Place them upside down on a plate. Scoop ice cream on to one cookie until it is thick enough for your liking. Spread the ice cream around so it is level and all the way to the edges.
3. Place second cookie right side up on top of the ice cream and voila! Easy.
   

Homemade Kettle Corn

Making my own popcorn is my new favorite thing! It's so easy and delicious. You don't need any fancy equipment. I first made a batch with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels. After it popped, I topped it with melted butter and sprinkled it with salt and grated Parmesan cheese. Tasty, savory snack--goes well with good beer.

But, my heart really belongs to kettle corn. I found an easy recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a little. I literally ate my first batch by myself, so watch out! It's that good. The website said that white sugar makes it taste like popcorn balls and brown sugar made it taste more like caramel corn. I use a little of both--packed into the same 1/4 measuring cup.

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (allrecipes called for 1/4 cup; the second time I made this, I used less and it was ok. I may try using an 1/8 cup or less next time.)
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
  
• Salt to taste

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pot with a lid.
2. Add popcorn kernels, then add sugars and quickly stir--keeping the lid covering the pot as well as possible.
   
3. As the popcorn pops, shake your pot. A LOT. Every once in a while, I lift up the pot and flip it over to try to get the sugar as evenly coated as possible. Any sugar left on the bottom of the pot the whole time will burn.
4. Once popping slows to once every couple of seconds, remove from heat. Keep shaking until the popping stops. I'd recommend removing it a little earlier rather than later, as the sugar will burn quickly if left on too long.
5. Pour into a huge bowl and sprinkle with salt.