Recipe: Toffee Ice Cream Sandwiches

The classic combination of oatmeal cookies and milk. Together at last in a cool summer treat. These ice cream sandwiches start with oatmeal cookies speckled with flecks of chocolate. Nestled between them is purchased vanilla ice cream (for ease) that gets dressed up with bits of toffee.

Of course, these ice cream sandwiches also are easily adapted to whatever flavors you're hankering for. Finely chopped dried fruit, dark or white chocolate chips, or other small candies could be substituted for the chocolate in the cookies or for the toffee bits in the ice cream. And just about any flavor ice cream can be used.

TOFFEE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Start to finish: 2 hours (15 minutes active)

Makes 12 sandwiches

For the cookies:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 ½ cups rolled oats

1/2 cup finely chopped chocolate, bitter or semi-sweet

For the ice cream:

1 pint vanilla ice cream

1 cup crushed toffee bits (found in the baking aisle)

To make the cookies, heat the oven to 350 F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.

Stir in the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Stir in the oats and chocolate. Divide the dough into 24 tablespoon-size balls and arrange on 2 ungreased baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches of space between them. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Transfer the cookies to a rack and cool completely.

Soften the ice cream until it can be stirred, but is not melted. The easiest way to do this is to transfer the ice cream to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 10-second intervals until it reaches the desired consistency. Add the toffee bits and mix well.

While the ice cream is soft, scoop a bit onto the bottom of a cooled cookie, then top with another cookie. Freeze until the ice cream is solid. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 321 calories; 147 calories from fat; 17 g fat (x g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 48 mg cholesterol; 39 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 2 g fiber; 160 mg sodium.