Ice Cream Sandwiches where Homemade Ice Cream meets Brownie meets Roasted Soda Crackers meets Angora Ridge

Last year when I was in the throes of looking for perfect homemade ice cream recipes, I found a couple of recipes for Ice Cream Sandwiches that I thought would be fun to make.  Well, time moves along, and next thing I knew it was this summer.  Then there was the wedding and now we are remodeling a mid-century modern home.  After the wedding we decided to take a few days (in my case more than a few days) relaxing in Lake Tahoe.  I was able to pull out some of my summertime recipes that I had saved on Pinterest. I ran across a very unusual ice cream sandwich recipe by The Baking Bird.  It’s called Saltine Brownie & Bourbon Ice Cream Sandwiches.  I like recipes that sound unique and use surprising ingredients.  This recipe had several things that I thought were unique to an ice cream sandwich recipe…roasted saltine crackers, brownies and bourbon ice cream that is not made in the ice cream maker.

I think the Baking Bird’s photos are prettier than mine, but that’s okay, because these concoctions tasted so good that I had no mind to be jealous.

In the above picture, you can see all the layers:  bottom saltine cracker, homemade brownie layer, homemade bourbon ice cream layer and then a roasted saltine cracker.   They are sweet, chocolatey, salty and a slight taste of bourbon. Yes, they are rich, but they are about half the size of a regular ice cream sandwich.  So, no guilt!  Or, you could take a nice long walk to work off those calories and then you can enjoy them in peace.

When we are at Lake Tahoe, Obie T. Dogg demands a walk every morning around 7:30 to 8:00.  He is quite persistent about it. I am glad he is so persistent because it truly is good for both of us and we look forward to it every day.  When Yes!Chef! is here, it is especially enjoyable.

The other day I took Obie up to Angora Ridge where you can get a great view of Fallen Leaf Lake, Lake Tahoe and on the other side of the road, The Angora Forest.

To get to this spot, you have to travel over some bad road for about 100 yards and then the road, although paved, is quite narrow and steep.  When you arrive at the top you will want to look at the view on both sides of the road.  I advise that you pull over and get out of the car to look.  If you drive and look you will be a danger to you and other drivers who are coming the other way.  The road is one lane and falls precipitously on both sides as you can see from the above shot.  There is very little parking along the side of the road (for obvious reasons), but you can park down at the end of the road, which leads to Angora Lakes, and hike back up the road to see this view.

The mountains you see in the above photo are 11,000-13,000 feet above sea level.  Hard to breathe up there.

So, we walked around on the ridge for a while and then came home.  I was totally comfortable with eating one of those sandwiches later on that evening. Obie T. was content to eat his dog food.

After I layered the crackers and brownie mixture into the pan, I basted the top crackers with butter and put all in the oven.  The brownies cooked beautifully and the saltines became nicely roasted and a beautiful color of brown.

Then, I spread the home made bourbon flavored ice cream on top of the cooled brownies and placed the roasted saltine crackers on top.  Then, I placed the whole concoction in the freezer overnight.

Before you cut the sandwiches into squares, you need to set it out on the counter for a few minutes to give the brownies a chance to warm up a bit.  Otherwise it is extremely difficult to cut thru the entire dessert without making a mess of the whole thing.

I was quite surprised by the delightful texture of the ice cream and the very subtle bourbon taste.  You could add a different flavor, such as vanilla or mint or something else.  But don’t be afraid of the slight smokey bourbon flavor.  The ice cream does not taste like alcohol.  It merely adds another layer of flavor to this beautiful dessert.

Cut the ice cream into squares along the lines of the roasted saltine crackers.  I wrapped them with a little strip of parchment paper before wrapping them in plastic to refreeze.

You can tie it all up with a pretty piece of string, if you want, but I just used a dab of ice cream to glue it together.  It makes a pretty presentation and it keeps your hands clean while you are admiring it.

I would like to mention the roasted saltine cracker.  It never would have occurred to me to roast a saltine cracker.  I was very skeptical about the taste and even when I tasted them by themselves, I was not impressed.  So, my recommendation is to withhold your opinion of these crackers until you taste all the layers together.  When you do that, the saltine melts into a smoky flavor with a touch of salt.  I promise it doesn’t taste like burnt crackers.

In the above shot you can see the bottom saltine cracker that does not acquire that roasted taste like the top layer saltine.

I think you will like these sandwiches.  We gave them to some good friends and they absolutely enjoyed them.  Yes!Chef! even gave me his nod of approval and ate one a day until they were gone.

Here’s the link to the recipe:  Saltine Brownie & Bourbon ice Cream Sandwiches.

Enjoy~

Mrs Y!C! : Dessert Maker Extraordinaire!

P.S.  I got another food photo published in a regional magazine.  The photo is some food made by a local Charcuterie by the name of Smokey Ridge Charcuterie.  Here’s the link:  Artisan foods at farmers Markets