I was sooo tempted to call these “Mini Vanilli” Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches.

But they’re the real deal, so we’re going straight up with Mini Vanilla Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches.  (I hope at least a few of you got the joke ;)

I’m declaring this week to be ice cream sandwich week here at The Merchant Baker.  I’d say it took me that long to get all the shots of this very fun, very easy and very delicious frozen treat.

Do you have any idea how fast ice cream melts when you’re standing next to a sunny window and it’s unseasonably hot for a day in May and your scoops of ice cream are particularly small?  Fast. Extremely fast.

It’s always hard to shoot ice cream, but mini ice cream?  Forget about it.  It went from rock hard in the freezer to a puddle in about 5 minutes.  Not that you’re going to have an issue.  Because you’re just going to make these and eat them or make them and freeze them.

When it’s time to serve, you’ll be happy that they thaw to a good eating temperature quickly because you’re going to want to dive right into this ridiculously delicious treat. It’s hard to describe how good these are…imagine the flavor possibilities!

I made these when a had some friends over a couple of years ago.  I needed a quick fun summer dessert that would be loved by kids and adults alike.  I took some vanilla wafers, sandwiched them with vanilla ice cream and made a bunch to throw in the freezer. Quick and easy.

When it was time for dessert, I set up a little bar of sprinkles and such, so each person could roll their sandwich in their topping of choice.  It’s a perfect casual and fun summer dessert.

Today, however, I got creative with my little sandwiches.  I used vanilla ice cream for all of them, but each got a different filling and different “topping.”

I just raided my pantry for all of these flavor combos.  For the fillings, I used refrigerated hot fudge, peanut butter, dulce de leche and nutella.

Each was spread on one half of the cookie sandwich. I used Trader Joe’s Ultimate Vanilla Wafers. I love the little flecks of vanilla bean in them and their “normal” list of real ingredients.

Then a scoop of vanilla ice cream was placed on top.  I used my smallest cookie scoop for this; it’s about the size of a melon ball scoop.

First up…nutella.  I had some toasted organic coconut chips in a maple madagascar vanilla flavor.  (This is what happens when you stop to sample a new snack at the grocery store.)

I have one of those handy dandy choppers that you place over the item to be chopped, then you hit the plunger on the top to chop up small amounts of food. Love it.

So, I used it to chop up all of my toppings into smaller, more manageable bits for my tiny little sandwiches.  Once you have your filling spread on the bottom half and your topping ready, just scoop some ice cream on top of the filling, put the top on the cookie and press down until the ice cream fills the sandwich and begins to push out to the edges. Then, just roll it in your topping.  Nutella with toasted sweetened coconut….delicious!

Next up, I had some prepared hot fudge sauce hanging out in the refrigerator.  You know how it gets pretty solid when it’s cold? Mine was like cold ganache, (and really fudgy until it sat out for a long time for the shoot. Again, that won’t be a problem for you.)

I spread some of it on the wafer and topped it with a slice of banana. I love frozen chocolate bananas especially when they’re rolled in chopped peanuts.  So, that was a no brainer… I chopped up some peanuts and away we rolled!  (I added some rainbow sprinkles to the peanuts just to up the fun factor.)

Then, I had some dulce de leche leftover from the Dulce de Leche Brownies I shared a week or so ago. I decided to pair it with Heath toffee chips. I figured I’d do a double dose of that yummy caramelly goodness. Creamy caramel on the inside, crunchy toffee on the outside…with vanilla ice cream and vanilla wafers?  It was even better than expected.

Finally…peanut butter.  I thought I’d go classic here and pair it with chocolate.  I started with chocolate sprinkles, but somewhere between the group photo and the individual photo I decided that mini chocolate chips must be added to the mix.  So I added them.

It made for a nice texture and I know it added extra chocolate flavor.  I’d tell you how yummy that one was, but my son and my husband snatched those up before I could even taste test them.  They said it was their favorite.

These are just a few flavor ideas to get you inspired to make these delicious little treats. Each one was better than the next. And, as cute as they are, you can get as sophisticated or as simple as you want with the flavors. I love them.

Easy to make ahead, really fun to serve. And, they have built in portion control for those who just want a bite of something sweet. Make a lot though. I guarantee people will want seconds and thirds or one of every kind you make…

I have a million more ideas…imagine all of the different filling, ice cream and topping combinations. I had to restrain myself from going to the store to buy a bunch of different ice creams so I could shoot more combos.

I did actually shoot enough different flavors to do three separate posts. I almost considered doing all three, but I figured you might get a little yawny by the time we got to the third day.

Soooooo, I’m editing it down to two. Yep. That’s right. We’re doing this again tomorrow…but with a slightly different twist. (That’s a hint.)

Until then…risking that you didn’t get the joke at the beginning of this post…let’s serenade the last photo….”Girl you know it’s true….ooh, ooh, ooh….

I love you…” :)

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