Free time in summer looks different than during the rest of the year. Instead of curling up with a nice blanket inside or watching a movie with friends, my summer consists of lounging by the pool, warm sunset walks, and hanging out with friends under the heat of the sun. Nothing leaves me craving ice cream more than being outside in the scorching 90 degree heat! While the classic scoop of your favorite ice cream in a cone is always a good choice, sometimes it can be fun to mix things up. So, if you’re in the mood for a fun-to-make, sweet, and cooling summer treat, I highly suggest this Chipwich recipe.
The Chipwich was originally sold en masse in New York City in 1982 after being invented by a New York lawyer named Richard LaMotta. The cookie ice cream sandwich was sold in 60 food carts for $1, an expensive price for street food typically sold at a quarter of the price. Despite this, within two weeks of being released, LaMotta’s vendors sold around 40,000 chipwiches a day, allowing him to start his own Chipwich company. In 2007, Nestle acquired LaMotta’s chipwich company and sadly discontinued the original Chipwich. However, when the Original Chipwich returned to the market in the summer of 2018, the New York Times gave it first place on its list of “The 7 Greatest Packaged Foods, Ranked.”
While the Original Chipwich is delightful, nothing beats the aroma of freshly baked cookies and the satisfaction of biting into a homemade treat. The Chipwich has everything you want in a dessert, with vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two golden-brown chocolate chip cookies, and an edge rolled in chocolate chips. When you make warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies, dipping the freshly baked cookies in a glass of cool milk makes them ten times better, but this is already built into the Chipwich. On a hot day, the ice cream melts just enough to soften the two cookies; the chilled chocolate chips add a semisweet crunch; the coolness of the ice cream provides the perfect chilly snack to devour in the sweltering heat. With whatever cookies or ice cream you decide to use to make your chipwich, the only nonnegotiable step to making the perfect chipwich is freezing the cookies before sandwiching the ice cream in between; this helps make sure the cookies don’t crumble in the process of sandwiching. Even more, the Chipwich doesn’t have to be eaten right away. It can be eaten in the moment or stored in the freezer for later. Whatever you decide to do, you’ll have a delicious treat perfect for a hot summer day.
Recipe:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup softened butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips if you are not using the dark chocolate chunks)
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chunks
- 1 quart or 2 pints vanilla ice cream (I like Graeter’s Madagascar Vanilla)
- 1 ¾ cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Begin by whisking together the sugar, salt, and butter until it is a smooth consistency. Add the egg and vanilla extract to this mixture and beat until uniformly combined. The mixture should be fluffy enough that when the whisk is lifted, the ribbons of mixture from the whisk do not fade into the mixture’s surface immediately. Add the flour and baking soda by folding the mixture inwards with a spatula. Once doughy, fold in the chocolate chips and chunks. Chill the dough for a half hour in the refrigerator and then use an ice cream scoop to place 6 cookies 4 inches apart on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (parchment paper can also be used). Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes.
Once cooled, place the cookies on their tray in the freezer for at least an hour. Before removing the cookies from the freezer, pour the mini chocolate chips into a medium sized bowl and set aside. After the cookies have frozen, sandwich at least one scoop of ice cream between two cookies, making sure that the ice cream reaches the edge of the cookies. Roll the edges of the sandwich in the mini chocolate chips until all sides are covered. Finally, either wrap each sandwich individually in parchment paper and freeze for later or eat upon completion.
While this recipe shows you how to make the classic chipwich, there is also room for experimentation! Instead of chocolate chip cookies, you could use peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for a more nutty hint, or chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla. If you’re feeling extra bold, you could even use a dark cherry or strawberry ice cream for a fruity twist! There are so many delicious combinations, so grab a friend, eat up, and enjoy!
Cookie recipe adapted from Tasty
Gusto Journal 