I have had so many ice cream cookie sandwiches in my life that it’s pretty rare one actually makes me stop in my tracks and run across the yard at a company BBQ where I end up awkwardly waiting for the cookie sandwich-bringer to finish a conversation so I can ask him his secret, all the while, pretending to be fascinated with the hydrangeas right behind him.

The differentiator wasn’t in taste but in texture. The cookie didn’t break my teeth when I bit into it, even though they’d been sitting in ice for the last hour.

“HOW. WAS THIS. DONE?”

I think he was embarrassed for me that I had just sprinted across a lawn and was out of breathe but I’m like, very used to being awkwardly winded for having done little-to-no physical activity at all so it did not phase me.

“Oh, umm, you just kind of undercook the cookies a bit. Maybe like a minute or so.”

I grabbed him by both shoulders (I don’t know this man) and looked him dead in the eye and said, “Of course. Of COURSE, that’s what you do.”

Then I kissed him.

OH MY GOD, I DID NOT KISS HIM YOU PERVERTS. But I did try this recipe immediately, and now it is my duty to share this bit of knowledge with you all because you are my people and I love to share things with you. (If you already knew this trick please kindly do not brag to me about it, I want to feel like I add value to your life.)

There are a few key but very simple steps involved in ice cream sandwich-making. They are as follows:

• Undercook your cookies by about a minute. For me, this meant chocolate chip cookies in the oven at 350 for 13-14 minutes.
• Don’t let them cool all the way off! They should still be hot, but at a place where you’re not burning your hand off handling them.
• Don’t take your ice cream out of the freezer too early. I say take it out when you’re taking the cookies out. You don’t want it melty, it should still be cold and firm.
• When putting the ice cream onto the cookie, don’t try to spread it. It’s frozen and it’s not going to work with you and you’ll ruin your cookie. I find that balls are kinda difficult to work with (that’s what she said); I usually scoop two slab/strip-looking pieces of ice cream. Put strip-slabs on the cookie and gently press the other cookie down.

I’ll eat one or nine and then quickly wrap the rest in plastic wrap and pop ‘em in the freezer.

The number of combination possibilities is ridiculous and involves a type of math that I’m just not going to do. I’m a vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate chip cookie (with a sprinkle of flaked sea salt) gal through and through but you could play around with different ice cream flavors and cookie match-ups. Let me know if you discover any magical pairings! I imagine something like raspberry with a chocolate, chocolate chip cookie would be quite good.

Image via: Alison Attenborough