Butterscotch Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Serves 4

Butterscotch Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Inspiration can strike unexpectedly. Having some time to spare in Ocean City, Maryland, during a filming assignment on striped bass for the television show, I paid a trip to an ice cream parlor on the boardwalk. It's tough sometimes, doing research. But someone had to try their butterscotch ice cream sandwich, and it was so good that I was determined to try to replicate the flavor combination. No one really knows how butterscotch—a toffee-type mixture made from brown sugar and butter—got its name, and it does not seem to have any connection to Scotland.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup bran cereal (any kind)
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 scoops ice cream (preferably butter pecan)
1/4 cup chocolate syrup

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or by hand, cream together the butter and sugar, gradually mixing until well blended. Add the egg and bran cereal and mix thoroughly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mix the flour and baking powder in a small bowl and blend into the batter. Remove the dough, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and shape into a roll about 4 inches in diameter. Wrap it in waxed paper and refrigerate it until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the dough into 1/2-inch-thick slices and place on a nonstick cookie sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown.

Place 1 cookie on each of 4 serving plates and top with a scoop of ice cream. Gently press another cookie on top of the ice cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Tip
You will have up to a dozen cookies left over, but I figure they won't last long! Keep them in an airtight container.

Buy the Book!

Jim Coleman's Flavors
By Jim Coleman with
John Harrisson and Candace Hagan
Clarkson Potter/Publishers, September 2001
Hardback, $25.95
288 pages with 28 full-color photographs
ISBN: 0-609-60972-6
Recipe reprinted by permission.