Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwich. Crispy, chewy cookies radiate the flavors of espresso, crunchy hazelnuts and smooth chocolate then sandwich cool and creamy vanilla ice cream.
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Back when I first started indulging at specialty coffee shops my go to drink was a hazelnut latte. I loved the mild nutty flavor along side the rich and robust espresso. Plus for a newbie to the coffee scene it was a nice way to tone down the bite of the espresso. Fast forward to now and I love the bite from the espresso and I’ve become somewhat of a purist with my coffee/espresso drinks. Now I prefer a little sweetener and a hint of cream or milk. But for the last week my tastes have been going back in time and I find myself craving a hazelnut latte.
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So did I ever indulge in a hazelnut latte? No, the closest designer coffee shop is 40 minutes away. But that’s a good thing because I have something even better! “What? Better? What could be better then a hazelnut latte?”, I hear you asking. I’m going to tell you, a Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwich. Can you believe it? All those awesome flavors in an ice cream sandwich? Now I hear you asking, “How’d she do it?”. We’re getting there, keep reading.
My love for espresso/coffee has no bounds. So when I started dreaming up the Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwich I knew I had to really introduce the espresso flavor well or there was no point. So I decided to make an espresso chocolate chip cookie which then turned into a hazelnut espresso chocolate chip cookie. This is a thinly baked cookie that is crispy on the edges and chewy in the center, it becomes our sweet base in this masterpiece. The espresso radiantly flavors the cookie and the hazelnuts provide the nutty flavor and as an added bonus a crisp crunch. Now you may be thinking, “Chocolate isn’t in a hazelnut latte.”, well it should be because the chocolatey smooth creaminess only intensifies the gloriousness of this cookie. I wish you could smell my kitchen when these are baking, h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y!
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Now here’s the thing, this cookie is so amazing by itself that I could stop right here and be fully satisfied that I have given you one of the best cookie recipes ever. But there’s nothing “latte” about this cookie, hazelnut -yes, espresso-yes, chocolate-yes, sweet-yes, latte-no. And I can’t leave out the latte now can I?
Latte is quite simply represented in the Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwiches with vanilla ice cream. After all, in the drink latte is creamy steamed milk. So I thought I would twist it around and use frozen ice cream. Plus the vanilla is a nice compliment to the already fabulous flavor combinations in the cookie. And if you’ve kept up with some of my other posts you know how I like, no LOVE, vanilla.
For one last and final bonus to the Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwiches I rolled the edges in chopped hazelnuts. Mmm, Mmm, good!
So lets recap all that’s going on here. We have a thin crispy, chewy cookie that radiates the flavors of espresso, crunchy hazelnuts and smooth chocolate. We then sandwich cool and creamy vanilla ice cream in between two of these delectable cookies. Then for added flavor and crunchy appeal we rolled the edges in chopped hazelnuts. Oh my goodness, it just doesn’t get any better than this.
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The Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwich has surpassed its muse, the hazelnut latte. The student has become the teacher. To be blunt, the Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwich is 10x, maybe 100x better than the traditional hazelnut latte. Gasp if you must but it’s the truth!
Enjoy!
Stacey
Hazelnut Latte Ice Cream Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup salted butter room temperature
- 2 Tbsp fine grind espresso powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts extra for rolling
- Vanilla ice cream of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Line baking sheets with parchment
- In a large bowl add the flour, baking soda and baking powder, give quick stir to combine.
- In bowl of mixer on medium speed cream butter, espresso powder and sugars until well mixed and whipped. About 4 minutes.
- Add vanilla and egg, at medium speed mix to fully combine.
- With mixer back at low speed slowly add in the flour mixture until well combined.
- Add in the chocolate chips and hazelnuts, fold in and mix by hand until well incorporated.
- Using standard cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto cookie sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake until golden brown on the edges and slightly brown on top. About 9-11 minutes.
- When bringing out of oven very lightly tap the tops of the cookies with your finger to deflate them, this will assist in getting a thinner cookies for the sandwiches.
- Let cool completely.
- ASSEMBLY:
- Let ice cream sit out for 30 minutes. You want it soft enough it will smoosh between the two sandwiches but not melted.
- Prepare a container for the freezer to store these in and have it ready. You will be adding each sandwich to the freezer when you are done preparing it.
- Pair up your cookies as best you can by shape/size.
- Put a generous scoop of ice cream in the center of first cookie and then gently sandwich with second cookie, lightly pressing down to spread the ice cream.
- If ice cream does not spread to all the edges take a small off set spatula, scoop ice cream up on tip and press into areas where needed.
- Smooth the edges with off set spatula by going all around the cookie.
- Roll in hazelnuts.
- Put in freezer immediately and freeze until set, minimum 2 hours.
- Repeat with rest of cookies until done.
Inês Vieira says
I really want to eat this, hazelnuts just make everything better
http://loadsof-joy.blogspot.com
Stacey says
Thanks Ines, I agree on the hazelnut comment as well. You can’t beat the super crunch either. Take care.
Stacey