You can enjoy these chewy citrus-ginger cookies as stand alone cookies without sandwiching the ice cream in between, but creating an ice cream sandwich makes for a great make-ahead dessert on a warm evening.  I love the combination of lemon and ginger and the crystallized ginger adds an extra bit of chewiness to the cookie and along with the coconut, a great tropical flair.

yield : 20-22 cookies, 11 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups flour (I love Bob’s Red Mill Pastry Flour)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup diced crystallized ginger, finely ground
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1 pint favorite vanilla ice cream (if making sandwiches)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a standing mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar and beat on medium high until light and fluffy. Grind your ginger in the cuisinart (it will be sticky and paste-like), add it to mixer along with lemon zest and beat mixture until well incorporated, scraping down bowl as needed.  Add eggs, lemon and vanilla extracts and blend to combine. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and shredded coconut and whisk to combine.  Add flour mixture to bowl and blend on low until flour mixture is well incorporated. Roll 1-2 tablespoons of dough in the palm of your hand and place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes until cookies are just golden on top and beginning to crack on top. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

If you are making ice cream sandwiches, allow vanilla ice cream to soften a bit.  Scoop about 1/4 cup of ice cream out of carton and gently flatten it in between the cooled cookies. Using the flat edge of a knife to smooth the ice cream in between the cookies.  Wrap each ice cream sandwich in plastic wrap and store in freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!