Bring the ice cream truck straight to your kitchen with these iconic treats

The best ice cream sandwiches aren’t made with just ANY cookie. Ice cream sandwich cookies can turn rock-hard in the freezer — or lose all their flavor! That’s why we add water to our cookie dough: It helps the cookies stay soft in the freezer. Plus, we add brown sugar, vanilla, and salt to give them extra flavor even when they’re cold (which makes it harder to taste things!). Lastly, the mini chocolate chips guarantee that every bite has a burst of chocolaty flavor.

These ice cream sandwiches are great served plain, but you can also take them to the next level by decorating the edges! Place 1 cup mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or sprinkles in a shallow dish. At the end of Step 7, working quickly with 1 sandwich at a time, roll the edge of the ice cream in the dish, gently pressing decoration into the ice cream with your hand. If ice cream starts to melt too much, freeze sandwiches for a few minutes before decorating.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Makes 6 sandwiches

Vegetable oil spray

2/3 cup (3 1/3 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) brown sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons water

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup (1 1/2 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips

1 quart ice cream (homemade or store-bought), softened

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk brown sugar, melted butter, water, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture and use rubber spatula to stir until combined and no dry flour is visible. Stir in chocolate chips. (Dough will be very soft.)

4. Use a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop 12 mounds of dough onto the greased parchment-lined baking sheet (about 1 level tablespoon of dough per mound).

5. Place baking sheet in oven and bake until cookies are puffed and golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

6. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cookies cool completely on baking sheet, about 30 minutes. (This is a good time to soften your ice cream in the refrigerator, 15 to 20 minutes.)

7. Fill cookies with ice cream by placing 1 scoop of ice cream in the center of 6 upside down cookies (scoop of ice cream should be about 2 inches tall and 2 inches wide). Working quickly, place 6 cookies, right side up, on top of ice cream to make sandwiches. Gently press cookies and twist to push ice cream to edges of cookies. Place ice cream sandwiches on a large plate and place in the freezer.

8. Freeze sandwiches until firm, at least 8 hours. Serve.

Note: Ice cream sandwiches can be individually wrapped in plastic wrap, transferred to a zipper-lock bag, and frozen for up to two months.

(For 25 years, home cooks have relied on America’s Test Kitchen for rigorously tested recipes developed by professional test cooks and vetted by 60,000 at-home recipe testers. The family of brands — which includes Cook’s Illustrated, Cook’s Country, and America’s Test Kitchen Kids — offers reliable recipes for cooks of all ages and skill levels. See more online at www.americastestkitchen.com/TCA.)