Even though the cool air is creeping in, I'm still craving cold, creamy scoops of ice cream. Top that spoonful with marshmallow spread sandwiched between tea infused dark cocoa cookies, and well, my heart skips a beat. Seeking a whimsical take on s'mores and ice cream, I infused the ice cream sandwich cookies with subtle smoky notes from lapsang souchong butter. Known for its intense smoked aroma and savory flavors, Lapsang Souchong is a black tea from the Wuyi Mountains in the northeastern part of Fujian that is dried over pine fires. When baked with rich, dark, unsweetened cocoa, the smoked tea butter is slightly quieted to impart a whisper of a note that your taste buds might read as savory just for a second.
Peek at the full recipes below for the butter and ice cream sandwiches, along with a video from my web series about cooking with tea on The Daily Tea. If you're inspired to steep tea into your daily routine, peek at more tea infused recipe videos right here. And I might recommend making an extra batch of the smoky butter and experimenting with simple small bites, like melting it over popcorn (which I often do with earl grey tea butter). I've been meaning to fry an egg and bacon in the butter for a smoked breakfast sandwich paired with a steeped cup of the tea. Use it to brush on chicken before roasting or grilled vegetables to intensify the char flavor. And, really, when is extra butter ever a bad thing? Never. The answer is never. But you already know how I feel about it...
Campfire Tea Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 10 3×3-inch cookies and 5 ice cream sandwiches
Lapsang Souchong Butter
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 tablespoons hot water
- 3 teaspoons tea
- 1 teaspoon honey
Bring 5 tablespoons of water to a boil. Steep lapsang souchong tea for 5 minutes. Strain leaves, stir in honey and let cool to room temperature. Chop wet steeped tea leaves until fine. Mix softened butter, tea concentrate and tea leaves. Cover with plastic wrap or seal in small jar and refrigerate for 1hour until solid. Note: if you have leftover tea concentrate liquid in the butter, simply drain.
Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons lapsang souchong butter (see recipe above), softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lapsang souchong
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons (75 grams) extra dark or Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons Marshmallow Spread (Fluff)
- 5 small scoops Vanilla Ice Cream, softened
Using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or by hand (with a little more effort), beat the softened lapsang souchong butter, sugar and salt together until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg yolk and vanilla until completely combined. In a small bowl, sift the cocoa powder into the flour. Add the flour and cocoa mixture to the wet ingredients, a little at a time, until combined.
Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30minutes (no more, no less). While the dough is chilling line two baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat over to 350 degrees. When the dough is ready, dust your work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into 1/4 –inch thick rectangle. Cut into 10 3x3inch squares. If you have dough scraps, combine together and roll out to form extra cookies.
Using a spatula, transfer the squares to the parchment paper lined baking sheets leaving an inch space between each square. Using a tip of a skewer, poke the cookie with 9 holes (in rows of three). Bake the cookies for 16 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. While cooling, cut squares of parchment paper to wrap the ice cream sandwiches later on. Remove ice cream from the fridge to slightly soften.
Once the cookies are completely cooled, place one cookie on each piece of parchment paper and spread with a tablespoon of marshmallow spread. Using an ice cream scoop, add one scoop of ice cream on top of the fluff and carefully press the top cookie (as to not break the cookie) to spread the ice cream. If necessary, use a knife to smooth out the edges of the ice cream. Quickly fold over edges of parchment paper, seal with tape and place in the freezer immediately.
Assemble one ice cream sandwich at a time (so that ice cream does not melt). Repeat with each ice cream sandwich and let them all chill in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before serving. Note: you may need to pop the ice cream back in the freezer if it becomes too soft during assembly.
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