Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches: With their creamy pumpkin spice ice cream sandwiched between tangy cinnamon snickerdoodles, they just ooze fall.

I feel like I’m stuck in this weird in-between world of a love-hate relationship with all-things-pumpkin.

Traditionally, my fall baking habits have always leaned more towards Team Apple, hence the “We Are More Than Just Pumpkin” baking email newsletter series I’ve been sending out over the past few weeks (which still has four weeks remaining – sign up under “Subscribe” on the Homepage!), but that pumpkin ice cream I made a few weeks ago which, by happenstance ended up as salted caramel affogato, sort of pushed me back the other way.

I actually made that ice cream with the sole intention of making these pumpkin snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches but it was just too good to not re-purpose into another awesome dessert.

These ice cream sandwiches, with their creamy pumpkin spice ice cream sandwiched between tangy cinnamon snickerdoodles, just ooze fall. The cookies are pretty darn fantastic by themselves but they mesh with the ice cream like its their job.

If you love snickerdoodles, you’ll also love this snickerdoodle caramel corn!

The sparkly cinnamon-sugar exterior isn’t lost with their time spent in the freezer and the cookies are just soft enough to prevent the ice cream from smooshing out the back of the sandwich with each bite. Isn’t that the worst?

So now that I’ve gotten all of my pumpkin ice cream ideas out there to you, it’s time to start focusing on other things. Like cookies, iced lattes, whoopie pies, scones, and bagels.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Name: Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 2 h 41 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 ¾ cups sugar (12.25 oz), divided; 1 tbsp ground cinnamon; 2 ½ cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour; 2 tsp cream of tartar; 1 tsp baking soda; ½ tsp table salt; 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature; 8 tbsp vegetable shortening (trans fat-free and non-hydrogenated, if you can find it); 2 large eggs, at room temperature; 1 batch pumpkin ice cream (or 1 quart store-bought ice cream), spread onto a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper as soon as it's removed from the ice cream maker (soften store-bought ice cream and spread it out in the same fashion)

Yield: 12 ice cream sandwiches

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Chilling Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 41 minutes

Pumpkin snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches are a fabulous treat to celebrate fall. Homemade pumpkin ice cream is sandwiched between 2 soft and cinnamon-y snickerdoodle cookies. If you're not up for making your own ice cream, you can definitely use your favorite store-bought brand here.

Ingredients

For the cookies:

1 ¾ cups sugar (12.25 oz), divided
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp table salt
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 tbsp vegetable shortening (trans fat-free and non-hydrogenated, if you can find it)
2 large eggs, at room temperature

For assembly:

1 batch pumpkin ice cream (or 1 quart store-bought ice cream), spread onto a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper as soon as it's removed from the ice cream maker (soften store-bought ice cream and spread it out in the same fashion)

Instructions

To make the cookies: Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix ¼ cup of the sugar with the cinnamon in a shallow dish; set aside. Whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, shortening, and remaining 1 ½ cups sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
With the mixer on low, gradually add in the drying ingredients and mix until just combined. Give the dough a good stir with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is incorporated. The dough will be sticky.
Using a 1 ½-inch cookie scoop, scoop out the dough and with damp hands to prevent sticking, roll the dough into balls. Roll each ball around in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until completely coated and space the dough ball evenly apart on the baking sheets. I find this part moves quickly when I scoop and roll a few dough balls at a time, roll them all around the dish at once, and transfer them all to the baking sheet. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass with butter and flatten the dough balls to about ¼-inch high. Re-grease the glass as needed to prevent sticking.
Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until the edges of the cookies are just barely browned and the centers have puffed up (they will flatten as they cool). Transfer the pans to wire racks and allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before moving them to the racks to cool completely.
To assemble: Match up cookies into pairs of same or similar sizes. Flip one cookie from each pair over so the flat side is up. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or whichever size matches your cookies), cut out the ice cream into rounds and place each round on top of an upside-down cookie. Place the matching cookies on top of the ice cream to form sandwiches.
Place the sandwiches on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Wrap individual sandwiches in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 1 week.

Notes

cookies adapted from The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

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