Years ago I had an idea…I should open a store where I sell different types of cookies, and different flavors of ice-cream, and you can choose the top, bottom, and insides of your custom ice-cream sandwich.  I thought it was brilliant, but I wasn’t about to quit my day job, so it just ended up being a fantasy.  Over the years, I have seen glimpses of this idea come to fruition – but nothing exactly like it until my last trip to New York City.

New York City is a food lovers mecca – and I have to go every year to get my fix.  I love spending weeks figuring out exactly where we are going to eat, and carefully planning each meal.  This last trip went extremely well, I am not sure we had a bad dish all week – and we even stumbled upon some bonus places that we were not anticipating (Eataly being one that is not to be missed).  A week before we were leaving, I heard about The Meatball Shop – and even though I didn’t have a meal to spare – once I read about this place, I had to switch some things around.  We had to go…and we were so glad we did.  The meatballs were amazing, seriously, the best I have ever had – but get the dessert – exactly my store.  They had 6 different cookies, 6 different ice-creams, and you chose the top and bottom cookie, then your ice-cream – and you have created your very own creation.  For $4, it could not be beat.  The entire week we were thinking about how we could go back.

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light, and I really felt like they were thinking outside the box with this one.  I loved the salted sugar cookies along with the lime sherbet mixed with vanilla ice-cream – it was genius.  The flavors were perfect together, and if you closed your eyes, you thought you were drinking a margarita.  My daughter on the other hand, was not too excited when she bit into the cookie and realized that it was not just sugar on top, it was also salt.  She was not pleased.  But for adults who love that combination, it cannot be beat.  So – if you can’t get to NYC anytime soon, and you are craving a creative ice-cream sandwich, here is a great one for you – although it might just be too good for kids…they need to acquire the taste first.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 5 teaspoons grated lime rind, divided
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 11 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 2 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream, softened
• 2 cups lime sherbet, softened

Preparation

Place butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add egg, 1 tablespoon lime rind, and lime juice; beat 2 minutes or until well combined.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon table salt; stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, and beat just until combined.

Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 6-inch log. Wrap logs individually in plastic wrap; chill 3 hours or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cut each log into 16 (about 1/3-inch-thick) slices, and place 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the cookies evenly with remaining 2 teaspoons lime rind, turbinado sugar, and sea salt. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes on pans on a wire rack. Remove from baking sheets, and cool completely on wire rack.

Place vanilla ice cream and sherbet in a medium bowl; lightly fold and swirl together. Scoop 1/4 cup ice cream mixture onto bottom of one cookie, and top with one cookie. Cover each sandwich with plastic wrap; freeze 4 hours or until firm.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Margarita Ice Cream Sandwiches