Häagen-Dazs is sadly the only remaining national grocery store variety ice cream that does not add a bunch of crap to their products. I don’t know what carrageenan is (nor do I care to), but now most of the brands that still boast all-natural ingredients add it to their ice cream.
When Häagen-Dazs came out with their “five” label, I was excited to see that at least they realize that some of us in the country are still interested in ice cream that contains only what is listed in a recipe.
I love lemon desserts, and as a child used to fantasize about what lemon ice cream should taste like. Any rare occasion when I would find an actual lemon flavored ice cream, it would either taste flat, too creamy, artificial or dull. When I saw the lemon Häagen-Dazs five flavor, I thought I would try it to see if it would deliver.
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
It surpasses all hopes and childhood dreams of a lemon-flavored ice cream. It is tart, and sweet, and creamy all at once. The ice crystals are so minuscule they are virtually undetectable. It is smooth as silk and absolutely amazing. My ravings on the subject continue on my babble blog, if you’re interested.
But moving on. I wanted some way to celebrate this most perfect accomplishment of the geniuses at Häagen-Dazs by creating some sort of ice cream sandwich out of it. At first, I thought a simple shortbread would be good, but then I was afraid it would just get hard in the freezer and smush all the ice cream out when you bite into it. After a few weeks of consideration, I finally decided a chewy lemon cookie would be the perfect solution.
These cookies are just a little sweeter and saltier than the ice cream, and are the perfect complement.
I hope you enjoy these.
lemon ice cream sandwich cookies
1 pint Häagen-Dazs five, lemon flavor
chewy lemon cookies (recipe follows)
1. Set the ice cream out for 5-10 minutes to allow it to soften a bit. Press on the sides of the carton a bit to soften it as well.
2. Match up equal sized cookies with one another. Scoop about 1/4 cup ice cream on half of the cookies, and press the other half of the cookies on top. Wrap in parchment paper and freeze until ready to serve.
chewy lemon cookies*
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, lemon zest, 1/2 cup sugar, and agave nectar. Mix until very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides.
3. In a small cup, boil the lemon juice and stir in baking soda. With the mixer on low, slowly add in half of the flour mixer, and then add in in the baking soda mixture. Follow with the remainder of the flour mixture and mix until combined. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula and mix the dough by hand a few times to ensure an even distribution of the ingredients.
4. Pull the dough together with your hands and shape into a log. Roll up in parchment paper, twist up the ends and freeze for 5 hours, or over night. Slice dough into 1/3 inch thick disks. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Tops should be cracked on the top. Let cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack.
* Sorry for any confusion, but I have tweaked the recipe a bit since publishing. Some readers were commenting on how their cookies were coming out flat.
Lemon sandwich cookies sound divine! I’ll have to try out that Haagen-Dazs label. I haven’t seen it around but I’ll definitely be on the lookout now. And I always love a lemon cookie. Gorgeous pictures!
Actually, carrageenan is natural – it’s made from seaweed, and is simply a vegan alternative to gelatin. I presume companies using this are doing so to be able to have totally vegetarian/vegan sorbet or ice cream.
In any case, those ice cream sandwiches look divine!
These look incredible ~ I love Haagan Daaz and their “5″ line is phenomenal!
These look fantastic! I’m going to try making the cookies soon
If you ever get up to Logan, Utah State sometimes has a lemon custard ice cream at their dairy that is divine! Unfortunately we don’t get up there much ;( but it is unforgetable. These look super too!
Lemon ice cream just screams summer! I will be looking for this the next time I go to the grocery store. Great idea to sandwich between two chewy cookies.
I love lemon flavor. This looks divine. I can’t wait to try this.
Actually, Breyers uses only real ingredients as well.
Just for the record, I think Bryers has all natural ice cream as well. Lovely ice cream sandwiches!
oh hello lemon. i am such a fan of lemon. and i love ice cream sandwiches in the summer, so simple and so worthy of sharing. i can’t wait to try.
These look like heaven!!
Carrageenan is derived from irish seaweed. However, it is chemicalized to the point that it is no longer a natural product. It is a cheap thickener that is used in many many milk products. Many people are allergic to it but don’t know it–they think that they have lactose intolerace. Many people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome are actually carrageenan intolerant.
Bryers “All Natural” ice cream is another brand that doesn’t use carrageenan as a thickener. it must say all natural!!
I wish I was close to enjoy one of those lemon sandwiches.
Thanks, Rose. I figure if they’re adding mysterious ingredients to something as simple as ice cream, then whatever it is has to be a cheap way to enhance/preserve the product.
Bryer’s, which I have always stuck to as a close second to Häagen-Dazs, has now started adding something, though. I can’t remember what it is, maybe guar gum?
Maybe I’m wrong, or they only had it on there last time I checked, but I was pretty annoyed. Because even if whatever they’re adding is all natural, ice cream really doesn’t need it, you know?
Ben and Jerry’s started adding that kind of thing as well. It’s a shame.
When I saw this post I immediately thought of Utah State’s Aggie Ice Cream. Lemon Custard is my favorite ice cream of all time (props to whoever mentioned it above). I am excited about this lemony ditty as I think it is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing it…I love your site!
I’m definitely going to have to try these! Lovely photos. Thanks for the inspiration!
Actually Rose, (I’m not trying to be rude or disrespectful) there is only intial research that suggests that carrageenan MAY cause irritation in the stomach. It is used to “insulate” the ice cream because if you transport ice cream there is a high risk of it partially melting and then freezing again when it is at it’s final destination, thereby causing large ice crystals to form. If you paid for a bucket of ice crystals rather than the creamy ice cream you thought you were buying I’m sure you would be quite upset as they aren’t aesthetically pleasing or pleasing to one’s palate.
Carrageenan is added only to frozen dairy products to prevent the separation that occurs during the melting and refreezing I mentioned earlier. Most people are just lactose intolerant – and IBS isn’t caused by carrageenan, it’s not in every food and many of us with IBS systematically examine what we’re eating for triggers and will eat foods that are minimally processed without a lot of added chemicals and compounds.
Jaime, these look delicious! Thank you for sharing and forgive my little soapbox – I have IBS and I do a lot of researching new topics so I enjoyed updating myself on the newest developments in the study of our little seaweed additive.
* A last little note, carrageenan is essentially just boiled down seaweed – it’s not really processed and chemicalized
I just made this and am sad to say that they turned out nothing like the picture. I have made a few other things from this website that were great…not sure what happened this time.
I’m so sorry Lauren, did the cookies go flat or something?
Well, I to have failed. My cookies turned out a bit too flat and the tops never cracked. Any suggestions?
Sorry the cookies went flat! I don’t know what happened. I will try making them again, and see if I can see what went wrong! Thanks for the feed back!
[...] Lemon Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies | Sophistimom I adore Jaime, and her blog is always gorgeous. These lemon beauties are no different. Comments: (0) Tags: best ice cream sandwich recipes, different ice cream sandwiches, gluten-free ice cream sandwiches, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Kids Cooking, lemon ice cream sandwiches, mango curry ice cream, recipes, unusual ice cream sandwiches [...]
The good news is the cookies tasted great, but the bad news is they looked nothing like yours. I followed the directions excactly, and they still baked up flat and uncracked. I really wanted this to work…yours look so good. I wonder if the agave/sugar sub has anything to do with it?
I baked them again, and I know what you’re all saying.
I am SO sorry! And I honestly don’t know what happened, other than I must have measured something incorrectly when I was testing the recipe.
Here is my suggestion: Use 1 3/4 cup flour instead, and use 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Also, don’t use the 1/2 cup of honey. Just use 1/4 cup.
I’ll change it in the recipe.
[...] tempting things to say about food and books (be still my heart) and manages to lure me into trying whatever she suggests. See you [...]
[...] tempting things to say about food and books (be still my heart) and manages to lure me into trying whatever she suggests. See you [...]
Beautiful ice cream sandwiches!
Jaime, Thanks for stopping by our kiosk today in the Riverwoods. You’re adorable. Thanks for talking to me and giving me lots of info for research. I love your site! We have grown so quickly that we’re always look for fun people with positive insights.
Hopefully we’ll meet again. 