NDQ Sandwiches

From the age of 14 until 20, I spent every summer working in various ice cream shops, everything from the little local stores all the way up to the big time...a real authentic Dairy Queen. At Dairy Queen, the secrets of the Buster Bar, Dilly Bar, DQ Sandwich and the Perfect DQ curl were finally revealed. I wish I could say that all those summers ruined me from ice cream, but I'm pretty resiliant. I probably eat ice cream every day in one form or another. The DQ Sandwich is still my favorite little treat, and I'm happy to present the Non-Dairy Queen Sandwich.

Now, there are plenty of dairy and egg-free ice cream sandwiches available at the grocery store made by Tofutti or So Delicious. But those are soft sandwiches, not to mention that the Tofutti chocolate cookie is made of some crazy mix of cocoa and glue because it sticks terribly to toddler fingers and teeth. These are crisp cookies, and super chocolatey. The ice cream is so easy to make, I'm a bit embarrased to post it...but after all that hard work on the cookies you deserve a break!

NDQ Sandwiches

(Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches)

1 1/2 cups cake flour (I use Swan's Down, be careful...Pillsbury Softasilk has egg and dairy.)
3/4 cup cocoa powder ( I use Nestle)
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 sticks (14T) dairy-free margarine, room temp ( I use Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine)

1.) I found these to be pretty fussy as far as measuring goes. For the flour, cocoa and powdered sugar, I first fluffed up the item to be measured with a spoon or my measuring cup and then scooped with the measuring cup and leveled off with a knife.
2.) Place everything except the margarine into a food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
3.) Slice the margarine into the food processor bowl.
4.) Pulse about 8-10 times until the margarine is well blended, the mixture is still crumbly and hasn't come together into a ball yet.
5.) Dump the crumbly mixture onto a piece of plastic wrap and form into a flat disk.
6.) Refrigerate for at least an hour.
7.) Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and cut into 3 inch rounds or hearts. I have a really cool set of nesting fluted round cutters that I got from Amazon, which I use all the time, the biggest size is perfect. Decorate with toothpick or cookie cutter impressions if you want.
8.) Place the cookies on a parchment or Silpat-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer.
9.) Preheat the oven to 350 while the cookies freeze.
10.) Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should puff up, then flatten out. When they start smelling good, they're probably ready.
11.) Let them rest on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack, they're pretty fragile when hot.
12.) When cool, you can fill them with ice cream and freeze. Because the cookies are crisp, make sure the whole sandwich is well frozen before eating...otherwise the ice cream slides out!

The World's Easiest Dairy-Free and Egg-Free Vanilla Ice Cream

3 cups mini-marshmallows or 20 big ones
3 cups Silk Vanilla Creamer (about 1 1/2 pints)

1.) In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows, 30 seconds at a time. Slowely pour in the creamer, wisking everything together until smooth.
2.) Freeze in an ice cream maker. I have a Cuisinart, which works really well. Williams-Sonoma has a deal right now with an extra bowl, which is great to have.