Recently I made a Banana Dulce de Leche cake that I fell completely in love with. The combination of bananas with the deep sweetness of the dulce de leche was absolutely amazing. In case you’re unfamiliar, dulce de leche is Spanish for “milk candy” and can be thought of as South America’s version of caramel sauce. It’s incredibly thick and delicious and can be found canned in most grocery stores with other Latin foods. Make sure you don’t eat the whole can with a spoon; you need to save some for this ice cream! These homemade ice cream sandwiches combine banana dulce de leche ice cream with brown sugar cinnamon cookies for amazing flavor in every bite.
Both the cookies and the ice cream can easily be made using KitchenAid appliances, and both can be done days ahead of time. While making homemade ice cream sandwiches can be somewhat time consuming, if you plan to make them ahead of time it’s a breeze.
This Banana Dulce de Leche Ice Cream recipe comes together in a snap. Simply place all the ingredients in a KitchenAid® 5-Speed Diamond Blender, and puree until everything is very well combined. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day. The mixture must be well chilled before it enters the KitchenAid® Ice Cream Maker Attachment, otherwise it may remain liquid after churning.
Once chilled, pour the mixture into a KitchenAid® Stand Mixer fitted with the Ice Cream Maker Attachment. Make sure your freeze bowl is completely frozen, or you may end up with liquid after churning! I like to freeze mine for no less than 15 hours. Churn the ice cream for about 25 minutes, or until it has increased in volume with the consistency of soft serve ice cream. At this point the ice cream is too soft to assemble into sandwiches, so remove it to an airtight container. Press plastic wrap against the surface to make sure no ice crystals form and freeze until firm, about 2 hours or up to 3 days.
While the ice cream is firming up in the freezer, let’s get started on our Brown Sugar Cinnamon cookies. It’s a super basic snickerdoodle-meets-brown-sugar cookie recipe where we cream the butter and sugar together in a KitchenAid® Stand Mixer, then slowly add the dry ingredients. A few special ingredients, including a touch of cream cheese and a teaspoon of cornstarch, help keep these cookies ultra flavorful, soft, and chewy even when frozen.
Once the dough comes together, scoop out 2-tablespoon balls. Roll each ball of dough in the cinnamon-sugar mixture for an extra dose of flavor, crunch, and sparkle. Flatten the cookies with the palm of your hand before baking at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly browned at the edges. Let the cookies cool to room temperature then pop them in the freezer until frozen, about 1 hour. You can actually make the cookies up to a month ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the freezer.
Freezing the cookies helps keep assembly as neat and easy as possible. It also makes it so that the cookies don’t absorb too much of the liquid from the ice cream so they don’t become soggy.
Once the ice cream and the cookies are nice and frozen, we can start assembling. To make really pretty ice cream sandwiches, I like to take a scoop of ice cream and place it on a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap the plastic around the scoop and use your hands to flatten and shape the scoop into a disc the same size as the cookies. Sandwich the ice cream with the cookies and freeze until ready to serve. You can serve immediately, but the sandwiches will be a little messier. I prefer to freeze for an hour before serving. Enjoy!
Banana Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 10 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the banana dulce de leche ice cream
2 large ripe bananas
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup dulce de leche, divided
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the brown sugar cinnamon cookies
2 cups (250 grams or 8.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
For the banana dulce de leche ice cream
In the pitcher of a KitchenAid® 5-Speed Diamond Blender, puree the bananas, cream cheese, milk, cream, 1/2 cup dulce de leche, salt, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and press plastic wrap against surface. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day.
Pour the chilled mixture into a KitchenAid® Stand Mixer fitted with the Ice Cream Maker Attachment. Churn for 25 minutes, or until doubled in volume with the consistency of soft-serve ice cream. During the last few minutes of churning, drizzle in the remaining 1/2 cup dulce de leche. You may need to microwave the dulce de leche if it’s too thick to drizzle. Pour the ice cream into an airtight container and press plastic wrap against the surface. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.
For the brown sugar cinnamon cookies
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch.
In the bowl of a KitchenAid® Stand Mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and beat until combined.
Scoop out 2-tablespoon sized balls of dough and place on the prepared baking sheets. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Roll each dough ball in the cinnamon sugar. Flatten the dough slightly with the palm of your hand.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are set and begin to brown. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely. Freeze the cookies until frozen, at least 1 hour. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
For the ice cream sandwiches
Top a cookie with a scoop of ice cream. Place another cookie on top of the ice cream and gently press down to form a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Freeze for at least 1 hour before serving.
Sandwiches can be tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in an airtight container in the freezer for 1 week. Let the sandwiches sit at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes to soften slightly before serving.
*The Contributor of this post has been compensated by KitchenAid for this post, but this post represents the Contributor’s own opinion.*
