The Popular Brand Ina Garten Uses For Ice Cream Sandwiches

Although an ice cream sandwich involves only two components, the dish warrants careful examination of the details. After all, the dessert delights with not only sweet flavors, but a specific textural appeal, too. You want the cookies to offer rigidity, not crumbling away at every bite. And the ice cream should be enjoyably soft, but not create a liquidy mess.

So to ensure the food's composition hits the spot, follow Ina Garten's recommendation and purchase a pint of Talenti for the dish's creation. In her rendition, the accomplished chef pairs chocolate chip cookies with a package of coffee chocolate chip Talenti gelato (via The Barefoot Contessa). She advises melting the frozen treat at room temperature for around 15 minutes to ensure the gelato's soft and moldable, yet not runny. After constructing the sandwich, she rolls each in bits of toffee and finishes with a brief stint in the freezer to firm up and yield a perfectly constructed bite.

Feel free to try out other ice creams with such an assembly technique, but Talenti does offer several particular benefits. For starters, the brand sells gelato rather than ice cream. Lower in fat yet more patiently churned, the texture comes rich and smooth, lending better density in the sandwich with fewer ice crystals. Furthermore, Talenti employs the Bain-Marie technique, warming the milk on indirect heat to deepen flavors and create a more velvety consistency. Sure, a Talenti jar may be hard to open, but for an ice cream sandwich this good, it's worth it.

Talenti ice cream is available nationwide and comes in flavors ranging from pistachio to cold brew coffee and fruit sorbettos, adding ample opportunity for customization. So consider pairing different tastes with varying doughy vessels to craft new spins on the dessert. For instance, buy a Sicilian flavor like pistachio, lemon, or chocolate, and serve the frozen treat inside brioche to make an Italian-style ice cream sandwich. Warming the pastry gently melts the gelato, creating a distinct lusciousness and a beautiful blend of sensation from the warm pastry and cold cream. 

Plus, there's the classic brownie encased style, which works best with a classic vanilla gelato. Trimmed into nostalgic rectangular shapes, this is one of the easiest ice cream sandwiches to batch for a crowd. And elsewhere in Americana-inspired desserts, don't rule out ice cream sandwiches served in a hot dog bun – just like a Cool Dog from Boston. You can fill the bread with dark chocolate ice cream and top with raspberry ice cream to lend a nice visual pop. However, other decadent pints like caramel or butter pecan gelato will also shine in the build. And finally, if you'd like to enjoy just about any flavor, then two waffles are an ideal vessel, too. Toasted and warm, they'll delectably hold together the ice cream for a perfect bite.