When I was in my 20’s searching for office jobs to pay the bills I often got asked, are you a good multitasker? And I’d say, no, of course not— no one is! I absolutely do not recommend this level of a candidness in a job interview but for what it’s worth, I was telling the truth. We can only do one thing well at a time. Period. Which is why I’m struggling to work the second toughest week of the year at my day job, care for myself, and write every day. The good news? There’s an end in sight; I’ll be back to my normal annoying self next Monday 06/17. In the meantime, we’ll do things a little differently this week.
Today I’m sharing the cookie sandwich recipe I promised last Friday. Tomorrow I’m writing a 4-in-1 one post covering my dinner plans for the rest of the week. Slightly longer than usual, but still relatively short and fun.
Now, the cookie itself is a pretty bare bones rendition of a Christmas gingersnap with the method altered to make them flatter and smaller. IMO ice cream sandwiches should be small because what are you going to do with an ice cream sandwich you can’t finish? NOTHING. You’re going to throw it in the trash. It’s better to let some people eat multiple cookie sandwiches than have one person waste delicious dessert! If I could do it all over again, I’d put slices of candied ginger on top of half the cookies for a cute lil spicy garnish, but what’s done is done.
113g butter at room temp, I use Irish style
200g granulated sugar
1 large egg
115g molasses
260g flour
1.5t baking soda
1T ginger
1t cinnamon
1/2t Morton’s kosher salt
turbinado sugar for rolling
you absolutely need a kitchen scale for this or the tops and bottoms of your sandwiches will be different sizes
Mango sorbet for filling*
1. Beat the ever loving shit out of the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy and a paler shade of yellow. Whip in the egg, followed by the molasses.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients. Mix them into the butter mixture. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 24.
3. Roll the dough into 15g balls and coat in turbinado sugar. Place them in the freezer while your oven heats up to 350. I’m so sorry I didn’t count the exact number, but you’ll definitely end up with three dozen+ small cookies!
4. Bake for about 10 minutes or until you see the tops barely start to crack. They probably won’t look done, but pull them out anyway and let them cool on the pan. They’ll firm up fine with a nice, chewy center. Serve with mango sorbet.
*If you want to be really “professional,” you can smooth the sorbet into a flat layer in a parchment lined baking tray, pop it back in the freezer for 30 minutes, then use a biscuit cutter dipped in hot water to make perfect circles the size of your cookies. That being said, the cookies are sturdy enough to handle a light smushing should you wish to make more rustic sandwiches.
Special thanks to my friend Jennifer Justus who put the Christmas cookie + mango idea into my head. It was a great flavor combo and a hit at my dinner party!