Nothing says summer like a ice cream sandwich. JP had one of his "guys night out" at the house instead of at a restaurant. He and some of his friends all go out and have a good time. Well he decided to have at the house instead of at the restaurant because I was in town and thought it would be a nice change. Dinner was great, I made 7 different items for dinner and let them serve themselves. Afterwards for dessert, I served them these wonderful ice cream sandwiches. For the cookie I prepared super soft ginger cookies. I just love ginger cookies or snaps although I like my cookies soft and not hard and crunchy. This recipes has one of the softest and moistest ginger cookies I have ever had. The filling I made from nectarines that we have growing on the property and turned that into sorbet. The combination of the two together, was a huge hit. These recipes are simple and easy.
Ginger cookies
2 cup of all purpose flour
2 tsp of ginger
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
3/4 cup of vegetable shortening
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup of molasses
3 tbsp of sugar
Nectarine Sorbet
3 cups of nectarines pureed
2 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
For the nectarine sorbet
Combine sugar and water in a pot and bring to boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Let it cool completely. Then combine the simple syrup with the nectarine puree. Place into a ice cream machine and follow instructions of the machine. When done place into an airtight container and place into the freezer.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
For the ginger cookies
In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment, place vegetable shortening and 1 cup of sugar together. Cream the two together for 2 minutes and then add the egg and molasses. Mix all the dry ingredient together in a separate bowl and while the mixer is on low speed gradually add all of the dry ingredients are mixed well. Then take a small ice cream scoop and scoop small balls of the dough. Place into a bowl with 3 tbsp of sugar. Roll the dough balls in the sugar and then place onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Leave two inches in between each cookie and push down the cookie slightly. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes and take out and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the sheet pan. Then transfer to cookie rack to cool completely.
Once cooled completely then you can take a small scoop of the sorbet and place in between two cookies. Place back in the freezer to set. The cookies still are still chewy even frozen. The flavor of the ginger combined with the nectarine makes a wonderful combination. Serve and enjoy!
