You’re gonna love these Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Creamy, homemade pumpkin spiced ice cream (with bourbon, oh yeah!) is sandwiched between two delicious homemade, soft and chewy oatmeal cookies with pumpkin spice, white chocolate chips and pecans.

I’ll be the first to say it. There’s something I don’t like about the fall season.  Pumpkin overload.  It’s everywhere!  For someone who’s not a big pumpkin loving fan (although I do enjoy savory pumpkin recipes), it’s just way too much for me. On the other hand, as a food blogger, I’d be remiss not to post a pumpkin recipe or two during this crazy time of year.

Last year I succumbed to the pressure of everything PSL and made an outstanding (if I do say so myself) Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream Float.  This year I thought I’d continue on the ice cream theme (don’t miss the tip for simplifying the custard making process) and made some ice cream sandwiches with pumpkin spice ice cream and oatmeal pumpkin spice cookies.  Now how’s that for giving in to the hype?  Besides, it’s still summer weather here in Florida, ice cream just makes sense!

The ice cream by itself is pretty awesome.  It has bourbon in it so you know I’m going to like it!  But more importantly, I want to point out something I’ve discovered recently when making a custard based ice cream…

Add egg yolks directly to the cold milk/cream/sugar mixture then gently heat it up all up together in one pot!

Seriously, you don’t have to heat the milk/cream/sugar mixture first, then temper the egg yolks by adding some of the warm milk mixture into them, then slowly pouring the yolks back into the milk mixture. Really, you don’t. That’s just an unnecessary step in my opinion.  I’ve been whisking the egg yolks directly to the cold milk/cream/sugar mixture in a saucepan, slowly heating the mixture and cooking until thickened and it’s turned out perfect.  Every. Single. Time.  So save yourself a step. It works!

To make these oatmeal pumpkin spice ice cream sandwiches you can use store bought soft and chewy oatmeal cookies or make some from scratch like I did. The first batch of cookies I made I used my regular oatmeal cookie recipe but thought they turned out a little too thick for an ice cream sandwich. I wanted a thinner cookie so they wouldn’t overwhelm the ice cream in the middle.  I tweaked the recipe a bit, added a little more butter and a little less oats, and it worked well. I think it’s important to use a soft and chewy cookie so the ice cream sandwich is easier to bite into when frozen.

I have to say, after making these ice cream sandwiches, I just might start to become a pumpkin dessert fan. Since pumpkin desserts aren’t usually my thing, that’s saying a lot! If you’re one of those crazy in love with everything pumpkin kind of person, I guarantee you’ll love these Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches!

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Sandwiches

 

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Ingredients

For the ice cream:

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 C. whole milk
• 1 C. heavy cream
• ½ C. brown sugar
• ¼ C. white sugar
• 1 Tbls. pumpkin pie spice
• ⅛ tsp. salt
• 2 Tbls. bourbon
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 C. pumpkin puree

For the cookies:

• 2 sticks butter (1 cup), softened
• 1 C. firmly packed brown sugar
• ½ C. granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. bourbon (optional*)
• 1½ C. all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 C. quick cooking oats
• ½ C. chopped pecans
• 1 C. white chocolate chips

Instructions

Make the Ice Cream

1. Be sure to put your ice cream canister in freezer the night before making this recipe!
2. Separate egg yolks and whites. Add egg yolks to cold saucepan. Reserve whites for another use.
3. Add milk, cream, sugars, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt to egg yolks. Whisk to combine. Gently heat mixture and continue to stir while heating until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Swipe your finger across the mixture on the back of the spoon and if the edges stay put, it's ready. Takes about 5 minutes or so once the mixture comes to a simmer. If you have a candy thermometer cook until 170º Don't rush it and turn your heat too high or you'll scramble the egg yolks a bit.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the pumpkin puree, vanilla and bourbon.
5. Strain mixture through wire mesh strainer into bowl and set bowl in ice bath for about 30 minutes to cool down (stir occasionally). Store custard base in refrigerator for several hours or overnight to thoroughly chill.
6. Pour custard base in ice cream maker and process according to your ice cream maker's instructions. For me, it's about 15-20 minutes.
7. Pour ice cream into container and freeze until firm.

Make the Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. In large bowl, beat together the butter and sugars on medium speed until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla (and bourbon, if using) and beat well.
4. Add flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, mix well.
5. Add oats, pecans and white chocolate chips, mix well.
6. Drop dough by rounded 1-2 tablespoon size scoops (depending on how big of cookies you want) on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave ample space between dough, they spread.
7. Bake 9-10 minutes, until golden brown (every oven is different so keep an eye on them)
8. Cool a few minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. I recommend freezing the cookies in a single layer prior to assembling the sandwiches or they tend to stick to each other.

Assemble the Ice Cream Sandwiches

1. Let ice cream soften a bit. Scoop onto one cookie. Top with a second cookie. Refreeze until ready to eat! Store them wrapped in plastic wrap.

*I added bourbon to the cookie dough since I had it in the ice cream. I couldn't really taste it in the cookies so you could probably leave it out. However, I don't know what, if anything, it would do to the texture of the cookies.

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