Ingredients
Ingredients for Red velvet shortbread stars:
- 1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 Cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Cup all-purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- 2 Tablespoon (1 oz.) red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Red sugar, to sprinkle on top
Ingredients for the Cheesecake ice cream:
- 8 oz. Cream cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 Cup sour cream
- 1/2 Cup half-and-half
- 2/3 Cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
Yield: 12 ice cream sandwiches
Directions for the Red Velvet Shortbread stars:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until the mixture is a bit fluffy. Add in the salt and flour and mix until just incorporated.
- Then add the cocoa powder and mix again. Carefully add the food coloring and vanilla, stirring until red coloring is evenly distributed.
- Divide dough into 2 equal portions and pat each into a 4" round disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Heat oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Remove one dough disc from the refrigerator and roll to about 1/4'' thick. If the dough is sticky, just pick it up and pat into a round, flour your surface again, and roll out the dough again. I found that this second rolling did the trick every time.
- With a small star shaped cookie cutter (mine measured 2-1/4'' across), cut out star shapes and place them on your parchment lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with red sugar.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, taking care to not let the cookies brown. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet a couple minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Cheesecake ice cream:
- Cut cream cheese into small pieces and place into a blender or food processor. Add the lemon zest, sour cream, half-and-half, sugar, and salt. Puree until very smooth. No chunks!
- Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator for 1 hour, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Line a 9'' square pan with parchment paper and then spread the ice cream into the prepared pan, smoothing it out as much as possible.
- Freeze ice cream in the pan until it is completely frozen. This will take at least 2 hours.
Assemble:
- Cut the ice cream around the edge of the pan and then gently remove the frozen slab of ice cream using the parchment paper overhang.
- Dip the same star cookie cutter you used for the ice cream into a shallow bowl of hot water and start cutting out ice cream stars, dipping the cutter into the hot water in between each cut.
- Turn a star cookie upside down and place an ice cream star on top of the cookie. Top with another star cookie (right side up) and gently press together to make a sandwich.
- Repeat until all ice cream stars are used. You will have more star cookies than you need.
- Immediately place the ice cream sandwiches in the freezer to freeze thoroughly. Keep frozen until ready to serve.
Patriotic Ice Cream Sandwiches - Home & Family
Recipe by afarmgirlsdabbles.com Get more great recipes and crafts by visiting us on Pinterest at pinterest.com/homeandfamilytv and follow "Home & Family" on Twitter @homeandfamilytv and Facebook. Plus, check out our YouTube channel for backstage videos.