Chocolate Chip Raspberry Ripple Icecream Sandwich Cookies

Submitted by Sirrobin

Winner of the Iron Chef SA Round 5.

Part 1: The Cookies

Ingredients

• 7.5 ounces (214 g.) plain flour
• 2 ounces (56 g.) cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces (340g.) cooking chocolate
• 12 ounces (340 g.) soft light brown sugar
• 6 ounces (170 g.) unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1.5 pounds (680 g.) chocolate chips (I usually use dark and white chips in a 2:1 ratio but feel free to use all dark or all white or whatever you want).

Method

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (170 degrees C).

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth Keep at room temperature until needed.

Place the soft light brown sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle.

Beat on medium for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and beat on high for an additional 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl.

Add the eggs, one at a time, while beating on medium, and stopping to scrape down the bowl after incorporating each addition.

Add the vanilla essence and beat on medium for 30 seconds. Add the melted chocolate and beat on low for 10 seconds more.

Scrape down the bowl and beat for an additional 30 seconds. Add the sifted ingredients and beat on low until thoroughly combined.

It is very important that you beat the sifted ingredients on low. If you don't you will choke on the clouds of flour and cocoa that will fill the room.

Once the sifted ingredients are well mixed in add the chocolate chips and mix them in well.

This will test your mixer - if you don't have a nice, powerful motor your mixer might not be up to this part in which case, use a wooden spoon.

Place 6 to 8 cookies per baking sheet, a well-heaped tablespoon of batter for each cookie.

Place the biscuits on the top and middle shelves of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom about halfway through the baking time. Allow the biscuits to cool for 5 to 6 minutes on the baking sheets. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack to thoroughly cool

DO NOT place the cookies on a cooling rack when fresh from the oven. The freshly-baked cookies are mostly melted chocolate and will flow through the rack and make a mess on your table.

Repeat this procedure until all the cookies have been baked.

Part 2: The Ice-Cream.

Ingredients

• 500ml milk
• 500ml double cream
• 6 large egg yolks
• 225 grams sugar
• 1 vanilla bean

Method

(If you don't have or don't want to use a real vanilla bean, a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract will do, but all the cool chefs will laugh at you.)

Cut the vanilla bean into large chunks and place it in a saucepan with the milk. Bring the milk to a boil and remove from heat.

In a stainless bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until foamy.

Strain the milk into the egg mixture.

Place the bowl on a double-boiler and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens and adheres to the spoon.

Remove the bowl from the double-boiler and add double cream.

Place the mixture in a refrigerator until cold.

When the icecream mixture is cold it's time to stop reading the forums and get back to work. Pour the mixture into an ice cream freezer and churn until stiff.

While you're waiting, puree some raspberries with some sugar and strain out the seeds.

When the icecream freezer is done doing its thing, swirl the raspberry puree through the vanilla icecream and freeze until solid.

When it's time for dessert pile a decent sized scoop of icecream between two cookies.

Feed to any hungry five-year-olds who happen to be nearby.