Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches

I’ve always been fascinated by the if story of others. So intrigued, in fact, that as a child, I thought it would be awesome to travel the world and interview others as part of a moving, tearjerker documentary. This in it’s self was pretty ironic since I was a terribly shy and quite little girl.

Fast forward to today, and I still find the stories, culture, and family history of my fellow human beings pretty amazing. Not only do I like to hear how people triumphed and built successful careers, I love hearing how people fell in love with their significant other, what their family traditions are and why a particular meal graced their dinner table every Sunday evening.

Yes, of course, I find the food that shapes each of our lives, from the big holiday dinners to the famous taco Tuesday, the most fascinating. I mean I didn’t grow up eating New England Clam Chowder every fall when the green leaves slowly change to deep burnt orange; and rarely freshly caught fish ever grace our table, but for others it always did!

For me, one such memory revolves around ice cream! For as long as I can remember ice cream has always been my favorite special treat! In fact, I vividly remember timidly reciting the poem, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” to my first grade class, because well, ice cream was my favorite food so why not?!?!

I also have fond memories of my Mom once in a blue moon on a hot and humid Texas summer night, declaring it was “ice cream for dinner” and letting us shocked kiddos grab a spoon and dig in!

And, I remember going weekly grocery shopping with my Dad, and excitedly watching him as he put a container of DREYER’s vanilla ice cream (his absolute favorite ice cream) and a 2-liter bottle of root beer in our cart so that we could have root beer floats for dessert after Friday night’s homemade pizza dinner.

Since my Dad was never a chocolate eater, root beer floats were always his go to treat. To this day I can’t enjoy one without thinking of him. That’s why, when I was strolling down the ice cream aisle while shopping at my local Safeway store, I couldn’t help but stop and stare at all the flavors of DREYER’s ice cream! Even though there were so many fun and exciting flavors that were not around when I was a kid, I couldn’t help but pick up a container of DREYER’s Grand Ice Cream Va-Va Vanilla and instantly be reminded of those Friday dinners with Dad.

(Oh, ok, who am I kidding, I am a chocolate eater LOVER so I also picked up DREYER’s Grand Ice Cream Double trouble Fudge Brownie too!)

Even though there is nothing wrong with grabbing a spoon and digging right into that ice cold creamy goodness, I always have recipe ideas floating in my head. Inspired by those big root beer floats that I loved sharing with my Dad as a kid, I decided to use that classic vanilla ice cream to create some Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches!

I couldn’t be more please with how these came out! The homemade root beer flavored cookies are soft and chewy and packed with root beer flavor. When combined with the DREYER’s Grand Ice Cream Va-Va Vanilla, you instantly have a delightful summer time treat that tastes just like those special memories I share with my Dad! 🙂

Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches 
by Heather H. of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com
Printable Version
Prep Time: 20 minutes Bake Time: 10-12 minutes Yields: approximately 14-16 ice cream sandwiches
 

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1 tablespoon root beer extract
1 (1.5 quarts) container DREYER’s Grand Ice Cream Va-Va Vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together unbleached all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and root beer extract, mixing well. Gradually add in flour mixture, a little at a time, mixing just until combined.

Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, scoop the cookie dough into 1 inch balls. Place cookies onto prepared baking sheets, leaving several inches in between for expansion.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes, or until cookies are set and starting to brown. Cool on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble ice cream sandwiches, line cooled root beer cookies flat side up on a cutting board. Working quickly, scoop vanilla ice cream and place on half of the cookies. Top ice cream with remaining cookies, to form an ice cream sandwich. Serve immediately or wrap ice cream sandwiches individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe plastic storage bag. Ice cream sandwiches will can be stored in the freezer for up to one month.

Want to be the #IceCreamHero to your family this summer? Head to your local Safeway store and pick up DREYER’s GRAND Ice Cream in all sorts of delicious flavors, like Va-Va Vanilla, The Original Rocky Road, Double trouble Fudge Brownie, Cravin’ Cookies & Cream, Nestle Butterfinger, 3 Times the Fun Neapolitan, Lip Smackin’ Strawberry, Oh La La French Vanilla, How I Love Thee Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup or Dreamin’ of Orange Cream! Be sure and grab this $1.00 off 1 DREYER’s Branded Product 32 –48 oz offer to save on your summer time fun! To get the coupon, simply sign into your Just 4 U account, find the coupon and load the offer to your loyalty card.

For more information about DREYER’s GRAND Ice Cream and Frozen Custard, along with tasty recipes and fun serving ideas, follow DREYER’s on Pinterest and Facebook!