Lemon Poppy Seed Gluten-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches
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Recipe type: dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
A tangy-sweet combination of soft lemon poppy seed cookies and fruity sorbet.
Ingredients
  • One package Pamela's Sugar Cookie Mix
  • ½ cup butter or butter alternative (see notes)
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoons gluten-free almond extract
  • Two pints berry sorbet or ice cream
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter or butter alternative, poppy seeds, and lemon zest until creamy.
  3. In a small bowl, stir together the egg, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts.
  4. Add the Sugar Cookie Mix to the creamed mixture and mix on low speed until crumbly. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl and mix until the dough comes together. The dough should be a little sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add a little bit of water to help it come together.
  5. Roll the dough into 16 balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets. Using the flat bottom of a drinking glass, or the palm of your hand, press the dough into flat disks about 2½-inches in diameter.
  6. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden around the edges. Rotate the baking sheets, top to bottom, halfway through baking time for even baking. Or bake the sheets one at a time. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets.
  7. To assemble ice cream sandwiches - turn half of the cookies over and scoop a little bit of sorbet or ice cream onto the cookie. (You probably have some leftover.) Place another one on top and gently press. Eat immediately or wrap and store in freezer until ready to eat.
Notes
About butter: You can use dairy butter as is listed on the package. I have done that before and it, of course, works great. If you aren't eating dairy then I suggest several options: 1) use organic non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening made from coconut oil and red palm oil or 2) use organic unrefined, extra virgin coconut oil. You can use vegan "buttery sticks," but I prefer the other options. You will use the same amount of vegetable shortening, but a little less of the coconut oil because otherwise they end up a little too oily. (This is true for almost every recipe when subbing coconut oil for butter.) For this, I used Nutiva organic vegetable shortening. It worked great!
About eggs: gluten-free egg substitutes can be used in place of eggs. Use the appropriate amount to equal 1 large egg. If using ground flax seed, you may need to add a little more water. The cookies will have a slightly different texture.
Variations:
Triple Ginger Spice
Add 4 Tbsp. unsulphured molasses, ¼ cup crystallized ginger, 1 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger, 2 tsp. ground ginger, and 1 tsp. ground cinnamon to the dough. Chill until firm enough to roll into balls. The molasses makes this dough quite a bit stickier, but also very soft and chewy. Fill with mango ice cream or sorbet.

Cacao Nib
Add 6 Tbsp. cocoa powder and ¼ cup cacao nibs to dough, plus a few tablespoons of water so the dough is soft and pliable, and not crumbly. Fill with cherry-vanilla ice cream.

Toasted Coconut
Add ½ cup toasted, unsweetened shredded coconut to the dough. Fill with pineapple-coconut ice cream or sorbet. Roll in toasted shredded coconut or finely chopped macadamia nuts.

Matcha Vanilla Bean
Add 2 tsp. matcha powder (or more to taste), 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped, to the dough. Fill with vanilla bean ice cream.
Recipe by Cafe Johnsonia at https://cafejohnsonia.com/2015/08/5-amazing-gluten-free-ice-cream-sandwiches.html