I am so addicted to fruit these days it’s insane. If I could live off strawberries, cherries, and nectarines I could. But unfortunately my body requires other nutrients so I am forced to expand my diet beyond the irresistible aisles of fruit in the grocery store. Nutrients such as calcium and fiber are necessary, which is obviously plentiful in ice cream and whole wheat graham crackers, right?? Yes, the answer is yes. And that’s why these Cherry Crisp Ice Cream Sandwiches are the absolute perfect summer treat right now. Thankfully Whole Foods Market has been generous enough to provide a gift card for a giveaway today so you too can stock up on cherries and make these ASAP. Keep reading for more details!
It’s been way too long since I’ve posted a frozen treat here on the blog, and there’s nothing like National Ice Cream Month to inspire me to bust out my ice cream making attachment and load up on heavy cream. Coupled with an email from Whole Foods asking me to develop a cherry recipe to go along with the giveaway, this dessert combo was a no-brainer. Serving in-season fruit in a seasonably-appropriate manner is as good as its get, because since I don’t like warm fruit and its a billion degrees outside, frozen is where its at! Ice cream can be boring (and difficult) to photograph, so I’ve stepped things up a bit here and presented this amazing ice cream as ice cream sandwiches. Although using store-bought graham crackers can be considered cheating when it comes to homemade ice cream sandwiches, after your friends take one bite and hear that the ice cream is made from scratch, there will be further questions!
I am not exaggerating when I say that these ice cream sandwiches were truly amazing. The graham crackers get a little soft from the ice cream, kind of like the texture of a classic chocolate/vanilla ice cream sandwich, and it makes the ice cream so much fun to enjoy. The ice cream itself is a base of vanilla with roasted cherries and a streusel crunch mixed in. The tartness of the berries with the sweetness of the added sugar and crunch of the streusel are all so great together! There are a few steps involved in the different components of the ice cream, but its well worth it. Skipping the homemade cookie part helps simplify things, plus graham crackers are a perfect size and go with the cherry crisp theme nicely.
If you admire the produce displays at Whole Foods as much as I do and are a fruit-addict as well, then you’re definitely going to want to enter this giveaway for a $50 Whole Foods Gift Card to take advantage of the peak-of-season cherries they have this summer! Here are the details on how to enter, and be sure to check out the recipe for these ice cream sandwiches below.
Giveaway Details:
- Like my page on Facebook and/or follow me on BlogLovin’
- Leave a comment on this post and make sure to leave a valid email address so I can message you if you win. Don’t worry, it won’t be made public!
- You may enter one day every day until the contest ends
- Contest ends Tuesday July 22nd at 5PM EST. Winner will be announced on my Facebook page!
Enjoy the ice cream, happy summer, and good luck with the giveaway!! Now here’s the recipe, and hurryyyy – cherry season will be over before you know it :)
Cherry Crisp Ice Cream Sandwiches
Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats
Yield: 12 ice cream sandwiches
Ingredients:
for the crisp streusel:
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp salt
Dash of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp old-fashioned rolls oats
for the roasted cherries:
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
2 tbsp granulated sugar
for the vanilla ice cream base:
2 cups whole milk, divided
1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
3 tbsp cream cheese, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1-1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tbsp vanilla extract
for the ice cream sandwich assembly:
24 graham cracker squares
Directions:
for the crisp streusel:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except the oats. Combine the ingredients with a pastry blender, 2 forks, or your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly and resembles coarse sand. Then add the oats and mix well.
Spread the mixture out on the baking sheet and break up any clumps with your fingers. Bake, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is browns and crisp, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool, then put in the freezer until ready to use.
for the roasted cherries:
Preheat the oven to 450˚ F. Combine the cherries and the sugar in a small pan and toss well to mix. Bake the cherries for 10 minutes, or until the cherries start releasing their juices. Let the cherries cool to room temperature on the counter, then store in the fridge until ready to use.
for the vanilla ice cream base:
Combine 2 tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch in small bowl and whisk until smooth. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and salt and whisk until smooth and set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla extract. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to the heat and bring back to a boil, stirring with a spatula until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
Whisk the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the cream cheese until smooth. Transfer the mixture to the refrigerator to chill thoroughly before churning, I recommend overnight. Once chilled, freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
for the ice cream sandwich assembly:
Line a 9x13" baking dish with tinfoil so that extra hangs off the sides to make handles. When the ice cream is done, transfer to the prepared baking dish and add the cherries and streusel. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to gently fold in the components until you have a nice swirl, but avoiding turning the entire batch solid pink. Cover and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.
Once the ice cream has firmed, pull the ice cream from the dish using your tinfoil handles and transfer to a cutting board. Use a graham cracker square to serve as a stencil and cut 12 squares of ice cream with a sharp knife. I find it helpful to wipe the knife with a warm, damp towel between cuts to keep things clean and nice. Sandwich the squares of ice cream between 2 graham crackers and place in an airtight container in the freezer. To get perfectly squared edges I recut the sandwiches after an initial freeze, but you can skip this step if you're not quite as anal :)
Looks delicious!
Your ice cream sandwiches look yummy! Thank you for the chance to win.
PS. I like you on facebook as Leidy Ruiz
Yum! I follow you on Bloglovin.
Love cherries and would love a Whole Foods giftcard!
they look yummy, thank you!
Erica — July 16th, 2014 @ 1:57 am
Glad you like them! Just wanted to let you know that I deleted your other entry since you can only enter once a day. But make sure to come back every day this week and leave an additional comment :)
Already follow you on bloglovin and facebook! I’m picking up supplies for the vanilla ice to try this weekend!
Ever since I saw this flavor on annies eats I have been dying to make it! Cannot believe you turned this into ice cream sandwiches. Genius!!
I LOVE summer fruits too & have been eating cherries and watermelon daily!
I love the combo of semi-homemade ice cream sandwiches…I can’t wait to try…!
I love this! sounds delicious :)
This looks so amazing. I’ll have to make them soon before cherry season is over!
I’m a FB fan! :)
I can’t wait to make these this weekend! I’ve been looking for a new ice cream flavor!
Looks delicious!
These look so good!
Erica — July 16th, 2014 @ 1:58 am
Glad you like them! Just wanted to let you know that I deleted your other entries from today since you can only enter once a day. But make sure to come back every day this week and leave an additional comment :)
These look amazing! Especially in these humid summer days!
Follow on BlogLovin’, love this recipe of cherry!
These look great Erica! I’m going to have to try this recipe.
Piterica is the most amazing baker I know! These ice cream sandwiches were just so delicious!
Just put my ice cream maker back in the freezer this morning before work and headed to the grocery after work :)
These look incredible!
I can’t wait to make these. I have been putting graham cracker crumbs on my ice cream for years. My favorite topping! Now I see somone
else gets it!
I will be making these ice cream sandwiches very soon. Thanks for sharing!
Graham crackers are a great idea for ice cream sandwiches instead of big heavy cookies!
Can’t wait to get home and whip my ice cream batter, which is waiting in the fridge!
These looks so amazing!!
Followed you on Bloglovin!
Just liked you on FB!
My daily entry – and thanks for the recipe!
looks fannnnnntastic :)
Those ice cream sandwiches look delicious! Cherries are a favorite of mine.
I follow on bloglovin’
Daily comment – Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe and for the chance to win! Have a happy weekend
My daily comment – thanks so much for the chance, and the awesome recipes!
I am following you on Facebook and Bloglovin’!
I would love to make Grilled Chicken With Spicy Cherry Sauce!
Forgot to stop by yesterday :( but we just had the ice cream I made yesterday and it was amazing!!
Thanks for having this great giveaway. I love Whole Foods!
Like on FB & followed on bloglovin. These ice cream sandwiches look awesome. Would love to serve these at my next party! YUMMY! And who doesn’t love cherries!
Craving cherries tonight :)
thank you for the extra entry!
I could eat one of these right now, this mamma needs snack! Have a happy Saturday
A daily comment for 7/20! The fresh cherries here in Michigan have been so good!
I am literally typing this right now as I munch on some freshly washed cherries. Yum!
Liked you on FB! I just bought some cherries at the farmer market, and they are so good! I was planning on making something with them, but ate too many by themselves I didn’t have enough. Guess I’ll have to buy more!
I follow your blog on bloglovin
ice sandwiches are a favorite of mine and what better ice cream to use than one with cherries in it!
Those ice cream sandwiches look great. I wish I could reach into the screen and eat them right now.
I hope cherry season is long this year!
I REALLY love cherries, but I don’t have an ice cream maker. Maybe try with store bought ice cream?
Thank you for another daily entry – still craving cherries!
These look fantastic! I love whole foods but don’t have the budget for it right now….would love to win the gift card!
I love ice cream sandwiches and cherries are so great. These look really tasty
I am in love with Cherry Crisp Ice Cream Sandwiches
Follow on FB as debnmike moretti. Your recipe looks delish!
My daily entry for 7/21! Just went to whole foods yesterday and picked me up some fresh cherries.
I plan on going to Whole Foods today for fruits and veggies.
I just love cherries. the more tart the bettter
My little ones eats tons of fruit, winning the gift card would be a big blessing for our family. Thank you for the chance to win!
We love cherries and Whole Foods.
can’t wait to make another batch of this ice cream!
For variation, maybe a bit of nutella stirred in?
My daily entry/comment for 7/22! Fingers crossed, I love whole foods!!!
One last comment for good luck!
I think I may really have to try your recipe.
My last comment for this giveaway. Best wishes to all those who entered and thank you Erica for the chance to win!