Soft pretzel ice cream sandwiches

Ice cream sandwiches are iconic for combining the refreshingly cool taste of ice cream with the sweet baked goodness of a cookie. I’m so excited to share with you our updated ice cream sandwich recipe! YUM. The recipe includes a tasty soft pretzel to sandwich in the ice cream. The soft pretzels are made with sweet bread and can be dusted with sugar or salt to create a taste combination that is fresh and really fabulous for the season. My new grab and go treat for warm evenings outdoors.

Pretzel Ice Cream Sandwiches

To make the sweet bread soft pretzel dough you will need;

2/3 cup whole milk
5 tbsp sugar, divided
1-3/4 tsp active dry yeast (from one 1/4-ounce envelope)
2 large eggs, room temp
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temp, plus 1/2 tbsp, melted
optional: pearl sugar

Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat or in a microwave until an instant-read thermometer registers 110-115 degrees. Transfer milk to a 2-cup measuring cup; stir in 1 tbsp sugar. Sprinkle yeast over milk and whisk to blend. Let sit until yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs; whisk until smooth.

Combine remaining 4 tbsp sugar, flour, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add milk mixture. With mixer running, add 1/2 cup room-temperature butter, 1 piece at a time, blending well between additions. Mix on medium speed for 1 minutes. Knead on medium-high speed until dough is soft and silky, about 5 minutes.

Brush a medium bowl with some melted butter; place dough in bowl. Brush top of dough with remaining melted butter; cover with plastic wrap.

Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. If preparing one day ahead, chill dough. When ready, let refrigerated dough rise 2 to 2-1/2 hours.

Create the pretzel ice cream sandwiches by combining;

Sweet dough (above)
all-purpose flour (for dusting)
1 large egg white
food coloring
ice cream flavors of your choice (we used mint chocolate chip, raspberry gelato with nuts, and chocolate)

Punch down the dough; divide into 12 equal pieces.

Working with 1 piece at a time and keeping remaining dough covered with a kitchen towel, roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a 15 to 17-inch long rope. Form rope into a U shape. Life top of left end and fold over or under opposite side; press together gently about two-thirds down from the top of right side. Lift right end up, fold over, and press in or tuck under, forming a pretzel shape. Repeat with remaining dough.

To color dough and achieve marbling effect, add several drops of food coloring to dough pieces. Incorporate the color by kneading dough a few times. Follow instructions for forming pretzels.

Divide pretzels between sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Loosely cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free area until slightly puffed but not doubled in size, 30-45 minutes. If using pearl sugar, sprinkle each pretzel with 1/2 tbsp pearl sugar at this stage.

Preheat oven to 375F. Beat egg white and 2 tsp warm water in a small bowl. Brush each pretzel all over with egg wash. If using pearl sugar, sprinkle each pretzel with 1/2 tbsp pearl sugar at this stage.

Bake for 10 minutes; rotate baking sheet and continue baking until pretzels are golden, 6-8 minutes longer. Let pretzels cool on a wire rack.

Assemble the pretzel ice cream sandwiches;

When pretzels are at room temperature, use a serrated knife to cut a pretzel in half. Place a couple of scoops of ice cream on bottom pretzel and flatten slightly with the back of a spoon. Top with the other pretzel half and voila, you have a pretzel ice cream sandwich. Serve and eat immediately.

The ice cream sandwiches can be made in a million different combinations. Next I want to try dipping mine in chocolate! Every option sounds even tastier than the last and they will be an awesome treat for any party, dinner, or random week night in need of something yummy this summer.