Sweet Treats for the 4th of July!

Happy Monday! After a 20 hour weekend of training towards a fitness certification, I am ready to focus on the deliciousness that is the 4th of July! Whether refreshingly cold or just refreshing, these desserts are worth the time.

Turning big cookies into little bites of heaven...
Ice Cream Sandwiches
Chris Morocco

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 pint ice cream (any flavor)

Directions

1. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and corn syrup in another medium bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat until combined.
2. Reduce mixer speed to low, add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Mix in sour cream. Form dough into a 3/4"-thick square, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill until firm, 2-3 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of parchment to about 1/8" thickness. Transfer dough (still between parchment) to a large baking sheet and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes. Remove top sheet of parchment (it will come away easily if dough is well chilled) and trim to a 14x10" rectangle. Bake cookie until dry and just set at edges, 8-10 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack; let cookie cool.
4. Trim cookie to a 12x9" rectangle, then cut into twelve 3" squares. Scoop ice cream into a medium bowl and mix just until softened, 2-3 minutes. Turn 6 cookies bottom side up. Dividing evenly, scoop ice cream on top and flatten slightly; top with remaining cookies, pressing down gently. Place sandwiches on a parchmentlined baking sheet and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours. Cut sandwiches in half on a diagonal to make triangles. Wrap in parchment, if desired, and freeze until ready to serve.

DO AHEAD: Ice cream sandwiches can be made 1 week ahead. Keep frozen.

Sophisticated celebrations...

Strawberry-Ricotta Tartlets

Heather Tirrell

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 cup graham flour (see Note)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons molasses
• 3/4 pound strawberries, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups fresh ricotta (10 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions

1. In a bowl, whisk both flours with the cinnamon, salt and cloves. In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter, light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar at medium speed until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in the honey and molasses, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the side of the bowl and beat in the flour mixture at low speed, just until incorporated. Pat the dough into a disk, cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch oval cookie cutter, stamp out 16 ovals; reroll the dough scraps if necessary. Transfer the ovals to the baking sheets and bake for about 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly golden around the edges. Let cool on the pans for 5 minutes, then transfer the ovals to racks to cool completely.
3. In a bowl, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and the lemon juice. Let stand until syrupy, 20 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, confectioners' sugar and lemon zest. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture on each oval. Arrange the strawberries over the ricotta, drizzle with the syrup and serve.

NOTES Graham flour is a type of whole wheat flour. Look for it at health-food stores.

Bringing back memories of childhood...

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches

Carol Kicinski

Ingredients

PB Ice Cream:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Pinch of kosher or fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

PB Cookies:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling the cookies in
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup jam or jelly, room temperature

Directions

PB Ice Cream:

1. Using a handheld mixer, cream the peanut butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add 1 cup of half-and-half and beat on low speed until well mixed. Add the rest of the half-and-half and the cream and whisk by hand—if you try to use your mixer you will end up with it splattering all over the kitchen.
2. Pour the mixture into ice cream maker and process for 25 to 30 minutes, or according to the manufacturer's directions. The ice cream will be on the soft side but can be eaten right away or put into the freezer to "cure" or harden up for a couple hours. Stored in an airtight container, the ice cream will keep at least a week in the freezer.

PB Cookies:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. In a large bowl mix the peanut butter with the 1 cup of sugar, using a wooden spoon. Stir until well blended. Add the egg, baking powder, and vanilla and stir well. Pour some additional sugar in a small bowl. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the dough ball in some of the remaining sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart.
3. Using a dinner fork, first stick the tines of the fork in sugar and then gently press the tines down on each dough ball to flatten. Turn the fork 90 degrees and gently press again to make the traditional crosshatch markings of a peanut butter cookie.
4. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then, with a spatula, gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Assembly:

1. Prepare the peanut butter ice cream and let harden in the freezer for about 6 hours.
2. Prepare the dough for peanut butter cookies and divide the dough into 16 walnut-size balls. Proceed with the recipe from there, baking the cookies 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool completely.
3. To assemble the ice cream sandwiches remove the ice cream from the freezer and let it stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften slightly.
4. Spread a layer of jam on the flat side of each peanut butter cookie. Place a scoop of peanut butter ice cream in the center of half the cookies, on top of the jam. Top with the remaining cookies, jam side down. Gently squeeze the cookies together until the ice cream and jam come to the edges of the cookies. Put the ice cream sandwiches back in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to harden the jam. These can be made 2 days ahead. Place them in a large plastic storage bag or airtight container and store in freezer.

Happy baking!