there are a few acceptable responses to "oh crap, i am making sweet corn ice cream."

there's the oooooh-can-i-have-a-scoop route and then there's the route that suggests the ice cream be sandwiched between two cookies covered in bacon sugar. i attribute my quick-thinking for choosing the latter to an inspiring morning spent at the chocolate factory. 

cynthia, aka miss two red bowls/aka one of my most favorite bloggers in the whole wide world/aka would have been my neighbor if i still lived in brooklyn, was the ice cream maker in this situation and she let me crash her ice cream photoshoot one summery afternoon, probably because i bribed her with bacon.

it was basically the greatest afternoon ever. we candied that bacon, she churned ice cream in her bathroom, and i got to see where she takes all of her magical photos. we dorked out over pinterest and camera lenses and corn husks and it was the most fun to style and photograph with another human. not just because being around fun people is fun, but also because i saw a new take on light, styling elements, camera angles, and silpats. and by silpats i mean that i'd never used one before, but now i think i need one.

the only thing that could have made the situation even more epic would have been if eggboy was there to play video games and drink beers with bowl #2 while this whole thing went down. (i think they'd be bffs in real life because they are both quiet and also good at waiting patiently while their food blogger fiancés style sandwiches (since those two things are what make a good friendship...)).

but speaking of epic, these ice cream sammiches: thick kernels of corn folded into corn-infused ice cream, sandwiched between chewy sugar cookies that are coated with pulverized candied smoky bacon and sprinkled with rosemary salt. tell me you did not just die. 

bacon and sweet corn ice cream sandwiches

makes 16-18 sandwiches

for the sweet corn ice cream:

head over to cynthia's blog for the recipe!

for the bacon sugar cookies:

(adapted from love and olive oil's goat cheese sugar cookies and michael ruhlman's bacon truffles)

bacon coating ingredients

1/2 lb applewood smoked bacon 

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c water

1/2 tsp baking soda

cookie ingredients

2 1/2 c flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 c sugar

1/3 c (3 oz) cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup reserved bacon fat

3 tb unsalted butter, melted

3 tb vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 tb milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

optional: sprinkles and/or rosemary salt

clues

to make the bacon coating, cook bacon until crispy and reserve the fat. chop bacon into small pieces.

line a baking sheet with parchment and set it aside. combine 1/2 cup of chopped bacon (any extra can be snacked on or saved for garnish), the 1/2 cup of sugar, and the 1/4 cup of water in a non-stick pan. cook over medium-high heat until caramel brown, stirring often to prevent burning. remove from heat and add the baking soda. pour the mixture onto the parchment-lined baking pan and let cool.

once it's cool, break apart into small pieces and pulse in a food processor or blender until it reaches a grainy consistency. set aside while you make the cookies.

to make the cookies, preheat oven to 350 and line a pan with parchment or a silpat.

whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. set aside.

in a large bowl, combine sugar, cream cheese, bacon fat, and melted butter and whisk until mixture forms a smooth paste.  whisk in the oil. add egg, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. gently fold in the flour mixture until incorporated and no dry ingredients remain. dough will be soft, but should still be workable. if not, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes until it is.

use a small cookie scoop to portion out about 1 tablespoon of dough, then roll in the bacon coating (or sprinkles, if desired). place on your baking sheet a few inches apart. sprinkle with rosemary salt, if using.

bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are just set. for ice cream sandwiches, you’ll want them to be on the very, very soft side, or else they’ll turn too crunchy once frozen. if using sprinkles, shave 1-2 minutes off the baking time -- they will spread less and bake faster with sprinkles. cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

to assemble:

pop the cookies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make them sturdier to handle. in the meantime, remove ice cream from freezer and let soften slightly.  

place a scoop of ice cream onto one cookie on its flat side; press a second, similar-sized cookie on top and squeeze gently in the center to press them together. repeat with remaining cookies and ice cream.

place assembled ice cream sandwiches on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, then replace in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until hardened. after that, enjoy or wrap individually in plastic wrap for later.

-yeh!!!!!