Coconut Ice Cream Sandwiches With Salty Chocolate Shell

Preparation

1. Cookies

   Step 1

   Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Beat ¾ cup (packed; 150 g) light brown sugar and ½ cup (1 stick) room-temperature unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula and beat again to combine. Add 1 large egg and 1 tsp. dark rum or vanilla extract and beat until combined and fluffy.

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   Step 2

   Whisk 1¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl to combine.

   Step 3

   Add dry ingredients to brown sugar mixture all at once and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with spatula and beat again to incorporate.

   Step 4

   Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using cookie scoop, scoop 12 heaping rounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing about 2" apart. (If you don’t have a #40 scoop, make each cookie about 2 Tbsp.)

   Step 5

   Bake cookies, rotating front to back and top to bottom after 5 minutes, until edges are golden and solid but centers are still a little underbaked, 11–13 minutes.

   Step 6

   Remove cookies from oven and smack baking sheet hard on counter a couple of times—be firm! This will cause the cookies to collapse in the center and keep them chewy.

   Step 7

   Let cookies cool on baking sheets, then gently transfer all of the cookies to 1 baking sheet, arranging in a single layer. Chill cookies in the freezer until cold and firm, about 15 minutes.

   Step 8

   While cookies are chilling, let 1 pint vanilla or coconut ice cream sit on counter at room temperature until pliable (but before it’s melted), 10–15 minutes.

   Step 9

   Scoop a heaping ¼ cup ice cream onto bottoms of 6 cookies. Top with remaining 6 cookies, bottoms facing down. Gently press sandwiches together until ice cream is even and almost at the edge all the way around.

   Step 10

   Chill ice cream sandwiches in the freezer until firm and set up, at least 10 minutes.

2. Chocolate Shell

   Step 11

   Pour 2 cups water into a medium saucepan and set a medium heatproof bowl on top of pan. Bring water to a simmer over medium-high heat.

   Step 12

   Combine 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips, ¼ cup refined coconut oil, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in bowl and heat, stirring occasionally with a clean spatula, until chips are melted and combined. Remove from heat and keep chocolate shell mixture warm over water. (You can also melt chocolate shell mixture in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave at medium-high power in 20-second increments.)

   Step 13

   Remove cookies from freezer and, working one at a time, dip half of each sandwich in chocolate shell. (Store any extra chocolate shell in the refrigerator—it keeps almost indefinitely and can be reheated for ice cream sundaes or as dip for fruit, cookies, and even potato chips.) Place sandwiches back on baking sheet and sprinkle with flaky sea salt as you go. Chill in freezer until set before serving, at least 15 minutes.

   Do ahead: Ice cream sandwiches can be made 1 month ahead. Transfer to an airtight container, stacking with sheets of parchment paper between each layer, and freeze.

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