The Elvis Ice Cream Sandwich- A Hunka, Hunka Frozen Goodness

It’s only the best for the king of my castle.  So with Father’s Day just around the corner, I decided to take inspiration from the king of rock and roll, himself, and go BIG!  Go big with an ice cream sandwich of such splendiferous proportions that it could only bear one name- The Elvis.  Elvis was almost as famous for his love of food as he was for his gorgeous blue eyes and rich baritone ballads.  He loved all sorts of downhome cooking- fried chicken, mashed potatoes smothered in gravy, peas, and greens, not to mention the 4 major food groups of all decadent wonders- ice cream, bacon, peanut butter and bananas.  Which is where this yumminess that I’m trying to tell you about comes in… The Elvis Ice Cream Sandwich.   Sweet heavenly mercies.  Get your fat pants on.  This year, you’re gonna put the happy in Father’s Day.

The Elvis Ice Cream Sandwich

Ingredients

12-16 soft peanut butter cookies (click here for recipe)

2 medium ripe bananas, mashed

5 strips bacon, cooked and finely chopped

3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup

1 pint (2 C.) vanilla ice cream, softened

8oz. semi-sweet melting chocolate

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

Sea salt (optional)

Note:  Working with the ice cream and allowing it time to set takes a bit, so make sure you allow yourself enough time.  Your ice cream will have to go back into the freezer to firm up for several hours after you mix everything in to it.  It is best to mix your ice cream filling first and then bake your cookies.  The first time I made these, I started too late in the evening and ended up having to wait to assemble until the next morning.  Which is fine if that’s what you’ve planned for, but really stinks if you’re wanting to wrap your lips around one of these ice cream sandwiches as soon as humanly possible.

Ice Cream Filling:

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, chopped bacon maple syrup and ice cream.

I like to keep my bananas a little on the chunky side since The Engineer really digs frozen bananas.  Also, don’t skip the maple syrup.  The first time I made these, I almost did.  It seemed like one of those extra ingredients added just for show.  (You know like those recipes I keep finding on Pinterest that list about 5 ingredients in the names- Oreo Chocolate Chip Brownie Mint Morsel Truffle Cheesecake Nutter Butter Bites…  No. Just no.  Don’t even pin that thing.)  But it’s not.  The maple syrup actually does something wonderful to the ice cream.  It really brings out the bananas and marries the bacon to the rest of the ingredients.  So keep the syrup.  It’s essential.   1-2 Tbsp of bourbon would make an excellent substitute for the syrup (or an addition to), but I just didn’t go that route this time.  Put some plastic wrap on that ice cream filling and pop it in the freezer for 2-3 hours.

Ok.  While our ice cream refreezes, can we just take a minute?

Sigh… Ok.  Back to work.

Assembly:

Take the ice cream out of the freezer before it hardens completely.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Choose 12-16 of your cookies, make sure they are round and approximately the same size.   Working quickly, spoon 2-3 heaping spoonfuls of the ice cream filling onto the bottom of one cookie.

 Top with a second cookie, bottom side down so that cookie tops show on each side, and gently press.  Run a butter knife around the edges of the ice cream to create that finished ice cream sandwich “look.”  Place the sandwich on the baking sheet. Put the sandwiches back into the freezer to set (approx. 1hr.).

Melt your chocolate and oil in a double boiler or in the microwave until shiny and smooth.  Working quickly again, remove the sandwiches from the freezer and dip one half of the sandwich into the chocolate.  Place back onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with sea salt for that extra wow factor.  Sandwiches should be placed back in the freezer for the chocolate to set or until serving.  Serves 6-8.

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Interested in other ASD bacon favorites?  Then you don’t want to miss this Bourbon Maple Candied Bacon recipe!

Check out this and other great Southern recipes at Meal Plan Monday!

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