Bourbon-ana Ice Cream Sandwiches

I received a bottle of Four Roses Bourbon and an ingredient stipend in exchange for creating and sharing the following frozen delight. You’re welcome!

This post was inspired by National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. In honor of this special occasion, and because I happened to have a gratis bottle of Four Roses Bourbon to play with, I crafted a little something my family kinda loves me for. You’re probably already wondering about the name. Well, the name is what happened when my sisters, daughter and her friend gathered around my kitchen table to taste the ice cream then toss around words that seemed fitting for the flavors. It was so much fun!

When I sat down to decide what I wanted to make, I tried to keep it familiar. We love cheesecake and banana pudding in my home so this ice cream sandwich is sort of a mashup of those two desserts with a booozy twist.

This no-churn ice cream is super easy to make. Just grab a bowl, put in a bar of very soft cream cheese and a little sweetened condensed milk. Stir or whisk until well combined then pour in the remaining milk. Everything that comes next lends to the medley of flavors that will have you wondering what this concoction really tastes like. You’ll likely experience the orange first from the zest and juice, then banana. Bourbon will tap you on the shoulder next so you’ll know he’s there. It’s a gentle tap and the addition to the ice cream makes all the difference.

There’s also a bit of avocado honey mixed in. The honey is rich with a taste similar to molasses. I think it’s fantastic.

The last item I stirred in were these buttery pecan pieces. The nuts are optional but encouraged. My favorite ice cream is butter pecan and I really wanted some hint of that flavor around. Before I started the ice cream, I melted 2 tbsp salted butter in a skillet then stirred in 3/4 cup pecan pieces. They toasted for about 5 minutes on low. The smell was wonderful.

Next, there was the cream. After whipping it to stiff peaks, the heavy cream was folded into the ice cream mixture then spread into a plastic dish. But wait… there’s more!

I made a batch of ice cream before that wasn’t quite right. Yes, that happens sometimes and it’s quite alright. One of the “fixes” was a mix-in.

In order to toss another layer of flavor into the mix, I swirled in about a cup of bourbon caramel sauce which I made the night before. Making homemade caramel is allegedly easy but I find it to be somewhat of a pins and needles task. This one is made with:

1 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp salted butter
½ cup heavy cream
1½ tbsp Four Roses Bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract

The sugar was stirred in a medium saucepan with the water then placed over medium heat for about 15 minutes. I’m learning to cook on an electric stove now (it came with the house I live in but I’ve wish listed a gas one). I found sychronizing the temperature and timing on it to be a slight challenge. Once the sugar achieved the right shade of amber, the heavy cream was carefully added. The caramel cooked for another 2 minutes and was then removed from the heat. Finally I stirred in the butter, bourbon and vanilla.

If you aren’t okay with this process, don’t sweat it. Feel free to buy good quality caramel at your local market to mix with your bourbon.

When you’re done, put the ice cream in the freezer and wait at least 8 hours before digging in. If you can, let it stay in there overnight so it can firm up properly.

To make your ice cream sandwiches, grab a box of Graham Crackers. Break the sections into squares. Using one of the squares as a guide, cut your ice cream into perfectly sized portions. Sandwich the ice cream square between two graham crackers then return it to the freezer for about an hour. It seems to help the cookies. If you feel the need for an extra dose of caramel, try spreading some on the graham crackers before loading them with ice cream.

Here’s the recipe so you can try it for yourself:

Twisted Bourbon-ana Ice Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed
½ tsp orange zest
1 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup avocado honey
1½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup Four Roses Bourbon
¾ cup toasted pecan pieces (optional)
2 cups heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
1 box Graham Crackers

Directions:

1. Place softened cream cheese in a medium bowl with a quarter cup of sweetened condensed milk. Whisk until smooth.
2. Pour in remaining sweetened condensed milk and whisk until well blended.
3. Stir in mashed bananas, orange zest and orange juice.
4. Whisk in honey, vanilla extract and bourbon.
5. Stir in pecan pieces.
6. In a separate cold bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Add a scoop of the whipped heavy cream to the cream cheese & milk mixture. Stir until combined. Gently fold in the remaining whipped cream until the mixture is silky smooth. Do not over-mix.
7. Pour the ice cream mix into a 9” x 12” freezer safe container. Freeze for at least 8 hours before serving or overnight for a firmer texture.

Enjoy!

To learn more about Four Roses Bourbon

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Disclosure: I received an ingredient stipend and a complimentary bottle of Four Roses Bourbon to try in a recipe. All opinions are based on my own personal experiences. You can view my full Disclosure Policy here.