We had an ice cream party over the weekend. And there wasn’t a kid in sight!

It was grown-ups only and it was the most fun I can recall having in a long time. Everyone brought a dozen of their favorite cookies and we supplied the ice cream, nuts, sprinkles, chopped candy bars, chopped hard candies, cherries (both fresh and maraschino), homemade chocolate, caramel and hot fudge sauce and pretty much anything else we could think of. And then we all went to town coming up with fun and unique flavors! A few of us broke out the blender and made some boozie milkshakes, too.

The inspiration for the party came from Häagen-Dazs® who asked if I’d create “the perfect moment” with their ice cream. A perfect moment to me is almost always some kind of party, with friends and family around, great food, cocktails and a lot of laughs. So that’s what we did, and it was SO much fun to end our meal making our own ice cream sandwiches! Häagen-Dazs® shipped me 8 pints of their Dulce de Leche ice cream and I picked up a few more pints for the party so there was a good variety of flavors. The overwhelming favorite flavor was the Dulce de Leche so it’s no big surprise that my favorite ice cream sandwich was the Dulce de Leche with Toasted Pecans and topped and homemade Salted Caramel Sauce! I’m still dreaming of it…

It’s simple to make, too. Just whip up a batch of your favorite cookies (I used chocolate chip & pecan) then, using a very sharp knife, slice your pint of Häagen-Dazs® crosswise right through the carton! Using a cookie cutter approximately the same size as your cookies, cut out a circle and place between two cookies. Eat your sandwich immediately or pop into a freezer bag to save for later. I found that one pint made four large sized sandwiches, but you could easily do five or six if you sliced the ice cream into thinner slices. Just be certain your ice cream is very frozen when you slice into it and it’ll work like a charm. If you have any trouble just run your knife under hot water before slicing.

I highly suggest putting your sandwich in a dish and drizzling the salted caramel sauce over it. It takes it from a fun treat to something pretty amazing. I’ll post the recipe for the sauce tomorrow!

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a stipend and coupons for free Häagen-Dazs® ice cream. But I only work with products and brands that I use and love!