Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

So I don't know if any of y'all know this about me, but I'm a native Floridian.  Lived there till I was 8 then became all Texified.  But still southern y'all.....always southern.

Anyway....it's fair to say I've had my share of key lime pie.  I LOVE key lime pie....it's way better than lemon meringue if you ask my taste buds.  Which no one really does....and my taste buds get hurt about that....taste buds have feelings too ya know.

So to make an effort to appease my taste buds, who get a little blue in the summer when they realize they aren't in Florida, we usually make a key lime pie out of an old cookbook our family has.  For some reason this year I couldn't place said cookbook.  Le Disaster.  So I didn't know what to do...taste buds were starting to complain and get all whiny.....nothing worse than whiny taste buds ya know.....we all know....

So I had to wing it....and experiment....and I finally came up with these!!

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches!!

Seriously, these have everything that I was missing about our favorite lost key lime recipe.  Except now it's cool, refreshing and portable!  A real tropical frozen treat.


I know they're good because my husband, who rarely eats sweets, devoured like 2 of them in a sitting.  And they aren't small sandwiches either.Ya want the recipe??  It's goooooooood.....ok. ok.  You can stop begging....I just got rid of whiny taste buds....don't need you whining now.

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

You need to make this in 2 parts:  The Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream and Graham Cracker Coconut Cookies.  Both components are awesome on their own so feel free to stop before assembly and eat.  But if you can stand it, try and make the sandwiches...better together.  Trust.

Key Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream

this is seriously easy to make y'all....I mean SERIOUSLY.

8 oz block cream cheese, softened
3/4 c milk
3/4 c heavy cream
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c key lime juice
pinch of salt
Optional: 2 TBSP key lime zest, or regualt lime zest  if you can't locate key limes
ice cream maker

Place all your ingredients into a blender.  Puree until well blended.  Then pour into a ziplock bag and chill in the fridge for about an hour.  You want it chilled. It will help the ice cream come together faster.  In fact, if you have a problem with your ice cream coming together before your bowl gets too warm, therefore ending with merely cold cream, I have a few tips.  First of all I place every component of my ice cream maker in the freezer except the motor base.  So the sheild, bowl and blade....all in the freezer.  Also I keep a zip lock gallon freezer bag full of ice in the top drawer of my freezer.  When your cream mixture is chilled, pour it into your ice cream maker and turn it on.  Place your bag full of ice over the top of it.  Ice cream comes together so much easier.  When it's officially ice cream, spoon it into another large gallon zip top bag.....unless you plan on just eating it as ice cream and not using it to make sandwhiches....in which case put it in a tupperware.  Let freeze for 2 hours minimum to stiffen a little.

While your waiting for cream to chill, or ice cream to set....let's make cookies.

Graham Cracker Coconut Cookies

1 1/2 sticks salted butter, softened
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 c flour, unleveled
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 package graham crackers, about 9 long crackers
1 1/2 c sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350

Cream butter and sugars together in a bowl.  I arm my beater blade.  Love my beater blade.  Then add egg and vanilla and beat till blended.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda together with a whisk.  Place your graham crackers in a large zip top bag and crush with a rolling pin by gently rolling over them as if your rolling out cookie dough or pie crust.  This should crush your cookies into fine crumbs without banging on your counter or having to bust out the food processor.  And I like the unevenness of the crumbs too.  Adds texture.  Add your graham crackers to your flour and give it a quick stir with your whisk.  Add all your dry to your wet in the mixer and turn on low speed.  Mix till combined. Then add coconut.  Mix till combined.

Now this doesn't look like a lot of dough, but this makes 2 dozen cookies at least....plus or minus a cookie.  Get a large cookie sheet and line it with parchment paper.  Then take a sponfull of dough and roll into about 1 1/2 inch balls.  place at least 2 inches from each other on the sheet.  Then flatten slightly with your hand so they cook evenly.  These will really spread y'all. So leave enough room for that.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  I usually do 12 on my convection bake setting.  You want the edges to just start turning golden.  Let cool on sheet then EAT THEM ALL! transfer to a ziplock bag and pop that bag in the freezer.  

Now to assemble:

On your cookie sheet, that's preferably chilled, trust me, lay out our cookies in pairs, flat side up.  Grab your bag of ice cream and squeeze the ice cream to a corner.  Make a piping bag so to speak.  Then snip the corner of the bag off.  Pipe a good amount on one of the cookies in each pair.  Then top with the naked cookie.  Work quickly on this.  Home made ice cream melts a little quicker than store bought.  When you place your naked cookie on to complete your sandwich, try not to press all the way down.  Leave about 1/8 inch of space between the ice cream and the sides.  The weight of the top cookie will settle the ice cream down a bit and push it to the sides.  Anyway, at this point pop the whole cookie sheet in the freezer and chill 3 hours or overnight.  When completely frozen through transfer to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer.  I like to put them in individual cookie bags (because who doesn't have those lying around, right?) and then store them all together in the ziplock.

Anyway!!  I hope you enjoy these.  They are so easy to make and the kids will LOVE them!  And ya know...the snacking you can do while making them is magic.