My Version of MILK's French Macaron Ice Cream Sandwich (GF)

I know I should probably be posting pie recipes right about now, or something spiced with a caramel drizzle, but I'm posting this french macaron ice cream sandwich recipe because it is one of the most delicious things I have eaten in a long time.  

Have you been to MILK? It's a famous ice cream shop in Los Angeles with delicious ice cream, shakes, and most notably (in my mind) macaron ice cream sandwiches.

I have to say, I previously had my doubts about a macaron ice cream sandwich. I wondered what the texture would be like- would the macaron part be as good with ice cream in the middle without a ganache or buttercream filling to "age" it? What does a macaron taste like frozen anyway? Was this all just a bunch of hype because macarons are trendy right now?

The answers to these questions are:  Yes. Fantastic. No. 

I had only been to MILK one other time and had a float, which was pretty tasty. I had seen pictures on instagram and Facebook of the macaron ice cream sandwich, but I actually didn't know they were from MILK. I'm pretty used to not being able to order ice cream sandwiches anymore because of the whole gluten free thing, so the fact that macarons are gluten free made these ice cream sandwiches even more exciting to me.

Here is my MILK French Macaron ice cream sandwich copycat recipe. Enjoy!

These are the MILK Version- Photo courtesy of MILK's website

My version

NOTE: I did not make homemade ice cream for these, but if you would like to, I would encourage it. It would only make these even more impressive and awesome.

For the Coffee macaron cookie shells:

Makes 16 large macarons, or 8 ice cream sandwiches

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

2 cups confectioner's sugar

4 large egg whites, at room temperature 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 
2 pouches Starbucks Via coffee 

Pinch of cream of tartar 

Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees (my oven runs hot, so adjust accordingly). Line 3-4 sheet pans with parchment paper and pre-draw circles onto the parchment if you are bad at piping the same sized circles, like I am.

Combine almond flour, confectioner's sugar and instant coffee in a food processor and pulse until combined. Place egg whites in a stand mixer and whip using whisk attachment until they are foamy. Add pinch of cream of tarter and sugar. Continue mixing until egg whites are stiff and clump up into the whisk attachment. Sift dry ingredients into egg whites. Using an offset spatula, fold mixture together until it is the consistency of slow moving "lava" and ribbons off of the offset spatula. Scoop into a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip. Pipe onto parchment lined sheet pans. Allow cookies to rest at least 30-40 minute prior to baking. Bake for about 17-20 minutes until macarons no longer wiggle when you gently touch them.

For the Ice Cream Filling
I literally removed the ice cream from a carton (make sure it's hard) and sliced it up using a butcher knife. Then, I cut each slice with the same circle cookie cutter I traced for the macaron shells. It's easiest to use ice cream that comes in a box, but a regular cylindrical carton will do as well.