"Sesame Street" used to have a segment in which über-friendly voices sang a little song about a group of objects:

One of these things is not like the others.
One of these things just doesn't belong.
Can you tell me which thing is not like the others?
By the time I finish my song?

On screen you would see something like a goat, a puppy and a dump truck. My sister and I would point excitedly at the dump truck and exclaim, "Ooh! Ooh! It's the dump truck. It's the dump truck!"

We were always right, and we always had a smug little smile of great accomplishment when the happy voice would say: "Did you guess the dump truck? Then you were absolutely right." We were really good at that game.

This recipe is kind of like that song. In the list of ingredients you'll find two things that don't appear to belong. But unlike the "Sesame Street" ditty, these things actually do work perfectly well together. At your next dinner party, serve this dessert and watch your guests' faces as they discover the surprises soon after taking the second bite. You could even sing the song as you mix everything together. Grover would be proud.

Hot Chili Ice Cream Sandwiches

1 quart high-quality vanilla ice cream
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon Mexican chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more if desired)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 package Anna's Cappuccino Cookies (order here)
Chocolate Syrup

Allow the ice cream to soften for about 20 minutes, but not so long that it liquefies.

In a large mixing bowl, combine ice cream, cream cheese and peanut butter. With a hand or electric mixer, thoroughly blend the ingredients until they are completely combined. Add the peanuts, chili powder and cayenne pepper and mix until they are fully incorporated into the mixture. Tear off a sheet of cling wrap large enough to cover the bowl. Push the cling wrap onto the top of the ice cream mixture so that there is no air between the mixture and the cling wrap.

Place the bowl in the freezer for at least two hours or as long as two days.

Place one of the cookies in the bottom of a large, shallow bowl. Apply a large scoop of the ice cream mixture to the top of the cookie. Vertically insert a second cookie into the scoop of ice cream so that it stands on its edge. Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the ice cream in thin streams, then sprinkle the top with powdered sugar.

Previous Comments

ID

154872

Comment

You can find the Anna's Cappuccino Cookies at McDades. -Tom

Author

Tom Ramsey

Date

2010-01-07T09:51:24-06:00