Anyone who is from the Bay Area knows a few irrefutable facts. 1) Frisco is not a word and we won’t hear it, 2) Layers are EVERYTHING (and you’ll hear the word “microclimate” often), 3) BART is not just the name of a cartoon character, and 4) The REAL San Francisco Treat is not Rice-a-Roni… it’s the ever glorious It’s-It. It’s ubiquitous throughout the Bay Area, and has spread its delicious love slowly outside the region. I crave them at all times, and love few things more than these treats. I recently made some Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream with the main purpose of filling these bad boys. I had a few people who know my love for all things It’s-It send me a link to this life changing article on Food 52, describing how to make homemade versions! So, you know I got to work on this right away! Instead of regular vanilla ice cream, I went with my clear addiction to PB cup, and added chocolate chips to the cookies, because chocolate. Check the recipe below to craft your own!
Cookie recipe (very slightly adapted from Food 52)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- Heat the oven to 350° F and arrange a rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using handheld beaters, cream the butter and the two sugars until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and do the same with the vanilla.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture and chocolate chips and beat until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the oats by hand, mixing just until there are no remaining flour pockets.
- Form large balls out of 2 tablespoons of dough and place them 2 inches apart on the parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for about 15 minutes, rotating once for even cooking. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets for maximum crispness. Freeze completely cooled cookies before proceeding to the next step.
Super easy Ice Cream Recipe here
Chocolate Sauce (I increased the amounts from what is found on the original recipe)
- 36 ounces of dark chocolate
- 6 tablespoons of canola oil
Assembly:
- Line baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.
- Place cookies, flat side up, on sheets and scoop a generous amount of slightly-softened ice cream on top. (Food 52 suggests 3 parts ice cream to 1 part cookie, but I had eaten too much of my ice cream already to have those proportions—whoopsie!).
- Sandwich with bare cookies. Use a spoon or an offset knife to smooth the sides. Wrap each one individually in saran wrap or parchment paper.
- Immediately place the cookie sandwiches into the freezer and chill until thoroughly frozen—at least 3 or 4 hours.
- When the cookies are sufficiently frozen, melt the chocolate and canola oil in a saucepan over the lowest heat, stirring constantly.
- Working with one sandwich at a time, place in the melted chocolate, using a slotted spoon to flip the sandwich over so that all sides are coated. Pick the sandwich up with the spoon, allow some excess chocolate to drip off, and then return to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Place the chocolate-coated sandwiches back into the freezer and let the chocolate harden for at least an hour.
- Enjoy the crap out of your homemade It’s-It.
-CK 1.0
twocarolines.com 