Cookie Cat Ice Cream Sandwiches | Steven Universe

          "Steven Universe", created by Rebecca Sugar (who also worked on "Adventure Time"), premiered last night on Cartoon Network! Leading up to the official premier, Smalls and I watched the heck out of all the clips as well as the first episode, "Gem Glow" (which was an early, free download via iTunes. Smalls does the "and Steven!" part of the opening credits & then eats a pretend hotdog. In "Gem Glow", we're introduced to "cookie cat" (see below), Steven's favorite and recently discontinued ice cream sandwich brand. Does this dessert help him access his gem power? Or does his gem react from the euphoria he gets when experiencing something that tastes so good? (Or maybe it's comfort or nostalgia, it's a mystery!) It goes without saying, but I just had to make some cookie cats. For you guys, and for Smalls! In fact, "Steven Universe", so far, has had so many mentions of food (hotdogs, doughnuts, hotdogs in doughnuts, fry bits, etc.) that I'm pretty sure I'll be revisiting this show on the blog in the future.

"Cookie Cat! He's a pet for your tummy.

Cookie Cat! He's super-duper yummy!"

"Oh sweet Cookie Cat, with your crunchy cookie outside, and your icy, creamy inside, you're too good for this world."

—Steven, "Gem Glow", "Steven Universe", S.1, Ep.1

Note: You'll notice in the image to the right, taken from Steven's cookie cat song sequence, that there are vanilla cookie cats! In the recipe below simply use yellow cake mix instead of chocolate & use only vanilla ice cream for the filling.

Alternate Filling: Don't want to deal with melty ice cream? Use marshmallows instead! Place 1/2 a large white marshmallow & 1/2 a large pink marshmallow, cut sides down, on one cookie bottom & zap in the microwave for 15 seconds. Place the top cookie on & gently squish down so the marshmallows spread out to the edges. This variation is especially great for little "Steven" lovers, like Smalls. (See my Instagram post with this version here).

Steven's Cookie Cat Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Ingredients:
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Strawberry Ice Cream (pink, without little bits)
1/2 of a 15.25 oz. Box of Chocolate Cake Mix (~1 1/2 cups cake mix)
1 Large Egg
1/4 Cup Shortening OR Room Temperature Butter (I like to use butter flavor shortening)
1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Water

Important Items:
Parchment Paper
Cat Head Cookie Cutter (mine's an inexpensive one from Ebay but Amazon sells them as well)
Small Circle Cutter (a little larger than a regular straw opening. You could use a smoothie straw.)
Plastic Wrap

Directions:
1. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a tray that has sides. Sit the containers of ice cream out long enough to be spreadable but not so long that they get too melty. Work quickly! Spread a strip of vanilla ice cream about a 1/2" thick & half as wide as your cat head cookie cutter. Next, spread an equal-sized strip of strawberry ice cream right next to (touching) the vanilla. Repeat this pattern again so you have vanilla, strawberry, vanilla, strawberry. Now cover the tray with plastic wrap & place it in the freezer overnight.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl & mix until just combined, about 2 minutes. Wrap the resulting dough in plastic wrap (try not to eat it all) & chill it in the freezer for about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Tear off a baking tray-sized sheet of parchment paper & dust it with flour. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the cookie dough to about 1/8" thickness. Cut an even number of cat head shapes about 1" apart & gently pull away the unused dough in between & roll it into a ball again to use for the next batch. Cut circles for eyes out of half of the cat heads, using a toothpick to "pluck out" (ouch!) the dough circles if needed. Place the parchment paper with the cookies on it onto a tray (optional: poke the faces gently with a fork for texture) & bake for about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven & let cool for a minute & then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat the cookie process until you're out of dough (or you could freeze the dough for another time, or eat it directly, or roll it into balls & then roll the balls into powdered sugar & bake).

3. Once the cookies are cool, flip over all of the cat heads that don't have eyes so that their undersides are facing up. Next, pull out the tray of ice cream from the freezer & remove the plastic wrap. You'll have to work quickly! Starting at the bottom of the ice cream tray, press the cat cookie cutter into the ice cream equally between a strip of vanilla & a strip of strawberry. While the cutter is still in the ice cream, use a butter knife to scrape away the excess ice cream from the side of the cutter closest to you. Now remove the cookie cutter & slide the knife under the cut-out to transfer it to one of the upside down cat head cookies. Make sure the ice cream cut-out is centered & then place one of the cat faces (the ones with eyes) on top & gently press down. Repeat this process for all of the cat head & cat face cookie pairs. Wrap the cookie cats individually & tightly in plastic wrap & put them in the freezer so the ice cream can harden overnight (don't worry, the cookie part will become the perfect texture). When you're ready to eat one, remember to start with the ears!

* Check out my special Cookie Cat inspired tea blend on Adagio Teas! *