Chocolate Gochujang Caramel Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Why you'll love these chocolate gochujang caramel cookie ice cream sandwiches

• Soft Chocolate Cookies: These cookies bake up ultra soft with a rich brownie like flavor. They're irresistible on their own, but even better in ice cream sandwich form!
• Sweet & Spicy Flavor: Similar to a hot chocolate flavor, the cookies and caramel sauce both have a complex sweet & spicy flavor profile.
• Perfect Ice Cream Sandwiches: Unlike many homemade cookies, these chocolate cookies stay soft straight from the freezer. So you can still bite into them in the form of an ice cream sandwich!

Ingredient Notes

• Gochujang: Roland Foods' Gochujang is a fermented red chili paste. It's similar to miso paste with a strong umami flavor and the addition of fiery chilies.
• Cocoa Powder: Use dutch process cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavor.
• Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
• Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour best results.
• Sugars: This recipe calls for a combination of granulated and brown sugar to achieve the right amount spread and soft, chewy texture.
• Eggs: Bring your egg to room temperature quickly by placing it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.
• Cream of Tartar: For the caramel sauce, a small amount of cream of tartar will help stabilize the sugar, preventing it from crystalizing!
• Heavy Cream: Be sure your heavy cream is lukewarm before adding it to the caramelized sugar, or it may seize up.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this chocolate gochujang caramel cookie recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, salt, cream of tartar, and water. Place over medium high heat, stirring often with a rubber spatula to encourage even cooking. When it comes to a boil reduce the heat to medium and continue stirring often.

After about 10 minutes, when the color turns an even medium amber color, slowly stream in the heavy cream, quickly mixing until fully combined. Then, stir in the butter and gochujang. Once the butter has melted, continue cooking and stirring with the rubber spatula for one more minute. Remove the caramel from heat then and pour through a mesh sieve into a glass jar. Chill in the refrigerator, then swirl into the ice cream.

STEP 2: Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

STEP 3: Cream the butter & sugars. In a large bowl, use an electric hand mixer to cream together the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light & fluffy.

STEP 4: Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and gochujang until fully combined.

STEP 5: Mix in the dry ingredients. Scrape down the bowl, then add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until fully combined.

STEP 6: Roll the cookie dough in sugar. Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, portion the dough, roll in granulated sugar, and place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.

STEP 7: Bake the cookies. Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes or until puffed up and slightly underbaked. Once the cookies come out of the oven, immediately use a round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges in and make them perfectly round. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet.

STEP 8: Assmeble the ice cream sandwiches. Using a cookie cutter the same size or slightly smaller than the cookies, cut out an ice cream disk and sandwich it between two cookies. Place in the freezer, while you assemble the remaining cookies.

Expert Baking Tips

• Make the caramel sauce ahead of time. I recommend making the caramel sauce at least an hour (or up to a week) before adding it to the ice cream to give it time to cool down and thicken up.
• Use a cookie scoop. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the cookie dough into equally sized cookies!
• Scoot the cookies. Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, use a large round cookie cutter or glass to scoot the edges and form a perfectly round cookie.

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x