Coffee Ice Cream Filled Meringue Cookies

From Nancy Bundorf

½    cup Hazelnuts, plus additional if desired (see below) 

¼    cup Confectioners Sugar

3      large Egg Whites

½    teaspoon Cream of Tartar

       pinch of Coarse Salt

½      cup Superfine Sugar

         Coffee flavored Ice Cream

         Garnish of Chocolate and Hazelnuts

Preheat the oven to 400°. Put the hazelnuts in a pie plate and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until fragrant.  Turn the oven down to 200 degrees F. Transfer the hot hazelnuts to a kitchen towel and rub them together to remove the skins. Let the nuts cool.

In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts with 1/4 cup of the confectioners sugar just until finely ground.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and salt at low speed until frothy. Add 2 tablespoons of the superfine sugar and increase the speed to medium. Add another 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and slowly beat in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Beat for about 5 minutes, until the meringue is stiff and glossy. Fold in the nuts.

Place a heaping tablespoon of the meringue on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread it into a 2 1/2-inch round; repeat to form 48 rounds. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues in to dry for at least 3 hours or overnight.

When dry, drizzle tops of one-half the meringues with melted chocolate (chips).

For each ice cream sandwich, scoop 1/4 cup of softened ice cream (or slice and shape colder ice cream to ½ inch thickness) onto the underside of a meringue. Sprinkle on a teaspoon of chopped hazelnuts if desired.  Then top with a chocolate drizzled meringue. Serve at once or wrap individually in plastic and freeze.

 The ice cream sandwiches can be frozen for up to 2 days.

Makes  24 sandwiches

Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine