Overview

This is the dessert-lover’s dessert. Ice cream made from Tillamook Sharp Cheddar is stuffed into brioche slices, smothered with cherry preserves and peanut butter, and finished off with walnut liqueur. It’s the sweet that’s not afraid of a little savory.

"This whimsical treat is a great birthday party alternative for that sandwich-lover in your life. Fun enough for kids, interesting enough for adults. Pain de mie sandwich bread is slathered with cherry jam and creamy peanut butter, and then filled with a slice of cheddar ice cream before being quickly grilled."

Ingredients

For the Cheddar Ice Cream (makes 1 quart)
7 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1½ cups (6 oz) Tillamook^® Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded

For Sandwiches
16 slices pain de mie sandwich bread (or use brioche, challah, or other rich white breads)
8 tablespoons high quality cherry jam (you can use strawberry or any other flavor you prefer)
8 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
8 - ½-inch slices of cheddar ice cream (see recipe)
4 teaspoons Tillamook^® Salted Butter

Preparation

Cheddar Ice Cream
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the sugar and salt into the egg yolks with a hand mixer until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside. Bring the half and half to a simmer in a heavy medium pan over medium heat. Slowly beat the hot half and half into the egg mixture. Pour the entire contents back into the pan and place over very low heat (or over a double boiler). Stir constantly until custard thickens slightly; do not let the mixture boil. Remove from heat, transfer back into bowl and then stir cheese into the custard until it melts. When cheese is melted, stir in cream and vanilla. Cover and chill until cold. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions, then transfer ice cream into a greased 9x5 bread loaf pan, cover tightly, and place in freezer overnight (or at least 2 hours).

Assemble the Sandwiches
Butter one side of each piece of bread, then place buttered sides down. Spread jam on inside of one piece of bread, and peanut butter on the other. When ready to cook, remove ice cream from freezer, turn out from loaf pan onto a cutting board, and slice ½ inch thick slices of ice cream. You can reserve these in the freezer until the last possible minute. Add a slice of ice cream to each sandwich, close the sandwich, and grill over medium-high heat in a pre-heated pan just until toasted. Get the sandwiches off the grill as quickly as possible before the ice cream melts. Slice in half and serve immediately.