Homemade Ice-Cream Sandwiches

In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder, mixing on low speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Then add the vanilla and the egg and blend on medium speed until thoroughly combined. Remove the cookie dough from the mixer, wrap in plastic and chill until firm (4 hours to overnight). You can store the dough wrapped like this for 2-3 days if you wish to make it in advance. Remove your dough from the refrigerator. If it's too hard allow to stand at room temperature for a little while before exercising your rolling muscles on it Add the flour on low speed, mixing until uniform and comes together like a dough. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix together enough flour and cocoa to dust your cutting board and your dough to keep it from sticking (a mix of 50/50 flour/cocoa). Using cocoa powder to dust will keep the surface of your cookies dark and chocolaty-looking. Roll out your dough to about 1/8"-1/4" thick and cut into desired shapes. Arrange cut-outs on parchment paper about 1"-2" apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the surface is no longer glossy. Allow to cool completely on wire racks. They will be soft fresh out of the oven but will crisp up as they cool. Once cool, place the cookies in a Ziplock baggie or other container and freeze until ready to use. I used the same cookie cutter on the ice-cream to cut out my shapes. Once the cookies were cold enough, I sandwiched them with the ice-cream and returned them to the freezer. You can decorate them right away or just before eating. Enjoy!