Gelato sandwiches are a fun way to eat dessert.
Once upon a time Ciao Bella hand-crafted the finest, most delicious gelato sandwiches – the Ottimo. Sadly, these delightful creations went away, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy them. Below is Chef Danilo’s recipe so you can make your own and share with your friends and family.
Ingredients:
- 1 pint of your favorite gelato or sorbet
- 8 cookies of equal size (We love cookies from Eleni’s New York or you can use your favorite.)
Directions:
Place cookies in freezer for at least one hour. The pint of gelato or sorbet should be placed in the refrigerator for a ½ hour to soften.
Scoop 4-oz. of gelato/sorbet (approximately 2 scoops) and place in the center of one cookie. Take a second cookie and place on top to make a sandwich. Press down gently until the gelato/sorbet reaches the outer edges of the cookies. Repeat with remaining cookies. Place in freezer for one hour or until ready to serve.
Read below for Ciao Bella’s favorite flavor combinations.
The Ottimo Story:
Long-time friends Charlie Apt (CIAO BELLA®) and Eleni Gianopulos (Eleni’s New York) joined forces to create the Ottimo gelato cookie sandwich, a grown-up version of the classic childhood treat.
Charlie, Eleni and their respective teams spent months trying innovative combinations of cookies and gelato until they hit on the four perfect flavor pairings – Lemon gelato with lemon poppy cookie, Strawberry gelato with snickerdoodle cookie, Chocolate gelato with chocolate chunk cookie and Espresso gelato with chocolate neat cookie.
I miss and love you Ottimo cookie. I always wondered what happened to you. I’m sorry you had to go. But you were FABULOUS!! Especially you, Lemon Poppy ;~)
The Ottimo was definitely a great treat. If you love gelato sandwiches and refreshingly tart gelato then we highly recommend our award winning Key Lime Graham Gelato squares. They are currently available at retailers such as Whole Foods Market and will be hitting shelves soon at Target and WalMart. Let us know where you shop and we’ll help you track them down. For retailers near you go to http://ciaobellagelato.com/#/store-locator.