Did you ever have one of those moments when you managed to impress even yourself? It's sort of amazing and exhilarating. Maybe not standing on the prow of the Titanic and screaming "I'm King of the World" breathtaking. But incredible nevertheless. That's what happened to me when I tasted this week's recipe. I totally had a Steve Urkel moment.

"Did I do that?!"

But I did. And it was glorious.

I got the idea for these amazing frozen concoctions by trolling David Lebowitz's ice cream recipes. Okay. I'll admit. It was also the fact that I had four pears turning unattractive shades of bruised and blackened brown in my fridge. I've been longing to try ice cream sandwiches because I want to believe that summer is around the corner. And if there's anything that can restore your faith in the possibility of perfect, it's this pairing.

These sandwiches begin with an uber soft gingersnap. I know. I say gingersnap and you think crisp. Rock hard. Spicy but somewhat unpleasant. But don't worry. You've just been eating the wrong kinds of gingersnaps. Let Baked by an Introvert show you the way. I heaped these little babies with mounds of flavorful, sweet, caramelized pear ice cream. I used to think pear was boring, with a flavor profile that just doesn't bring the party to your mouth.

I am happy to say I was utterly, fucking wrong.

Caramelizing the fruit brings out complexity and combined with the creamy smoothness of a decadent custard, it's revolutionary.

We begin with the gingersnap cookies, which have melted butter to ensure a chewier profile. I was a bit generous with the spices because that's how I roll.

Speaking of rolling, that's exactly what you do with this dough. Roll in sugar and spice and everything nice.

I'll tell you my secret to perfect cookies. Step closer. A little closer.

No, no. Too close. Back off, weirdo.

Under bake your cookies. Always. By about two minutes. Pull them when you see the first sign of browning and let them sit on the tray until they firm up. Renders a soft, slightly chewy cookie every damn time.

Up next, incredible ice cream.

Surprised by the sparsity? Most ice creams are short on ingredients, big on flavor. Just cream, fruit, sugar and a splash of lemon. It's hard to believe four components could come together into something so miraculous. That's the wonder that is ice cream.

I gave you a nice big close up here because I know what's going to happen. You're going to panic. Like me, you'll get the sugar browning and the fruit sizzling and begin to be afraid that those enormous lumps aren't going to recede. They will. Give it time. Keep stirring.

This is normal. Breathe.

You'll stir in the cream and pulse the whole thing in a food processor and then chill. Like literally and figuratively. Chill out. The custard you've made needs to be cold before you put it in your ice cream maker. As you can see, I love my Cuisinart. We've had a fairly long, beautiful relationship together.

Let your ice cream sit for a few hours before you attempt to scoop. This takes patience. It's actually best to leave it overnight but let's be honest.

Who the hell is going to wait that long to sneak a taste? Absolutely nobody.

Roll in chopped pistachios or assemble and freeze and then dip in white chocolate. I know. Can't go wrong with a pairing like that.

I scream

You scream

Caramelized Pear Gingersnap Ice Cream Sandwiches

For the gingersnaps

(Recipe courtesy of Baked by an Introvert):

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup unsulfered molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar, for decoration

For the ice cream

(Recipe courtesy of Food 52):

2

small ripe pears

1/2 cup sugar

1

pinch coarse sea salt

few

drops of lemon juice

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the shortening and sugars until fluffy and blended. Beat in the egg and molasses.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk. Slowly stir the dry mixture into the molasses mixture just until dough forms. Cover and chill the dough for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Roll the dough into 1 Tbs sized balls, rolls the balls into the remaining sugar, and place them 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Peel pears, de-core them and dice them into small cubes. In a cast-iron pan (or another solid pan) heat sugar. Wait for it liquefy, stirring not at first, only when you see patches of liquid sugar. Stir until smooth and amber colored. This should just take a few minutes. Add the pears. The caramel will seize up and solidify, but keep on stirring and boiling the mixture. Try to dissolve and clumps. this will take around 10 minutes. Then remove from heat, add milk, lemon juice and salt. Stir in the cream. Blend in food processor, until smooth. Chill, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to your manufacturer's instructions