Pages

Monday, May 17, 2010

Richard LaMotta, creator of the Chipwich: R.I.P, Chipwich Recipe

Richard LaMotta, who turned his childhood passion for dunking cookies in milk into the Chipwich — two chocolate chip cookies embracing a chunk of vanilla ice cream dotted with chocolate chips — died Tuesday at his home in Chappaqua, N.Y. He was 67.

On May 1, 1982, Mr. LaMotta dispatched 60 street-cart vendors, each wearing pith helmets and khakis, to the streets of Manhattan to begin selling his 4 1/2-ounce concoction (including 3 1/2 ounces of ice cream) for what at the time was a pricey $1 each. A few hours later, all 25,000 Chipwiches had been gobbled — the start of something big. Within two weeks, Mr. LaMotta was selling 40,000 a day, and by the middle of that summer, the Chipwich plants in Queens, N.Y., and Lodi, N.J., were turning out 200,000 a day.

Read the rest of the New York Times Obit HERE.

Want to make your own Chipwich at Home? Here's a simple recipe:
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich

Chocolate Chip Cookies I use the big Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chip Cookies
Vanilla Ice Cream I like Dreyer's
Mini-chocolate chips I use Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Mini Chips

Soften ice cream for 10 minutes before making sandwiches.
Place a scoop of ice cream on the flat side of 1 cookie.
Place second cookie flat side down and carefully press together until ice cream reaches the edge of the cookies.
Roll edges in Mini-Chocolate Chips.
Freeze for 15 minutes and serve.

Lots of variations, of course, but this is fairly close to the original Chipwich. I need to take a photo next time I make these. Photo above is 'official' Chipwich!

No comments: