Peanutty-Choco Ice Cream Sammies

Line an 11x17 inch baking sheet with wax paper. In a microwave safe bowl, melt together 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips and 2 teaspoons of vegetable shortening. Heat in 20 second increments stopping to stir periodically. Continue this process stirring vigorously until the chocolate is completely smooth and the consistency is such that it will form a thin coating on the pretzel crisps.
If you need to thin the chocolate a bit more, I recommend adding heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time and stir, stir, stir, until you reach the right consistency!

Using two forks, dip each pretzel crisp into the melted chocolate covering the crisp completely. Allow any excess chocolate to drip off, then place flat side down on the wax paper. Place the chocolate covered crisps into the freezer for at least 20-25 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden and dry completely.

Just before assembling, melt the remaining 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips with 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable shortening. Just as before, heat in 30 second increments stirring periodically, until the chocolate is completely smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Again, have a little cream nearby, to assist in this process if needed.

Before assembling, gather all of your ingredients so you can work quickly. Remove the hardened chocolate covered crisps from the freezer. Using a 1 ounce ice cream scoop or a teaspoon, scoop 1 ounce of vanilla ice cream onto the flat side of one pretzel crisp. Place a second crisp, flat side down, on top of the ice cream to form the "sammie". Press down gently. Drizzle the top with melted chocolate, then sprinkle with chopped peanuts. Repeat this process with all of the ice cream sammies, and repeat again if you have extra chocolate and peanuts remaining. Return to the freezer to harden and keep frozen until serving. Yield: 12 peanutty-choco ice cream sammies


Cook's note:
I used The Snack Factory brand of flat pretzel crisps to prepare these ice cream sammies. They are usually located in the Deli section of the grocery store.
If you prefer to use another nut, by all means go for it, this recipe is very versatile!
Why vegetable shortening? Because it will harden more quickly, and will form a candy-like coating preventing the pretzel crisps from becoming soggy. It will also give the chocolate it's shine!