ICE CREAM!...ICE CREAM!...AND MORE ICE CREAM!

I love ice cream. Next to Cheesecake, of any flavor, it is one of my favorite desserts. On New Year's Eve I helped my good friend Debby Vis make ice cream for the first time. She is such an accomplished home chef that making ice cream was easy for her. Deb made the custard base night before we arrived.


Here's Deb slowly adding toasted pecans
into the ice cream mixture as it churns.

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM

I found this recipe on the 'Taste of Home' site. I use this site a lot and have never been let down, and this recipe is no exception!


I nabbed this photo from the 'Taste of Home' site.
Our New Year's Eve celebration got wild and crazy...
No time for food photos!
Ours looked as good, if not better!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:
In a small skillet, toast the pecans in butter for 5-6 minutes until lightly browned. Cool.

In a heavy saucepan, heat half and half to 170 degrees, whisking occasionally. Stir in brown sugar until dissolved. Whisk a small amount of hot cream mixture into the eggs; return to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches at least 160 degrees (no more than 170) and coats the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from the heat. Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 minutes to cool it down. Stir in heavy whipping cream and vanilla. At this point if you have any lumps, because a little of the egg "cooked" when adding the hot half and half into the eggs, strain into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve pressing the custard through, but leaving the lumps behind. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the custard so a crust does not form and refrigerate several hours or overnight. I prefer to make the custard the day before for 2 reasons: 1) you know it is perfectly chilled when time to churn and, 2) it helps by having this entire step done ahead of time.

Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. As you begin to freeze the ice cream pour in the toasted pecans. My Cuisinart Ice Cream maker usually takes between 20-30 minutes to freeze, but everyone is different. After churned, remove from the ice cream maker and pour into a freezer-proof bowl and freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.

VANILLA ICE CREAM

Since a kid, one of my all-time favorites is Vanilla Ice Cream. From this basic, but delicious recipe you can add all kinds of fruit or other flavorings to change it up, but I like it just like this--creamy, eggy and delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups half and half
5 large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract*

* I have never used a vanilla bean and the ice cream is delicious using plain old vanilla extract.

Preparation:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the half and half and vanilla bean (if using) to the scalding point (the milk begins to foam up). Remove from heat, take out the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds from the bean with the back of a knife, and mix the seeds back into the half and half.

Meanwhile, in a stainless steel bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. I use a hand mixer, but you can also do this with a wire whisk. It will take much longer. Gradually pour the scalding half and half into the whipped egg yolk mixture, making sure you keep whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle or "cook". If any lumps do form, strain through a fine mesh sieve before re-heating.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (double-boiler effect), and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the back of a spoon; or until custard reaches 170 degrees.

Immediately remove the custard from the heat and continue to stir for a few minutes so it does not overcook. The stirring helps cool it down. At this point stir in the vanilla extract (if using). Cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the top of custard and cool until reaches room temp and then place in refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.

Transfer the cold custard to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer the ice cream to a container and store in freezer until ready to serve. If the ice cream becomes too hard, place in refrigerator until softened--15-20 minutes.

Nothing as pure, simple and
scrumptious as Vanilla Ice Cream!

Next, I'm giving you a recipe I found on another excellent food blog, Allrecipes. When our good friends Joe and JoJo Hammond came for dinner I served this ice cream for dessert. Turns out JoJo's favorite is Maple Walnut, as was my dear Mom's. I've tried a lot of different Maple Walnut recipes, but this is my  favorite. We always got our maple syrup from Putnam's farm in Charlestown, NH; absolutely the best, and a beautifully run, multi-generational, owned and operated family farm.

MAPLE WALNUT ICE CREAM

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
5 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. white sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 tsp. coarse salt
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Sticky Walnuts:
1 1/2 cups walnut halves
1/2 (fat) cup maple syrup
Pinch of salt

Preparation:
Pour heavy cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the bowl. Whisk egg yolks together in a separate bowl.

Heat milk and sugar together in a saucepan over medium-low heat until milk begins to steam, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour about 1/2 cup heated milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with a heatproof spatula.

Cook and stir milk mixture constantly with the spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the saucepan often, until mixture thickens and coats spatula; about 10 minutes or until it reaches 170 degrees. Remove saucepan from heat; pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the heavy cream.

Stir 3/4 cup maple syrup, coarse salt, and vanilla into cream mixture, then place the bowl over a larger bowl of ice water; stir to cool to room temperature. Press plastic wrap on the surface and chill the mixture in the fridge, about 2 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spread walnuts onto a baking sheet. Toast walnuts in the preheated oven until they turn golden brown and become fragrant, about 15 minutes. Set nuts aside to cool to room temp. Chop nuts coarsely.

Heat the (fat) 1/2 cup plus maple syrup in a saucepan until it comes to a boil. (This reminds me of days visiting the Putnam's Sugar House with my Dad...the sweet smell of sap boiling!) Stir in walnuts and return to a boil. Stir nuts for 10 seconds or so, remove from heat; set aside to cool completely. This can also be done ahead. The nuts will be wet and sticky when cooled.

Remove custard mixture from refrigerator; pour into ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturers instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, stir in wet walnuts.

Keep in freezer until ready to serve.

Now, I'm going to turn to some Ice Cream recipes I've made over the years...

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY ICE CREAM

and

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM

http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=ice+cream

Very peanut buttery and I served with
Peanut Butter and Strawberry cookies. Oh my!

 

This Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream
was really fun for me as it was my
first-ever ice cream creation.
Having goats milk on hand made it easy!

Next, the first ice cream I ever made...which happens to be my husband, Jerry's favorite:

PEPPERMINT STICK ICE CREAM

http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/2017/01/peppermint-ice-cream-and-italian-cookies.html

I've made this Peppermint Stick Ice Cream many times
over the years. For me, a little too sweet,
but if you like those sweet pepperminty flavors,
you'll love this one.

CLASSIC STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/2013/02/lets-start-with-dessert.html

I made this one for my husband's birthday one year.
How can you go wrong with fresh strawberries, cream and eggs?

And, this year's special birthday ice cream...

SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/2018/11/thanksgiving-menu-2018.html

AND FINALLY...
This last recipe is a "cheating" Ice Cream, but so delicious and nobody has to know.

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM

http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/2013/12/turkey-tales.html

Scroll down to the bottom to find this recipe. Really fun way to add a festive and easy treat to Thanksgiving dessert.

This is the Pumpkin Cheesecake I served
that year with the Pumpkin Ice Cream.

I think that is enough Ice Cream for today,
but before we close...

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

 

Until next time, keep indulging, keep experimenting, keep cooking, and keep on having fun in your own kitchen!

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

Jerry ALWAYS enjoys a little ice cream!

 

COOKIES AND ICE CREAM!

Looking for a rich and decadent dessert? Try this one...a grown-up version of your favorite childhood sandwich!

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY ICE CREAM

 

WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY

SANDWICH COOKIES

For the Ice Cream-

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup unsalted natural peanut butter (I used salted.)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup good quality strawberry jam (or whatever jam flavor you prefer)

Preparation:
Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. milk with the cornstarch. Whisk and set aside. Whisk the peanut butter and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream and sugar in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring the milk mixture to a low boil. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil over high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Pour into the bowl with the peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Set the bowl in the ice bath to cool, about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight. I like to do this step the day before churning so always chill it overnight. Pour chilled ice cream base into your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturers instructions. This batch took about 20 minutes. Spoon a small layer of jam into a freezer-safe container and lightly spoon a layer of ice cream on top. Continue to alternate layers of jam and ice cream until the container is full. Gently swirl the layers with a spoon, careful not to muddy the ice cream. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours. Makes 1 generous quart.

The texture of this ice cream was perfect. I found the recipe online, but don't remember exactly the source. Really fun combination of flavors!

And now for the cookies-

Ingredients:

COOKIE DOUGH
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1/4 cup chopped honey roasted peanuts for topping

FILLING
1/3 cup peanut butter
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup strawberry jam (or whatever your favorite is!)

Start by making the dough. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. In another medium bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the butter with both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then beat in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, mixing well between additions. Fold in the peanut butter until fully incorporated.

Scoop 24 1 inch balls of dough onto the baking sheets at least 2" apart. Press the balls down slightly; they should be about 1 1/2" in diameter. Sprinkle the tops with chopped peanuts. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes until the edges are light golden brown and tops are slightly cracked; rotate the baking sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack to let cool completely.

While the cookies are baking, make the filling.

In a bowl, using a hand mixer, whip the peanut butter with the butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla and salt at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes until chilled.

Spoon 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the filling on the underside of 12 cookies. Spread 1 tsp. of jam on the underside of the remaining cookies. Sandwich the halves together and serve.

These cookies are ridiculously good. This recipe came from Food and Wine Magazine and they got it courtesy of Chef Tiffany MacIssac, Owner of Washington D.C.'s Buttercream Bakeshop. I'd like to visit that bakery!

I'm going to share one more ice cream recipe with you today. This was my own creation and my first attempt at making a recipe for ice cream. And, I just happened to have some goats milk on hand! Most ice cream calls for 1 or more eggs, but since the recipe above was eggless I decided to make this one eggless, too.

 

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE ICE CREAM

I served with empanadas from our local bakery.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups goats milk
8 oz. cream cheese
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup sugar plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup strawberry jam

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

Gently heat the sliced strawberries with 2 Tbsp. sugar until sugar is dissolved. Put the berries in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator until ready to churn.

I basically used the technique above using these ingredients. Stirring continuously, heat the goats milk, cream cheese half and half, salt, and sugar until the cheese melts and mixture comes to a gentle boil. Remove from the heat and add the cornstarch mixture and 1/2 cup strawberry jam. Return to high heat and bring once more to a boil. Pour into a bowl and cool quickly in the ice water bath for about 20 minutes. Then place in fridge overnight to completely chill before churning. Once you have chilled the ice cream base, pour into your ice cream maker. As it begins to churn add the fresh strawberries that have been cooked down a bit in the sugar. Churn until the desired consistency is reached; about 20 minutes. Place in freezer for a few hours to firm up.

I will admit the texture of this ice cream was not perfect, but the flavor was delicious. I think the cream cheese made the texture a little icy. Maybe next time add 2 eggs to the ice cream base to create a custard with the cream cheese.

All for today!

Fall is just around the corner.

Days in southern Arizona will begin cooling off.

Time to do more cooking!

 

Tune in again soon, for another episode of:

www.cookwithcindy.com

HEALTHY SWEET TREATS!

Well, sort of healthy. Everything is relative. My friend, Brenna Reilly's husband is vegan and I wanted to make him a treat. I found this recipe for vegan ice cream online. They called it Vanilla Vegan Ice Cream. The coconut flavor is so pronounced that you really don't taste much vanilla. I have re-named it Creamy Coconut Vegan Ice Cream. This is a no-churn recipe, which works for me since I don't have an ice cream maker here in Ireland (yet!). The health aspect of this recipe is that it includes a whole zucchini plus 1 cup of raw, organic unsalted cashews. Those ingredients sound so unlikely, but they work. You sweeten the ice cream with Maple Syrup. 

My Dad used to give my husband, Jerry, a gallon of Maple Syrup every year for Christmas from Putnam's farm in Charlestown, NH. It is the best Maple Syrup I've ever tasted! The coconut milk and coconut oil make the ice cream rich, creamy, and delicious.

CREAMY COCONUT NO-CHURN VEGAN ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

1 (13.5 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk; white solid coconut cream only.

1 cup raw, unsalted cashews, soaked in advance, drained and rinsed

1 large zucchini, ends removed, peeled and chopped (about 2 cups)

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 1/2 tbsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

Preparation:

The night before you plan to make the ice cream, put the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator. This will harden the solid white coconut cream, which is all you are using. Do not add the liquid milk. Next day, using a slotted spoon remove the coconut solids from the can. You should have about 1 cup of solids. Soaking the cashews in advance gives the ice cream a smoother, less gritty texture. Either soak overnight or do a quick soak by pouring boiling water over the cashews for a couple hours. 

Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor. Slowly begin to blend and when it looks like the ingredients are coming together, blend on high speed for 60 seconds. I knew I was going to be close with the amount of ice cream in my high-speed blender and should not have put them all in at once, but I did. When I moved into high speed mode, the contents starting spewing out both the top and bottom. Quite a mess! Coconut ice cream everywhere! I then cleaned up the mess; cleaned out the blender (only lost about 1 inch of the ice cream) and blended in smaller batches until the right consistency was formed. 

Pour the ice cream into a container. Cover and freeze for 8 hours or overnight. Before serving, remove from the freezer for about 20 minutes so the ice cream becomes scoopable. 

Our dinner with Brenna and John unfortunately got postponed so I will make it again when we get together! Jerry and I had to eat it ourselves. 

Jerry enjoying his ice cream with JoJo fast alseep.

THE NEXT SORT OF HEALTHY DESSERT...

FLOURLESS PEANUT BUTTER 

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

I found this recipe in my new Nigella Lawson cookbook-Simply Nigella. I don't know if she came up with this recipe, as there are tons of the same recipe online, but these cookies were simply delicious, very peanut-y and the chocolate turned the entire concoction into a Reeses peanut butter cup taste and texture. The cookies are delicate. I had planned on freezing them to eat them frozen from the freezer, but they never made it to the freezer! Why are they healthy? Peanut butter, in the right amount, is good for you. Tons of protein. Dark chocolate is also good for you. I am not one who is concerned about consuming flour, but for those who are, there is none in this recipe. And, finally, very little sugar. 

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter, such as Skippy*

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

1 extra large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips or break up 1/2 of a good quality chocolate bar.

*Skippy is not available here in Ireland so I used Kelkin, which has no sugar added. I am sure any smooth peanut butter would work.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, beat together the peanut butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, but not too vigorously. Just mix them. Stir or fold in the chocolate chips or pieces. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place heaped tablespoons  of the cookie dough onto the lined sheet, placing them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes until they are slightly darker around the edges. They will look undercooked, but will be the perfect texture once cooled. Leave on the baking sheet for 10 minutes as they are quite fragile when first coming out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. This takes another 10 minutes. Nigella says, "I tend to cave in after 5"; we did, as well!

Our son, Justin and his new wife, Alison were just here for a lovely visit. We stayed pretty close to home, but did take some nice long, drives. Here they are in front of a very cool pub, just west of us in Beal an Daingean. In Ireland a hooker may not be what you think.

In this case it is a pub. Galway Hooker is also the third oldest brewery in Ireland making a variety of great quality craft beers, ales, and stouts. An artisan brewery nestled in the stunning surrounds of the Wild Atlantic Way, which is where our house is located. 

The original Galway Hooker is a traditional fishing boat, designed for its sturdiness in rugged seas. 

We have only a few weeks left in Ireland 

and it's with tears in our eyes 

that we are getting ready to leave 

this beautiful country!

But lots more food, fun, and cooking ahead!

Until next time...

Justin, Jerry, and me overlooking the back 40 and Galway Bay.

www.cookwithcindy.com

THE TALE OF TWO STRAWBERRIES!

 

Strawberries are more versatile than you may think. Let's start today with an unexpected savory...

STRAWBERRY SOUP WITH ROQUEFORT PANNA COTTA

This made for a rich, but satisfying first course for a fun dinner party I put together for our friends Steve and Deb Vis, who we thought were moving to Florida. Fortunately they have changed their minds and are staying in sunny Arizona! I have made the savory panna cotta in the past and thought it would be a perfect contrast for the Strawberry Soup. Last time I made it with a Chilled Plum Soup, which was also very special. I looked online at many different recipes and came up with this.

Ingredients:

2 cups strawberries*, roughly chopped

1/4 cup Marsala or other sweet wine

Pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup Greek style Plain yogurt

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar. I used Pear Infused vinegar.

1/2 cup water

*Use the freshest and most ripe strawberries you can find. This would be over-the-top if you used hand-picked wild strawberries. 

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Macerate berries in sugar and pinch of salt for about 15 minutes. To macerate, simply mix berries with the sugar and salt and stir together slightly mashing the berries to release their natural juice. 

Spread on a foil-lined, very lightly oiled cookie sheet and roast in the hot oven for about 15 minutes, stirring once to make sure berries roast evenly. 

Remove and cool. Add the berries and all other ingredients to the blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste for seasoning.

Yes! That is my Mom's circa 1960 Osterizer Blender.
Still works perfectly!

I served by gently placing the panna cottas in a bowl and then pouring the chilled soup around. I garnished with small pieces of Roquefort and a sliced strawberry on top. 

To make the Roquefort Panna Cotta, go to:

 http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=panna+cotta

Scroll down through most of last years Easter dinner to get the Panna Cotta recipe. Next time, I would add a whisker less sugar, although the contrast of just barely sweet with the salty bite of the cheese was pretty good!

Next, a more traditional use of strawberries!

BEST STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM...EVER!

When you research recipes online, they often say "the best", "most delicious", etc., but this time it really is so! Again, I looked at many recipes before deciding on this one, which came from a site called "Like Mother, Like Daughter". The only difference is that I added 2 Tbsp. of vodka (yes, vodka!) towards the end of the churning. In researching recipes I learned that Strawberry Ice Cream is one of the most difficult to make as the berries can crystalize when churned and frozen. The alcohol helps eliminate that problem. It certainly was creamy and delicious, both as a Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich Cookie and just served in a bowl.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped strawberries

1 cup sugar, divided 1/2 and 1/2

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 dash salt

2 Tbsp. vodka

Preparation:

The day before making the ice cream, make sure your ice cream bowl is frozen. I've made that mistake before and your ice cream will never get frozen enough if the bowl is not completely frozen.

Mix chopped strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar. Set aside for about 15 minutes to allow the strawberries to release their juices. 

Blend strawberries in a blender or food processor until just blended. A couple remaining chunks of berry are fine. 

In a large bowl combine strawberry mixture with heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla, salt and remaining sugar. Set aside.

Pour strawberry cream mixture into prepared ice cream maker. Allow to run according to manufacturers instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes. When you are 20 minutes into the churning process, drizzle the 2 Tbsp. of vodka into the ice cream. The mixture will be quite soft. You can eat immediately or place in a bowl in the freezer for a few hours or overnight to harden up.

I like this recipe as there are no eggs, therefore no custard to make, which makes the entire ice cream as easy as it is delicious!

Jerry Rabbitt: 2022 Official Ice Cream Licker...

For our special dinner party, I decided to make Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies for dessert with a great recipe for super thin, Crispy Chocolate Wafer Cookies. This one I found online at the Cooking Channel.

CRISPY CHOCOLATE WAFER COOKIES

This recipe makes 6 1/2 dozen thin wafer cookies!
They also freeze very well.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, well packed

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder. I used Hershey's Special Dark 100% cocoa powder.

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup milk. I used a couple Tbsp. more to get a better consistency.

Preparation:

Cream together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until light; about 2 minutes. 

In a medium bowl sift the cocoa to remove any lumps and whisk together with flour, baking soda, and salt.

 

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix just to combine. Add the milk and mix just to combine. If it is very crumbly, add 1 Tbsp. of milk at a time until the mixture comes together when gently squeezed.

On a sheet of plastic wrap, drop the dough into 2 roughly shaped logs, each about 1 1/2 inches thick. Using the plastic wrap and your fingers, coax the dough into a firm log shape and then roll the plastic tightly around the dough.

Refrigerate at least an hour or up to overnight. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using your sharpest knife, cut the cookie dough into 1/8 inch coins and place them on the cookie sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart to bake. If the dough is less than perfectly round, use your fingers or the back of the knife to get into shape.

Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate pan and bake another 5 minutes until they are dry looking. Let cool a minute or 2 before removing to a rack as the cookies are quite delicate. 

To make the STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM SANDWICH COOKIES soften the ice cream, and simply add about 2 Tbsp. of Strawberry Ice Cream to the cooled cookies, smooth out the edges and top with another cookie. 

My husband, Jerry, is not only a good
licker of ice cream bowls, but also helpful
in filling Ice Cream Sandwich Cookies!

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS STRAWBERRY EXTRAVAGANZA!

UNTIL NEXT TIME...

FILL YOUR KITCHEN WITH BEAUTIFUL AROMAS,

WHICH WILL FILL YOUR HEART WITH LOVE!

Steve, Deb, and my husband, Jerry
So glad you are going to stick around!

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM

HOLIDAY TREATS! ONE SWEET...ONE SAVORY!

Let's start with dessert. Once again, I thought I had come up with an original...wrong! But I did find a bunch of different recipes online and put my own twist on this creamy ice cream. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this would make an excellent addition to your dessert table. It tastes exactly like apple pie!

APPLE PIE ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

FOR THE APPLES-

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

2 medium Granny Smith apples; peeled, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 rounded tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Combine brown sugar and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted and bubbly, add the apples and cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently until the apples are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Since the custard has to cool overnight I made the apple mixture the day before churning the ice cream.

FOR THE ICE CREAM-

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks

1/3 cup white sugar

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cups half and half

1/4 tsp. salt

1 rounded tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:

In a medium bowl whisk together the egg yolks, then whisk in 2 1/2 Tbsp. sugar. Set aside. 

In a medium saucepan, stir together the two creams, salt and remaining sugar over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a simmer, reduce heat to medium. Do not boil. Ladle some of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat once more. By gently heating the egg yolks you will not end up with scrambled eggs once all is added to the cream mixture. Once the eggs have warmed up a bit, very slowly stir in the rest of the eggs to the cream mixture. Add the vanilla and spices.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is thickened. Temperature should be about 170 degrees. Remove from the heat and strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula press the custard through the sieve. You may see little pieces of cooked egg in the sieve. That is why this step is so important. Once strained, set the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water, stirring occasionally until cooled. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to churn add the custard and apple mixture alternately to your ice cream maker. Refer to manufacturers instructions for churning time. I use a Cuisinart and this ice cream took about 23 minutes to churn. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze. Take out of freezer about 10 minutes before serving. 

My good friend Debby Vis made a spectacular apple pie. Her recipe uses cream cheese in the filling so it is super rich and creamy. We topped the pie with the Apple Pie Ice Cream and an Apple Cider reduction. This photo is a bit of a mess, but it sure was, as Mary Berry would say, SCRUMMY!

TO REDUCE THE CIDER-

8 cups apple cider

Measure 1 1/4 cups of cider and pour into a larger heavy-bottomed stock pot. Reduce by half and then add all the cider and boil over medium-high heat until it is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups syrup Watch it towards the end as it may 'catch'. This sauce is surprisingly tart, which was a lovely contrast to the sweet pie and ice cream. This sauce would be excellent on either pork or chicken.

AND NOW FOR THE SAVORY-

I've been on an old fashioned hors d'oeuvres kick. This cheeseball would be a great starter to Thanksgiving dinner, but is good any time. So easy to put together and can be made a day in advance. I served with assorted crackers and slices of Granny Smith apple.

MAJOR GREY'S CHUTNEY CHEESEBALL

Ingredients:

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/2 cup Colby cheese, grated

1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated

1 scallion, mainly white part

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney

Salt/Pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped pecans for coating

Preparation:

Mix cream cheese together with the chutney, scallion, garlic, salt and pepper. Fold in the two cheeses. Form the mixture into either one large ball or make two cheeseballs. Place the chopped pecans on a piece of plastic wrap and drop the cheese onto the nuts. 

Bring the four corners of the plastic wrap together ensuring that nuts are evenly coating the entire ball. Using your hands pat the cheese so it is fairly even and then twist and tighten the plastic wrap to complete the cheeseball. Place in the fridge for a few hours to firm up the cheese or make a day ahead.

THAT'S IT FOR TODAY...

THANKSGIVING IS NEXT WEEK!

WISHING YOU ALL A BEAUTIFUL HOLIDAY!

www.cookwithcindy.com

BLACKBERRY ICE CREAM AND MORE!

Our son, Michael, was recently here for a visit. I made him, among many other treats, a big batch of luscious Blackberry ice cream. 

Jerry, JoJo and Michael enjoying some ice cream!

This is a Ree Drummond recipe and the only problem I had making it was my ice cream maker was not quite large enough to hold the ice cream. Ice cream expands as you churn it. I ended up with ice cream all over the counter, which my husband, Jerry rushed to literally lick up! It was hilarious and if I wasn't laughing so hard would have taken a video. Here's "The Pioneer Woman's" recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pints (4 cups) fresh blackberries

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 cups half and half

5 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

4 ounces (1/2 cup) good quality semi-sweet chocolate. I used Ghiradeli chips.

Preparation:

Combine the blackberries, 1/4 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the blackberries are broken down and syrupy, about 20 minutes.

Push the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Using the back of a spoon, push the berries through the sieve capturing the seeds and pulps to give your ice cream a smooth and creamy texture. This is a tedious, but important step; otherwise lots of seeds in your ice cream. Set aside to cool. Ree suggests discarding the pulpy seeds, but at the price of blackberries I could not do it so placed in a covered container in the fridge knowing I would find another purpose for them.

Heat the half and half and remaining 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Using a whisk, beat the egg yolks until pale and thick. Temper the eggs by carefully splashing a small amount of warm cream into the yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly pour the tempered yolks into the saucepan, stirring gently. Cook over medium-low heat until thick, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. You may check the temperature to see that it has risen to 170 degrees. 

Pour the heavy cream into the bowl with the strained berries, and then pour in the custard and stir to combine. Refrigerate the mixture for a few hours or overnight.

Freeze according to manufacturers instructions. It took about 20-25 minutes and the consistency will thicken as it sits in the freezer. Toward the end of the freezing, drop in the chocolate bits. Transfer to an ice cream safe container and allow it to harden for several hours or overnight. I was very pleased with both the texture and taste!

The Blackberry ice cream was also yummy with super fudgy brownies my good friend, Dorita Pina made!

AND THIS IS WHAT I DID WITH THE BLACKBERRY PULP....

BACON WRAPPED BLACKBERRY 

CHICKEN FLORENTINE

NO RECIPE NECESSARY FOR THIS DISH...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts to about 1/4 inch. Liberally salt both sides. Spread about 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise on each breast. This, along with the blackberries, keeps the chicken very moist.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of the blackberry pulp on each chicken breast. Next, cover with grated parmesan cheese and top with fresh spinach leaves. 

Using thick-cut bacon (My favorite brand is Wrightson.) gently stretch a piece of bacon so it will easily wrap around the breast. It's amazing how elastic a strip of bacon is!

Roll the breast along the long edge. Use your fingers to tuck in any stray spinach leaves. Wrap the bacon tightly around each piece of chicken. The bacon holds the rolled chicken in place so you don't need to secure with toothpicks.

Place in a foil-lined, lightly oiled, 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 15 minutes. Check doneness with a meat thermometer. Internal temp should be around 160 degrees. The chicken will continue cooking a bit after you remove from the oven. USDA recommends 165 degrees. Some of the blackberry oozed out of the chicken and I just placed on top. I've searched the internet and not found this recipe anywhere so think I have finally come up with something original!

I AM STILL WORKING ON THE NEW WEBSITE. IN THE MEANTIME IF YOU WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO 'COOK WITH CINDY', GO TO MY WEBSITE AND SUBSCRIBE IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER.

NEXT TIME I'M GOING TO SHARE ANOTHER ORIGINAL RECIPE...

PORK LOIN STUFFED WITH DRIED CHERRIES MARINATED IN RED WINE!

UNTIL THEN...KEEP ON COOKING!

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