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-
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:
