Cookies and Cream

We are ice cream fanatics at this house.  We will never turn down frozen custard, soft serve, blizzards, or hard pack ice cream.  Almost every flavor although, of course, we both have our favorites.  Rocky Road or Chocolate for me and Mint Chocolate Chip for him. 

After Christmas I had a little extra money to spend and while perusing Sur la Table, I realized they had an ice cream maker on sale for just $35.  I was definitely swooning.  I put my best tactics to work, leaving the store and heading to run another errand to see if the desire for a new kitchen toy would pass.  It didn’t.  I just couldn’t pass up that price.  So I bought it.  And already we are loving it.
       We have this one from Cuisinart but in Royal Blue.  Retails for $49.99.

So far we’ve made a deliciously tart Lemon Sorbet and the other week we made Cookies and Cream.  I love the cookies and cream ice cream from a local shop, Sebastian Joe’s, so I purposely added more crumbs to get the darker color.  Annie, from Annie’s Eats made this as well and you can take a peek at her results for a more white cookies and cream.


At the end of the day, this is the perfect treat, especially when it’s served in a cone.  Delightful, delicious, indulgent, and so refreshing.  Here’s to ice cream and summer!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
adapted via Annie’s Eats from Pennies on a Platter

Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream (I used half and half)
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
15-20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped (I crumbed 5-10 shells and discarded cream as well as the coarsely chopped Oreos)

Directions:
Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.  Heat until bubbles form around the edges.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and well combined.  Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly to prevent curdling.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, about 5-8 minutes, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon (about 175 degrees F on an instant read thermometer).  Pour the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until completely chilled.

Once the mixture is well chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  (I added the crumbs at this point, chunks later)

Once the mixture is softly frozen, transfer half of it to a storage container.  Add half of the chopped Oreo pieces and fold in gently with a rubber spatula.  Add the remaining ice cream and Oreo pieces to the container, and fold once more until the mixture is evenly combined.  Freeze until completely hardened. 

Source: adapted from Pennies on a Platter