Summer (noun): synonymous with an over indulgence in ice cream. I have some bad news though, most of the ice cream out there isn’t iced cream at all.
There was a summer when we were newlyweds that my hubby and I lived a 5 minute walk from DQ. We spent many a summer evening with a Blizzard or cone in hand, strolling down the street. We still occasionally revisit that period in our lives and refer to it as ignorant bliss. We naively thought we were actually treating ourselves to real cream, blended into a delicious treat. K. not really. We obviously realized their soft serve came out of a machine, but I suppose this is where the ignorant bliss came in.
Here’s a strong jolt of reality from Dairyqueen.com:
Does that say corn syrup, mono and diglycerides, artificial flavor and….?? But where’s the cream? sniff, sniff 🙁
Don’t despair. I did promise a recipe for Ice Cream Sammies from Scratch and I always deliver. These ice cream sandwiches are SO delicious, you won’t miss all that other crap. I promise. This year I even made these in lieu of my Soaked Birthday Cupcakes for my children’s birthday celebrations.
**I like to use my favorite (flourless) peanut butter cookie recipe. We find the PB imparts a nice contrast of flavor to the vanilla ice cream, but go ahead and use your own fave cookie recipe. You can’t really mess these up.
Cookie
1 cup organic peanut butter
3/4 cup sucanat (organic evaporated cane juice) or coconut sugar
1 pastured egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup organic dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350′ and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In your mixer combine peanut butter and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl whip egg with baking soda and sea salt then add to PB mixture and mix.
4. Add chocolate chips and mix to combine.
5. Measure out mixture by tablespoon and press down slightly.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.
7. Set aside to cool.
Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup organic cream (ideally from grass fed cows)
1 cup organic whole milk (ideally from grass fed cows)
1 inch piece of vanilla bean (split lengthwise)
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup of sucanat
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1. Combine cream and milk in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add vanilla bean and heat until mixture almost boils (about 5-8 minutes). Reduce heat to low.
3. In another bowl beat yolk, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth (about 1-2 minutes).
4. Add 2 tbsp of hot cream/milk mixture and stir until combined.
5. Gradually add egg yolk mixture to pot, stirring continuously.
6. Cook over low heat until slightly thickened (about 3-4 minutes).
7. Cool completely in refrigerator.
8. Once cool, scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add to ice cream mixture. Discard shell.
9. Stir and pour into ice cream maker freezer bowl.
10. Turn machine on and let mix until it looks like ice cream.
(adapted form my Cuisinart Ice Cream maker recipe booklet)
Ice Cream Sammies
1. Match up cookie sizes as best you can.
2. Add a couple tbsp of ice cream to the flat side of one cookie.
3. Add top of sandwich and press down slightly.
4. Place in freezer until ready to serve.
5. Continue assembling and enjoy!
Recipe yields 8 ice cream sammies
This yummy treat is also shared with: Ann Kroeker, Not Your Ordinary Recipes, The Self Sufficient Home Acre, My Sweet and Savory, Natural Living Mamma, A Life in Balance, What Joy is Mine, Flour me with Love, Home Grown and Healthy, Cup Cake n Bake, Alderberry Hill, Homemaker on a Dime, I Gotta Try That, Nourishing Treasures, Our Delightful Home, Our 4 Kids, Blessed with Grace, Nap Time Creations, Not just a housewife, An Oregon Cottage, Sarah Lynn’s Sweets, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, This Chick Cooks, Intoxicated on Life, Domesblissity, Chocolate Chocolate and more, Finding Joy in my Kitchen, Gnowfglins, Thank Your Body, My Cultured Palate, Life, Love, Librarianship, Love in the Kitchen, The NY Melrose Family,
