Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Somehow I have given birth to a child that does not like chocolate. I’m not sure how this happened. No one else in our family suffers from this affliction. I did not expose him too early. Like most parents, I waited for the typical first birthday before placing the customary small smash cake in front of him. I also don’t think he’s trying to stage an elaborate hoax or practical joke. Even when disguised inside a candy or baked good, he will find the offending chocolate and proceed to disgustingly ‘pick it out’ and throw it in the garbage. Seriously, how is this child mine? [If you are reading this in the future buddy- don’t worry I still love you!]
Even stranger still- this chocolate boycott does not apply to Oreo cookies. Is this a cocoa powder v. milk chocolate differential? Is it that the deliciousness of cream filling overtakes the objection to the cocoa? While I don’t understand this exception I will monopolize it as a way to enjoy chocolate treats as a family. With this motivation in mind, I set out to find a delicious desert that incorporated the famous cookie.
The result: the greatest ice cream ever! I know you may think I’m overselling this, but truly this ice cream is divine. The crushed cookies keep their crunch, they do not overwhelm the vanilla custard, the result is not too sweet or decadent… it is ice cream bliss.
Disclosure- you need an ice cream maker to make ice cream. Or at least this ice cream. Worried about having another single use item in your kitchen? It can make sherbet too, and frozen yogurt! What more motivation do you need?
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Based on David Lebovitz Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes 1 pint
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
200 grams Oreos, crushed (about 2 cups or 24 cookies)
Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.
Set up an ice bath by placing a medium-sized bowl into a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.
In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as your pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly; preferably overnight.
Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once finished, stir in the crushed oreos and freeze for several hours before serving.