Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

At the end of September, it was my turn to be on the committee to host our monthy staff meeting at work. We decided to do an outdoor meeting with a 'last blast of summer' theme.

And what better to go with that theme than homemade ice cream sandwiches?

I have to admit that I cheated a little bit. I didn't have a lot of time so I used a mix for the chocolate chip cookies and then smashed a scoopful of vanilla ice cream in the middle. Then I rolled the sides in sprinkles and immediately stuck them in the freezer.

These were a huge hit! Even my boss was licking away at the sides and chomping into the cookie!

twd ~ chocolate spice quickies

Whenever I have someone over for dinner, I spend as much time thinking about the dessert as the main course. I see it as the big finale. I planned an intimate dinner for two last week, and took Dorie's suggestion to pair the chocolate spice quickies with ice cream. It was delicious. The cookies are great solo, and are subtle enough in flavor to be addictive. These aren't rich, despite the spices and chocolate, which is one reason why they paired so wonderfully with Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream.
The ice cream overshadowed the cookies a bit. I added a little expresso powder and salt to the ganache to bring out the intense chocolate.
Thanks to Jessica of My Baking Heart for this week's pick! Check out her blog for the recipe and some beautiful food pics.

SunO Dessert

I first heard about SunO from Scoutmob. I'll skip over how much I love Scoutmob, and say that the write-up intrigued me. Shaved ice made from condensed milk...what? I don't know about ya'll, but it sounded very good to me!

Turns out, SunO is on my way home from work, now that my office moved in mid-December. I pass it everyday! Tonight, even though Atlanta has had more than it's fair share of snow and freezing temps this week, I was craving a frozen treat - ice cream, froyo, the real tangy frozen yogurt...something. So I decided to stop at SunO and give it a try.

At first, I was a little overwhelmed with all the pretty menu choices: wheel pies, crepes, custards, bubble teas, powders, caramels, syrups, red beans - the list goes on of all the things to mix and match to make your own creation. It being way too cold outside, I wasn't too surprised to be the only one there, but I didn't want to stand and stare blankly at the menu too long. I sampled the mango, which was a little odd to me, but I know I can be picky with fruity dessert. So I went with the plain chocolate and it was great! The small was $1, and I had to ask the cashier twice "how much? really?" When has any good ice cream been a dollar? Wow. That makes it even more dangerous as a potential stop-off after work; it's good and it's cheap.

It's also very light and fluffy, which makes me feel like it's not as bad for me as regular ice cream. The consistency did take a second to get used to, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Next time, I might have to go for one of the fancy ones with cookie crumbles.

twd ~ Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream

Katrina of Bakings and Boys! picked Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream this week. It's a perfect pick for the heat wave we've been having!



I followed Dorie's advice and used dark chocolate - 88% cocoa to be exact. I added a pinch of sea salt to the mix before I put it in the ice cream maker. I couldn't actually taste the salt, but I like a little with dark chocolate - it seems to take away any bitter aftertaste. I halved the recipe, but only used one egg (instead of two) for the custard. I was making next week's oatmeal breakfast bread to take to work and only had two eggs. I could have gone to the store but...couldn't quite make myself. The ice cream was still delicious, just a bit icier than I think it would have been otherwise. I also used coconut milk instead of milk and cream. I think this would be great with caramalized nuts thrown in!

Froban or Ice Cream without the Cream

This is the best discovery!

Seriously creamy...cold...perfect for summer....

and all it is a ripe banana.

Those things that turn black sitting on the counter in the summer sun, and only beg a glance when they are too ripe to eat. Throw it in the freezer and then the blender and magic things happen.

That old ripe banana is reincarnated as yummy ice cream. Or something pretty darn close.

I added a handfull of frozen strawberries, and it begs for more playing around. Peaches, peanut butter, chocolate...okay, it's getting less healthy by the word but it's still a great (vegan) option.

twd ~ Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

Check out this recipe on Spike Bakes. Thanks Spike for a wonderful summer pick!

The star of this dessert is the crust. Buttery coconut and shortbread cookies! Magically, it tastes even better than it sounds!

On top of the crust is a thin layer of sliced banana. I did not dig the frozen banana taste or texture. I ended up digging them out. Not really a fan of frozen fruit.

There was another ripe banana mixed into the ice cream. I couldn't really taste it so much. Perhaps because I used German Chocolate Cake ice cream instead of plain chocolate so there was caramel and fudgey cake pieces for the banana to contend with.

This was a great dessert to have waiting in the freezer when my mom came up this weekend. After a yummy dinner of spicey Thai curry, this was perfect for sitting on the balcony in the cool summer evening.

twd ~ Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

I think everyone is thanking Becky of Project Domestication this week! This was amazing...even if I did have a llittle problem...

It's ice cream, minus the ice. Mine never froze! It got very cold but even hanging out in the freezer overnight didn't help. Weird.

But it didn't matter, it was delicious caramel. Finger and bowl licking good, which is why I ended up with a very small bit foor picture taking time. No worries, I will be making this again!

Orange Dream Ice Cream

Most days I want a little something sweet after dinner. Most days I give in. Rummaging around the kitchen for odd inventory to turn into something devilishly sweet, I realized that I've only made ice cream once (Basil Ice Cream) since getting my new ice cream maker. That's seriously a shame because it's so easy now, and I scream for ice cream! Literally, everytime I pass a Marble Slab, Baskin Robbins, or gelato place.

Thanks to recent Tuesdays with Dorie picks, I had a range of half used items including heavy cream and sour cream. I also had some Valencia oranges that gave this ice cream a little last taste of summer. It is reminiscent of orange cream-sicles, the orange pops with vanilla on the inside that my brother, sister, and I devoured with sticky hands every summer at my Granny's. It's a little tart and very creamy - quite a refreshing combo.

Orange Dream Ice Cream

modified from The Perfect Scoop's Orange Popsicle Ice Cream

zest of 3 oranges

1/2-inch ginger root, grated

1/3 cup of sugar

3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice, about 3-4 oranges, Valenica is good

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 heavy cream

1. Put the orange zest, ginger root, and sugar in a bowl. Mix together with your fingers until well combined. The smell will be divine!
2. Blend the sugar mixture until the zest is very fine. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Put in a cover container and chill thoroughly.
4. Transfer to ice cream maker and make according to manufacturer's instructions.

This ice cream was seriously good. Everyone enjoyed!

Bears the approval stamp of orange cats the world over.

Basil Ice Cream

Topping my wish list has been a cute, easy ice cream maker. One that doesn't require hand turning like my Granny's, or lots of rock ice and overseeing like my mom's. Something that is sleek and easy (did I already say that?) and would make yummy ice cream.

Enter my fabulous sister with my birthday present - the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker I had been eyeing in Williams Sonoma! The one that David Lebovitz recommends on his blog, though I didn't know that until after it was purchased. I was *very excited.

The first ice cream made had to be Basil Ice Cream. Yeah, yeah, join in the skeptical remarks my mom and boyfriend made: what color will it be? herb ice cream? I don't know if that sounds very good. Hello people, mint is an herb used in ice cream and very popular. Basil is awesome in everything! I had gotten a bunch at the farmers' market and searched recipes to use it. Up popped Basil Ice Cream.

Also for my birthday, I received The Perfect Scoop, Chez Pannisse Vegetables, and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. (I'm a lucky girl.) The Perfect Scoop had a lovely Basil Ice Cream recipe with lots of cream - 2 cups to be exact. Normally I might substitute part low-fat milk, but not on my birthday weekend. Full fat and celebration.

I watched the ice cream maker turning, quietly hardening the cream. It was a beautiful color and the taste was sweet and refreshing. The basil taste came through a little more the second day, but wasn't as strong as I had thought it might be. It was quite balanced with the richness of the cream and the sweetness of the sugar. My mom had to eat her words because she loved it.