Plain old yum!
“Handmade presents are scary because they reveal that you have too much free time.” ~ Doug Coupland
Uh oh. That doesn’t bode well for me.
When I was a little girl I lived for crafting projects. In fact, I watched the infomercial station ad nauseum and learned more about cleaning products, pet de-licing and hair accessories than any other child of the ’80s. I’m not quite sure why it was so mesmerizing to watch this station but truth be told, I loved it. Come to think of it, I was probably the ideal customer for QVC: impressionable, gullible, and plan old naive! Every time the infomercial would end, a very convincing voice would announce “buy now and we’ll throw in two extra mops for the price of one” or my personal favorite “buy now for seven easy payments of $19.99”. Well something about that “buy now” voice really stressed me out. How could I miss out on the opportunity to get the world’s best mop plus two more, for free! And even better, payment was easy! Upon hearing these amazing deals I’d scream “Mom!!!!! Come quick!” and you know what she would do? She’d rush so fast into the family room you’d think someone was hurt. It worked like a charm every single time. Once I had her at my mercy I’d politely ask for her credit card so that I could order said product. I’d have the phone in hand, already having dialed the 1-800 number in hopes of beating some of the other suckers to this deal. Let me tell you something – it never worked. My mother was too damn smart. I never got the magic bullet, or the knives that cut pennies, or even the goo-gone. Poor. Deprived. Child.
Sifting cocoa powder is a must!
And then, one day, an iron-on transfer art project appeared on QVC. Hmmm, crafty, affordable, and educational. Mom might actually fall for this one. Bless her little soul, because after screaming the obligatory “Mom!!! Come quick!” she actually took out her credit card and purchased that amazing item for me. Well, I waited with bated breath for two, long, dreadful weeks until the iron-on transfer art project came in the mail. And when it did, you know what I did? I made every friend I knew her own set of sheets and pillow cases as a birthday gift. That’s right. I cut out fruits from the colorful iron-on transfers and made cornucopias on each and every pillow case. Boy was I cool. That was the ’90s for you…Truth is, I still have those sheets, and not to toot my own horn, but they’re pretty damn awesome.
And thus began my love affair with hand-made gifts.
Flour and cocoa next to the butter right before added together
Now that 365scoops is in the mix, it follows that for a friend’s birthday, rather than making iron-on transfer presents (you know you want one!) I make ice cream instead. Well, this week is no different. It’s birthday week and in honor of two special friends (one turned 29, the other turned 1) I am making loads of ice cream. For my “big girl friend”, a college roommate and all-time rockstar of a friend, I made this very special white chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. It was sinful. Thank heavens not all of it fit in the container and I was able to save some for myself.
These cookies happen to be a personal favorite. Something about the chewy chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips is just perfect. Now think about swirling that into chocolate ice cream. Have you died and gone to calorie heaven? I have!
Creaming the butter, eggs, and two kinds of sugar
White Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Ice cream created by 365scoops; cookies from Nestle Toll House Recipe
Cookie Ingredients
A Nestle Toll House Recipe
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (12 oz) package White Chocolate Morsels
Adding in the delicious white chocolate chips
Cookie Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.
To make full size cookies (i.e. normal size) take approximate 1-2tbs of mixture, roll into a ball and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Do not flatten.
Bake for 8-9 minutes (I like them slightly under cooked and gooey). Remove from oven, tap the cookie sheet so that the cookies flatten slightly and then cool.
Mini cookie balls right before baking
To make mini cookies (which I did for the cookie dough) roll small little balls (approximately 20), place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake for 3-4 minutes. Let cool completely. Use the mini cookies for the ice cream, and the full-size cookies for garnish or ice cream sandwich making.
Ice Cream Ingredients
3 cups half-and-half
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted
Two trays of mini cookies...some of those may have disappeared!
Ice Cream Method
Sift the cocoa into a bowl. Pour in the chocolate chips and the chopped unsweetened chocolate. Set aside.
Pour the half-and-half into a medium saucepan and heat until steam begins rising (but it’s not boiling). Once heated, pour in the triple chocolate mixture whisking vigorously until the chocolate is well-mixed and entirely melted. Continue heating the chocolate milk mixture until small bubbles begin to form around the edges. Set aside.
Three types of chocolates mixed together
Whisk together the three egg yolks in a large heat-proof bowl, slowly adding in the sugar until the mixture thickens and turns pale yellow. To temper the eggs slowly pour in the chocolate mixture and whisk into the egg mixture. Pour back into a medium saucepan and heat until the mixture reaches 175 degrees or is thick enough to coat the back of a spatula. Remove from heat, cool thoroughly and then refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Triple chocolate swirled into the half-and-half
When you are ready to churn pour into the base of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. Approximately 5 minutes before the ice cream is done, pour in the mini cookies (approximately 20 pieces, each one broken in half) and let it finish churning. Transfer to a freezer safe container and let freeze for 2 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Hot off the press!
The Verdict: According to the birthday girl aka the college roomie, aka the all around great gal, it was damn good. In fact, I brought this flavor to her birthday party and the party animals loved it too. Lucky for me I had some extra that didn’t fit into the container so I’m noshing on it right now! Go ahead, try this one yourself. I promise you’ll love it. Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Ice Cream Treat!
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