After we finished off the peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream, I asked Shane what he wanted me to make next. He requested french vanilla ice cream with cookie dough pieces. Sounded good to me so I grabbed my recipe book, found recipes for both components and set out to give it a shot! It was my first try making a custard based ice cream but it turned out to be pretty easy. I think the worst part was the big stack of dishes in the sink afterward! As for the taste, I have to say that this is some of the most delicious ice cream either Shane or I have ever had! It was so rich but so yummy! The texture was great and the vanilla flavor was even better using the vanilla beans in addition to the vanilla extract. I was glad the ice cream maker only makes about a quart of ice cream as I definitely could have seen us eating WAY more of this one!
By Tracey
French Vanilla Ice Cream
from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
- 6 large egg yolks
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard, add the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz
Ingredients:
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup walnuts, pecans, or hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (I omitted these)
- 3/4 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
Directions:
In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the flour, then the vanilla, nuts and chocolate chips.
Form the dough into a disk about 1/2 inch thick, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm. Once chilled, unwrap the disk and chop into bite-sized pieces, then store the pieces in the freezer until ready to mix in.
Mixing in the pieces: Fold pieces of cookie dough into 1 quart of ice cream as you remove it from the machine.
Storage: The dough can be stored for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer, well wrapped.
