cookie salad ice cream

Here is a complete list of all of the most insane food ideas that Eggboy has ever had, in order of best to worst.

First place (tie): cookie salad ice cream and shakshuka couscous 

Here by default: chicken pot babka

He is officially 2 for 3 on hard wins versus horrible nightmares. Although I do feel like chicken pot pie babka could ultimately work with some heavy tweaking, but that’s not for today. Today is for cookie salad ice cream, which I knew was brilliant from the moment Eggboy blurted it out, completely unprompted. We love cookie salad, we love ice cream, there’s no reason the two shouldn’t combine into one magical cone of quirky Midwestern glee. And it’s not that complicated to make either! Time consuming, yes, but the concept of a tangy buttermilk ice cream with crushed fudge stripe cookies and mandarin oranges is straightforward and exactly what you’d expect the most summery version of the best vegetableless salad to taste like. Sweet, sour, creamy, citrusy, and filled with buttery cookies!!

Developing this recipe did have some bumps in the road because I learned the hard way that dumping a bunch of room temperature cookies and mandarins into freshly churned ice cream will melt it and ruin it. But it has an easy fix, just freeze em! So don’t skip this step, take your time, and get started now so that it will be ready for fourth of July!

I’ve used Our Family mandarins here, perfect for our first family fourth of July :)! 

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Cookie Salad Ice Cream

Makes 3 pints

Buttermilk ice cream:

6 large egg yolks

2 c (480g) heavy whipping cream

3/4 c (150g) sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tb vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

3/4 c (180g) buttermilk

Assembly:

18 fudge stripe cookies (1/2 batch of the recipe for homemade cookies below (preferred!), or store-bought)

1 (15 oz) can Our Family mandarins, drained

sprinkles, optional

Directions

Day 1 (or early in the day if making this all in one day):

Whisk together the egg yolks in a medium heat-safe bowl or measuring cup and set aside. In a large pot, whisk together the heavy cream, sugar, salt, vanilla, and almond extract and heat over medium high heat until steaming, whisking often (don’t let it boil, reduce the heat if it starts to). Reduce the heat to medium and gradually ladle 4-5 ladlefuls of the hot cream into the egg yolks while whisking vigorously and constantly and then gradually pour the egg mixture into the pot while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Transfer to a container and whisk in the buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight, until cold. 

Make the cookies if using homemade. Finely chop 15 of the cookies, leaving a few nice larger pieces, and reserve the remaining 3 whole cookies for the topping. Scatter all over a plate or sheet pan and stick in the freezer for about an hour or overnight.

Scatter the mandarin oranges all over a plate or sheet pan and stick in the freezer for about an hour or overnight.

Day 2 (or once the buttermilk custard is cold):

Coarsely chop the mandarins, reserving a few whole pieces for the top, and stick them back in the freezer. 

Churn the ice cream according to manufacturer’s directions. When it’s almost done churning, add about half of the frozen cookies and frozen mandarins (or as many that will fit in your ice cream maker). When finished churning, transfer to a large freezer safe container or 3 pint containers, sprinkling in the remaining cookies and mandarins as you go. Top with reserved cookies, mandarins, and sprinkles, if using, and freeze for 2 more hours before serving. 

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Homemade Fudge Stripe Cookies

Makes 36

Ingredients

1 c (130g) all-purpose flour, more for dusting

1/2 c (60g) powdered sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp almond extract 

1/2 c (113g) Our Family unsalted butter, cold and cubed 

5 oz (about 3/4 c) chopped semisweet chocolate

Directions

Combine the flour, powdered sugar, and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. With the mixer running on low, add the vanilla and almond extracts and then gradually add the butter. Mix until the mixture comes together into a dough, slowly increasing the speed once you're confident that doing so won't result in flour flying everywhere. Divide the dough in half, press into discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight. (If you're impatient, fine, skip this step.)

Preheat the oven to 350ºf. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/8”-1/4” thick. Cut out 2” circles with a biscuit cutter and then use a big piping tip to cut out 1/2” holes from the center. Re-roll scraps as needed. Place the cookies on baking sheets 1” apart. Bake until they're just starting to brown around the edges; start checking for doneness at 12 minutes. Let cool on the pans.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each. Let it cool slightly and then pour into a piping bag. Snip off the tip and then pipe 4 thick chocolate stripes on each cookie. Let the chocolate harden at room temp or in the fridge. 

These will keep for several days in an airtight container at room temp or in the fridge.

Print this recipe

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-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett quernemoen

this recipe was created in partnership with our family!

tahini milkshakes

We have a dog chicken. You know, like a dog cat, a cat that behaves like a dog, but a chicken. It started last month when we noticed that one of our chickens was looking blue and had a little blood on her head from getting her feathers picked out by the other chickens, it was so sad! We separated her so she could heal in peace, and gave her special treatment, like extra cucumbers and apples. Eventually we let her roam around the yard, freely outside of the run, and she became so personable! Not like the other chickens who run away if you try to come near them. This chicken comes up to you when you’re in the yard and lets you pet her. Occasionally she visits Eggboy in the workshop. On Mother’s Day when we presented Eggmom with her gift (a wagon to hook on to her lawn mower), Eggboy had all of us stand in one part of the yard to watch the big reveal, and as all of the Eggs and I assembled in a little group as the audience, Chicken also gathered with us and stood attentively waiting for the show. It was the best. She’s the best. I love her. I know you’re not supposed to pick favorite chicken children, but she’s my fave. 

Anyway, over the weekend we had a scare. We heard a flopping noise, ran outside, and couldn’t find her anywhere. All we could see was white feathers scattered about in two different parts of the yard, and we searched everywhere but couldn’t find her. It was the worst. A fox, a hawk, or a coyote had come to eat her, we figured :( But then!! Two very sad long hours later, she reappeared!!!!! A little shaken but still her happy self. She must have been hiding from whatever monster tried to get her. We sliced up celebratory cucumber, danced around, and then put her to bed and then went inside and ate celebratory Chana Masala and watched celebratory Breaking Bad.

This morning as I left for the gym, I saw her keeping Eggboy company while he weedwacked and it made me so happy. I am a little bummed that we’re going to have to move her back into the coop with the other chickens soon but at least she’s safe.

This is a pic of her I took when I was using up the rest of my shots on my Paris cameras:

So that’s what’s happening around the farm.

In tahini news, it occurred to me last month that it has been over a year since I had the earth shatteringly amazing tahini shake at Goldie, in Philadelphia. I decided that it was time to start making my own. But did you know that if you do a Google for tahini shake recipe, the internet automatically assumes that you also want dates?? And, worst case scenario, bananas????? Like I realize that tahini is classified as a health food in some brains and fits snuggly in with this practice of sweetening shakes with dates and creamifying them with bananas, but I just really wanted… sugar. And no date flavor. And real ice cream. Bananas can gtfo forever and ever. ❌🚫🙅🏻‍♀️

I wanted an old school milkshake, like the chocolate peanut butter ones we got at Steak 'n Shake in high school to have with their crispy shoestring fries, only instead of peanut butter I wanted tahini.  And I wanted a smaller milkshake too because one problem I have with the world of milkshakes is that they are always too darn big. They tempt me into bellyache sugar crash territory and these days I just never order them because of this and resort to stealing sips of my dad’s or Eggboy’s during our annual In-N-Out trips. If there was a universally understood kiddie cone equivalent option, or like a shot of milkshake option, that would be ideal. That’s what my future imaginary restaurant will have, shots of milkshakes. And then the cute as a button juice glasses in these pics will be the jumbo size.

My last opinion about milkshakes is that I appreciate when they have something in them to chew on, like cookies or a whole piece of chocolate cake, a la Portillo’s or the Oreo Dairy Queen Blizzard. So I’ve thrown in handfuls of crushed chocolate cookies here. They get so good and soft as they soak up the shake. The rest of the shake is as perfect as you’d imagine: nutty and extra creamy, thanks to the tahini, and perfect with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. A pinch of cinnamon enhances the tahini flavor, and an optional drizzle of chocolate syrup will do no harm. And rainbow sprinkles, doyyy.

Tahini Milkshakes

Makes 6-8 mini shakes or 4 medium (pictured)

ingredients

2 c (400g) vanilla ice cream

3/4 c (180g) whole milk

1/2 c (100g) tahini

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

a pinch of cinnamon

a drizzle of chocolate syrup, optional

a handful of crushed chocolate cookies (homemade or store-bought), optional but highly recommended

fresh whipped cream

rainbow sprinkles

clues

In a blender, combine the ice cream, milk, tahini, vanilla, and cinnamon, and blend to combine. Pour into glasses and top with a drizzle of chocolate syrup and crushed cookies (if using), whipped cream, and sprinkles and enjoy.

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-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett! dress from gap!

pumpkin cake + semifreddo push pops

push pops are a fall seasonal food, right? because soccer games? or was that exclusive to my suburban world? i just seem to have all these bowl-cut-wearing memories of running around in the fall with my little shin guards and cleats on, probably losing to the other team, and then not caring at all because look, the ice cream truck, and heeeeere come sticky fingers fingers from a flinstone's push pop. those things were *in my worst falsetto voice* the best. i remember having to warm them between my hands a little bit so that they would loosen up out of their cardboard tubes and then i would demolish them and take apart the tube device and play with the different parts. they were fascinating. v v fascinating. 

so now that i'm a sophisticated fancy lady, these guys have gotten sophisticated and fancified by way of ice cream's quirkier cousin, the semifreddo, and soft autumny pumpkin (!!!!) cake. these push pop molds are fun little creatures and i wanted to do them justice by making something that really takes advantage of their clear cylindrical nature. any sort of mini cake would be cute in these, but a semifreddo-filled mini cake, which probably wouldn't stand that well on its own or assemble that easily, has found a perfect home in this mold. the cake will hold its shape neatly, you can peek at the little layers (hello!), and you can keep them in your freezer for whenever you have a cake and ice cream emergency.

pumpkin cake + semifreddo push pops

makes 12-16 pops

made with the help of my all-time favorite pumpkin bread and giada's semifreddo

ingredients

cake

1 3/4 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

a pinch of ground ginger

1 3/4 c sugar

7.5 ounces (or about 3/4 c + 2 tb) pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/3 c water

semifreddo

4 large egg yolks

1/4 c + 2 tb sugar

1 tsp vanilla

a pinch of salt

1/2 c heavy cream

assembly

round push pop molds

sprinkles

clues

make the cake: preheat oven to 350, line two 9 x 13 pans with foil and grease the foil.

in a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda, and spices. in a large bowl, combine remaining ingredients. mix in the dry ingredients, pour into prepared pans, and bake. begin checking for doneness at about 20 minutes.

let cool, wrap in plastic wrap, and then freeze until ready to use, up to one week.

make the semifreddo: in a double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup of sugar, vanilla, and salt. heat over simmering water, whisking constantly, until it reaches 160 degrees. transfer to an ice bath to cool.

whip up the heavy cream. gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar once the cream gets thick. whip to stiff peaks. gently and gradually fold this into the yolk mixture.

assemble: cut out 1 1/2-inch circles of cake. layer them in your push pop molds with sprinkles and 1-2 teaspoons of semifreddo between each layer. freeze for a few hours. enjoy!

-yeh!

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this post is part of becky's eat seasonal roundup! check out a bunch of other seasonal goodies here!

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sponsored by: laguna wholesale, sellers of all sorts of dessert-related goodies! you can use the code "grateful5" to get 5% off of your first order!

bacon and sweet corn ice cream sandwiches

there are a few acceptable responses to "oh crap, i am making sweet corn ice cream."

there's the oooooh-can-i-have-a-scoop route and then there's the route that suggests the ice cream be sandwiched between two cookies covered in bacon sugar. i attribute my quick-thinking for choosing the latter to an inspiring morning spent at the chocolate factory. 

cynthia, aka miss two red bowls/aka one of my most favorite bloggers in the whole wide world/aka would have been my neighbor if i still lived in brooklyn, was the ice cream maker in this situation and she let me crash her ice cream photoshoot one summery afternoon, probably because i bribed her with bacon.

it was basically the greatest afternoon ever. we candied that bacon, she churned ice cream in her bathroom, and i got to see where she takes all of her magical photos. we dorked out over pinterest and camera lenses and corn husks and it was the most fun to style and photograph with another human. not just because being around fun people is fun, but also because i saw a new take on light, styling elements, camera angles, and silpats. and by silpats i mean that i'd never used one before, but now i think i need one.

the only thing that could have made the situation even more epic would have been if eggboy was there to play video games and drink beers with bowl #2 while this whole thing went down. (i think they'd be bffs in real life because they are both quiet and also good at waiting patiently while their food blogger fiancés style sandwiches (since those two things are what make a good friendship...)).

but speaking of epic, these ice cream sammiches: thick kernels of corn folded into corn-infused ice cream, sandwiched between chewy sugar cookies that are coated with pulverized candied smoky bacon and sprinkled with rosemary salt. tell me you did not just die. 

bacon and sweet corn ice cream sandwiches

makes 16-18 sandwiches

for the sweet corn ice cream:

head over to cynthia's blog for the recipe!

for the bacon sugar cookies:

(adapted from love and olive oil's goat cheese sugar cookies and michael ruhlman's bacon truffles)

bacon coating ingredients

1/2 lb applewood smoked bacon 

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c water

1/2 tsp baking soda

cookie ingredients

2 1/2 c flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 c sugar

1/3 c (3 oz) cream cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup reserved bacon fat

3 tb unsalted butter, melted

3 tb vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 tb milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

optional: sprinkles and/or rosemary salt

clues

to make the bacon coating, cook bacon until crispy and reserve the fat. chop bacon into small pieces.

line a baking sheet with parchment and set it aside. combine 1/2 cup of chopped bacon (any extra can be snacked on or saved for garnish), the 1/2 cup of sugar, and the 1/4 cup of water in a non-stick pan. cook over medium-high heat until caramel brown, stirring often to prevent burning. remove from heat and add the baking soda. pour the mixture onto the parchment-lined baking pan and let cool.

once it's cool, break apart into small pieces and pulse in a food processor or blender until it reaches a grainy consistency. set aside while you make the cookies.

to make the cookies, preheat oven to 350 and line a pan with parchment or a silpat.

whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. set aside.

in a large bowl, combine sugar, cream cheese, bacon fat, and melted butter and whisk until mixture forms a smooth paste.  whisk in the oil. add egg, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. gently fold in the flour mixture until incorporated and no dry ingredients remain. dough will be soft, but should still be workable. if not, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes until it is.

use a small cookie scoop to portion out about 1 tablespoon of dough, then roll in the bacon coating (or sprinkles, if desired). place on your baking sheet a few inches apart. sprinkle with rosemary salt, if using.

bake for about 10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are just set. for ice cream sandwiches, you’ll want them to be on the very, very soft side, or else they’ll turn too crunchy once frozen. if using sprinkles, shave 1-2 minutes off the baking time -- they will spread less and bake faster with sprinkles. cool on the baking sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

to assemble:

pop the cookies in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make them sturdier to handle. in the meantime, remove ice cream from freezer and let soften slightly.  

place a scoop of ice cream onto one cookie on its flat side; press a second, similar-sized cookie on top and squeeze gently in the center to press them together. repeat with remaining cookies and ice cream.

place assembled ice cream sandwiches on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap, then replace in the freezer for 1-2 hours, or until hardened. after that, enjoy or wrap individually in plastic wrap for later.

-yeh!!!!!