Cookies and Cream Ice-Cream Recipe

Being avid runners, Alex and I like to eat healthy most of the time. While we sample our baked goods, our families are often willing recipients of any spare treats we might have. However our will power melts away when it comes to one thing. Ice cream. Ice cream is one of my favourite things to eat. I don’t know if it’s because it requires no utensils to eat if scooped into a crunchy waffle cone or only  a bowl and a spoon ( actually just a spoon really because we all know ice cream tastes better straight from the tub!) Maybe it’s because it can come in an abundance of flavours and that it is both cool and refreshing or can be eaten as comfort food.  Or maybe it is because it just tastes so damn good!

As a kid I loved chocolate flavoured ice cream. A tub of neapolitan ice cream was always in the freezer because that way those who batted for  team strawberry and vanilla were also happy. Now I find that I prefer ice cream flavoured with honeycomb, caramel or toffee. I would regularly make late night runs or stop off on my way home from shopping to Cold Rock Ice Creamery on Glenferrie Road in Malvern. I would generally buy a big take home tub with a mixture of flavours and mix ins. At about $15  a tub, I was regularly told I was crazy to spend so much money on ice cream ( I would agree at the time but then would be secretly be very pleased with myself for money well spent after I got the tub home, dug my spoon in and sampled my indulgent purchase! )

Catching on to my addiction, I was given an ice cream maker by my mum for my birthday last year. I saw Oreos on sale one day so I thought I would have a go at a cookies and cream ice cream. I find that the most indulgent brands of ice creams are generally over priced and packed in a small 500ml tub. After making the cookies and cream ice cream  I have not bought a commercially made ice cream since and this recipe produces over a litre of ice cream for the price of some milk, cream and sugar. This cookies and cream ice cream recipe is probably the best I have tasted. The Oreos give it an authentic cookies and cream flavour and the ice cream is subtly flavoured  with vanilla. It tastes fresh and creamy and does not contain any artificial  ingredients that you might find in supermarket brands.

The key to this recipe is to cut the Oreos not crush them. This way you still keep the vanilla flavour and white colour of the ice cream and the peices of Oreo go soft once the ice cream freezes. If you crush the Oreos you might be left with a purple greyish coloured ice cream and you will not experience the cookie chunks.

**Warning (this ice cream tastes amazing covered in ice magic – according to Alex a 1 litre tub will last approimately 2 days!)

The  simple vanilla ice cream recipe that we use as the base  is so easy and you can really flavour it with whatever you want. I like to add some kind of sweet mix in like cookie dough, caramel sauce, peanut butter, crushed  up chocolate bars ( such as crunchies, snickers or mars bar) or m&ms to produce any kind of ice cream that im craving. A hint for making flavoured ice cream apart from vanilla is to use flavoured milk.

We hope you enjoy this sweet icy treat.

- Alex & Rani.

Making Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker
So, you want to make this ice cream but you don’t have an ice cream maker?
Well you can still make homemade ice cream! It takes a bit longer, but the results are every bit as yummy!
Making ice cream without a machine means you have to manually freeze the cream mixture. Generally with a hand held mixer ( method A) or completely manual (method “B”).

Method A:
1. Prepare the custard base as directed in the recipe (including chill time in the refrigerator).
2. Remove custard from the refrigerator and stir with a rubber spatula. Transfer the mixture to a freezer-safe bowl or container (if not already in one). Cover tightly with plastic wrap or an airtight cover. Place in the freezer and allow to freeze for 2 hours.
3. Remove from the freezer and beat with a hand mixer to break up the ice crystals that are beginning to form. Cover and place back in freezer for 2 more hours.
4. Remove from the freezer and beat again with the hand mixer. The ice cream should be thick but too soft to scoop. If it is not thick enough, return it to the freezer for additional freezing time. Beat again. If the ice cream has thickened properly, stir in any add-ins at this point (chocolate chips, cookie chunks, etc.). Do not beat with the hand mixer after the add-ins have been mixed in.
5. Pour into a plastic airtight freezer container, leaving at least ½-inch space at the top. Cover and place the container in the freezer and allow the ice cream to freeze until firm.
Source: How to Make Homemade Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker (RecipeTips.com)

Method B:
1. Prepare the custard base as directed in the recipe (including chill time in the refrigerator).
2. Remove custard from the refrigerator and stir with a rubber spatula. Transfer the mixture to a deep freezer-safe bowl or container and place in the freezer for 45 minutes.
3. As it starts to freezer near the edges, remove from the freezer and stir vigorously with a fork or whisk, being sure to break up any frozen sections. Return it to the freezer.
4. Continue to check every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it’s freezing. It is estimated that it will take 2-3 hours for the ice cream to sufficiently frozen and ready.

Note: For best results david reccomends using a handheld mixer
Source: How to Make Ice Cream Without a Machine (David Lebovitz)

Tagged as: artofbaking, baking, cookies and cream, dessert, food, ice-cream