Tag Archives: summer

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie and Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches

5 Jul

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I did not come up with this genius ice cream sandwich combination. The combo was the work of Asha Dornfest, the lovely mind behind Parent Hacks and the author of several different books. Asha was able to dream up her own ice cream sandwich combination when she made a donation to this great campaign, of which I was greatly honored to be a part. Ask for an ice cream sandwich combo and I shall deliver.

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One warning about this very delicious caramel ice cream–it stays very soft, even after a prolonged freezing. Consider this when biting into your ice cream sandwich, and anticipate some sticky activity.

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Last Year: Blueberry Cream Pie in a Gingersnap Crust and Olive, Lemon, and Herb-Stuffed Sole 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookie and Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches

Caramel Ice Cream

Adapted slightly from Room for Dessert, by David Lebovitz

1 ½ cups sugar

1 vanilla bean, split

2 ¾ cups heavy cream

¾ cup milk, not skim

pinch of sea salt

5 egg yolks

Sprinkle an even layer of sugar into a heavy, medium-sized saucepan (at least 2 quarts). Add the vanilla bean, then cook the sugar over medium heat until it begins to liquefy around the edges. As the sugar melts, swirl the pan to move the sugar around, and occasionally give the sugar a stir with a wooden spoon or heat-resistant spatula to prevent it from burning in any one spot.

Once the sugar has begun to darken, it will finish cooking very quickly. When the edges begin to bubble and the lighter, amber-colored sugar has begun to smoke, remove the pan from the heat and very quickly pour in the heavy cream, stirring to dissolve the caramel. The mixture will bubble and steam furiously, so be cautious with your pouring and stirring. If your caramel begins to seize up, do not fear. Simply return the pan to low heat, and gently stir the caramel cream mixture until the caramel pieces dissolve.

Whisk the milk and salt into the caramel mixture. Lightly whisk together the egg yolks in a bowl, and very slowly add the caramel cream, whisking constantly as you pour in the hot liquid. Return the mixture to the saucepan in which you cooked the caramel, and gently heat the custard mixture over low heat until it reaches around 165 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. The mixture should easily coat the back of a spoon.

Strain the custard mixture into a medium or large bowl, and refrigerate until completely chilled, overnight, or at a minimum, 3 hours. When chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. When ice cream is frozen, remove to a container and freeze several hours or overnight, until firmed up enough for scooping.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Sandwich Cookies

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz

2/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

6 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups rolled oats, not instant or quick-cooking

½ cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips

½ cup unflavored vegetable oil

3 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 or 3 baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, being sure to break up any large lumps of brown sugar. Stir in the oats and chocolate chunks.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour in the oil and milk. Add the vanilla and egg and stir until the batter is smooth.

Scoop the batter onto a prepared baking sheet, measuring out each scoop to be a heaping tablespoon. You will be able to fit 6 scoops on 1 sheet—try to fit any more and your cookies will spread into one another. Flatten out each scoop slightly, until the top is no longer rounded.

Bake a sheet of cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden at the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through baking (Lebovitz’s book dictates that you bake the cookies for twice as long as this, for reasons unknown. I followed his instructions at first, but the cookies came out burned and hard as rocks). Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Finish baking all cookies in this manner. You should end up with 16 large cookies.

To assemble ice cream sandwiches, top one cookie with a generous scoop of ice cream, then top the ice cream with another cookie. Press down slightly to help the ice cream fill out the circumference of the cookie. Freeze ice cream sandwiches, wrapped in plastic wrap, if you wish, until firm enough to not splat out everywhere when you bite down on them, at least a few hours.

Makes 8 large ice cream sandwiches, with ice cream leftover (yay!).

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Creamy and Crunchy Berry Parfaits

27 Jun

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These little parfaits are a perfect combination of creamy, citrus-tinted coolness, juicy berries, and a fantastic hit of barely sweetened crunch (and by barely sweetened, we’re talking only around 2 tablespoons of added sugar, total). They are great for a crowd, and you can even set out the individual components of the dessert, give each of your guests a small glass or bowl, and let each person assemble their own parfait.

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Last Year: Semolina Flatbread with Arugula, Mint, and Spinach Pesto (this is perfect for picnics) and Sour Cherry Upside Down Cake (this is perfect for…everything)

Creamy and Crunchy Berry Parfaits

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

pinch sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

¼ cup coarsely chopped nuts (I used almonds and pecans)

1 cup cold heavy cream

½ teaspoon powdered sugar

drop of pure vanilla extract

¼ cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon lemon zest (or orange zest)

2 to 3 cups blueberries and raspberries (or other berries of your choice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, dark brown sugar, white sugar, and salt. Add the vanilla and butter and, using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is uniformly incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs that form clumps when pressed together. Stir in the chopped nuts.

Using your hands, press the crumbly dough into a rough ball or mound. Then, using your fingers, pinch off ½-inch pieces of dough and place them on the prepared baking sheet. If some of the pieces fall apart or happen to be larger or smaller than ½-inch, don’t worry. The dessert police will not come knocking on your door.

Place the pieces of dough on the middle shelf of your preheated oven. Bake the pieces for 17 to 20 minutes, until the edges of the pieces are dark golden and your kitchen smells like cookies. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Using an electric beater or, if you have forearms like Lou Ferrigno, a wire whisk, beat the cream until it barely begins to thicken and hold super soft peaks. Add in the softened mascarpone and lemon zest, and beat for just a few seconds, until the mixture holds soft peaks, but is still quite creamy and light.

To assemble parfaits, drop a few berries into the bottom of a small glass, then add a few pieces of crumble (crumbling them even further, if you wish), then dollop on a spoonful or two of mascarpone cream. Repeat layers once more, then top each parfait with a berry or two.

I used 8-ounce glasses for the pictured parfaits, and I was able to make about 8 parfaits, with a bit of crumble left over. You can, of course, easily double this recipe and make twice the parfaits, to feed a whole crowd of revelers.

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Mango Limeade

21 Jun

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Much like making one’s own popsicles or popsicle variations, making homemade lemonade or limeade is a great kitchen skill to possess. If you are sensitive to the amount of sugar in your drinks, you can dial the sweetness down to suit your preference. If you’ve got a range of fruits on hand, you can experiment with blending things together and coming up with great flavor combinations. Here, the lime juice serves as a companion to the smooth and tropical mango puree, and the sweetness is hushed down considerably.

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Last Year: Roasted Broccoli Pasta Salad and Strawberry Mango Crumble–look! One year to the day, and I post another mango recipe. It must really be the start of summer.

Mango Limeade

If you are feeling a bit fancy, feel free to sub in sparkling water for the plain water in this recipe, or, if your fanciness takes on a more grown-up tone, try stirring some of the mango-lime puree into a glass of sparkling wine or Prosecco.

½ cup fresh lime juice

the ripe flesh from 2 mangoes, pureed then strained (you should end up with about ¾ of a cup of mango puree)

¼ to 1/3 cup sugar, depending on your preferred level of sweetness

4 cups water

pinch of salt

In a large bowl or pitcher, combine lime juice, mango puree, and sugar. Stir thoroughly, until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in water and pinch of salt. That’s it. You’re done.

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