Ice Cream Shmice Cream #27: Chocolate Chip Cookies ‘n Cream AKA Ice Cream Sandwich Ice Cream

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It’s officially summer and so more ice cream concoctions are happening in my kitchen. Today, I bring you what I am calling Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cream AKA ice cream sandwich ice cream. I love making ice cream sandwiches – they are fun and cute. But even though they are easy to make, why make them when you can just crush up some Chocolate Chip Cookies and mix them into the ice cream base? Same flavors, less work.

2 cans organic coconut milk
1/2 cup vegan sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
4 to 6 chocolate chip cookies

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla extract and powder. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pour the coconut milk mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 10 minutes. Break up the cookies into big and small chunks. When the ice cream is almost done, add the cookies and let it go for another minute just to incorporate them.

Turn out into a Tovolo ice cream tub or a freezer safe container with a piece of wax paper on top. Freeze, and enjoy!

Ice Cream Shmice Cream #25: Meyer Lemon Ice Cream

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Here is my Meyer lemon ice cream recipe. I could have made sorbet or even granita but I went with ice cream and it may be my most favorite ice cream I have made to date. And I have made a lot of ice cream – 24 flavors to be exact!

2 cans organic coconut milk
The zest and juice of 2 Meyer lemons *
3/4 cup vegan cane sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*One nice sized lemon will yield about 1 tablespoon of zest and 1/4 cup juice. Since lemons vary in size, really you can just use what you get. The ice cream will be delightful no matter what!

Zest the lemons first. Then, squeeze the juice.

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Add everything to a bowl and whisk together. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pour the coconut milk mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 10 minutes. Place into a freezer safe container and freeze. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Shmice Cream #24: Chocolate

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Plain chocolate, freshly churned! Our friends came over for a visit this weekend and had one request: chocolate ice cream. To my surprise, I don’t have a straight up chocolate recipe. So, here it is!

2 cans coconut milk
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the coconut milk,cacao powder, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and whisk well. Alternatively, place in blender or Vitamix and let it rip until combined.

Chill for at least 2 hours. Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 10 minutes.

Turn out into a Tovolo container or a freezer safe container with a piece of wax paper on top. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Shmice Cream #23: Cherry Vanilla

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What is there to say about this ice cream? Cherry. Vanilla. Better than Breyer’s fore sure. If you are a Cherry Garcia fan, add 4 oz. of shaved chocolate to the mix when you drop the cherries into the ice cream maker.

2 cans organic coconut milk
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
8 oz. cherries, chopped *

* I use frozen organic dark sweet cherries. They are already pitted and frozen at the peak of freshness. I measured them on my kitchen scale, but if you don’t have a scale, use about 1 cup.

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla extract and powder. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Defrost the cherries in a cup with a spout. Place a small strainer over a bowl. Once the cherries are defrosted, pour any juice that is already in the cup into the bowl and then press as much juice out of the cherries as you can. Then turn the cherries out onto a cutting board and run your chef’s knife through them.

Pour the coconut milk mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 10 minutes. When it is almost done, add the cherry juice and cherries.

Turn out into an ice cream tub or a freezer safe container with a piece of wax paper on top. Freeze, and enjoy!

Ice Cream Shmice Cream #22: Vanilla Fudge Swirl

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We were discussing ice cream flavors one night and my son suggested vanilla chocolate swirl. I flashed back to the many boxes of Breyer’s ice cream my mother brought home – vanilla fudge twirl, vanilla/chocolate/strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and cherry vanilla. All I had to do was swirl some homemade chocolate syrup into a vanillery base and voila vanilla fudge swirl. Here we are eating it during a break from our new favorite game, Splatoon.

Chocolate Syrup 
1/2 cup raw agave
1/2 cup raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ice Cream
2 cans organic coconut milk
1/2 cup vegan sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder

Combine the coconut milk, sugar, and vanillas. Whisk it all together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Pour the coconut milk mixture into the ice cream maker and churn for 10 minutes.

Get ready to do the swirl. The amount of syrup is not an exact science. Just don’t over swirl it or it will turn into chocolate ice cream!

Turn half of the ice cream out into a Tovolo ice cream tub or a freezer safe container. Drizzle two tablespoons of the chocolate syrup over the top and swirl using a knife or other long implement. Turn the rest of the ice cream out and repeat with a few more tablespoons of syrup.

Freeze and enjoy!

Note: this ice cream gets melty fast because of the chocolate sauce. If you leave it out too long, it will be soupy. Not that there is anything wrong with that!