Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

Are you ready to bid farewell to summer?  Where did the time go!  I'm sure we're all a bit reluctant to see Labor Day popping up on our calendars but there's also much to look forward to.  I figure we'll just embrace the next season and all the new patterns and adventures that come with it.  

Before summer '15 unofficially closes out, I thought I'd sneak in another ice cream post.  I really put my little ice cream maker to work this summer!  And while I definitely eat, and make, ice cream all year round, it won't be "ice cream season" anymore soon and the "activity" of going out for ice cream will no longer be such a given.  So let's toast the summer with a few more scoops of ice cream - chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, to be exact!

I made this batch of ice cream for my husband (though the little guy probably ate more than his dad).  It dawned on me recently that as much as my husband likes cookie dough ice cream, I hadn't tried my hand at making it for him yet.  And since I really wanted to, it was time to get cranking!

So I started with the chocolate chip cookie dough, following David Lebovitz's recipe from The Perfect Scoop (though I was a little less generous on the portion).  Melted butter, brown sugar, a little bit of flour and lots of chocolate chips make for a dark dough studded with chocolate that you cut up into bite size pieces once it firms up. Are you a raw cookie dough eater?  As much as I love to bake and eat cookies, I've never been tempted by cookie dough or cake/brownie batter!  I guess that might explain why I hadn't made this ice cream flavor before.

As for the base, I used Ciao Bella's gelato recipe.  It's a creamy custard base that calls for 4 egg yolks, 2 cups of whole milk, and 1 cup of cream.  After cooking, I stirred in some vanilla extract in this case.  This base recipe is one I use often; it's not too rich or heavy, and it's a great foundation on which to feature other add-ins and flavors.  I had some particularly bright orange egg yolks in this batch of ice cream so the base turned out quite yellow!

Honestly, it's amazing (and a little scary) how quickly these batches of homemade ice cream have been vanishing from the freezer this summer!  This one was no exception and my hubby thoroughly appreciated it.  I think I'm going to have to stop this ice cream frenzy soon but even as I write this, I have to confess that I'm taking the remaining cup of cream in my pint to make a batch of cookies 'n cream tomorrow!

Have a wonderful - relaxing, refreshing - Labor Day weekend!

Recipe:
  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Chocolate chip cookie dough from The Perfect Scoop
Custard base adapted from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto

- Makes about 1 quart - 

For chocolate chip cookie dough (this makes a generous 2 cups; adjust amount to your preference, which is easy to do with a kitchen scale; I started with 3 tablespoons of butter and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly):

5 tablespoons (70g) salted butter, melted (or use unsalted and add a pinch of salt)
1/3 cup (70g) packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (35g) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (120g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (if using larger, flat chips, you might want to coarsely chop them)
Optional: 1/2 cup (50g) toasted nuts, coarsely chopped

For ice cream/gelato base:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make chocolate chip cookie dough:  In a medium-size mixing bowl, stir the butter and sugar together until smooth (give it some time and make sure it fully incorporates into a thick, smooth paste).  Stir in the flour, then vanilla and chocolate chips (also nuts, if using).  

Form the dough into a disk about 1/2 inch thick (if the dough is very soft at first, chill it in the refrigerator for a few minutes), wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerator until firm.  Once chilled and firm, unwrap disk and chop dough into bite-size pieces.  Store in the freezer until ready to use in the ice cream.  You can make this ahead, storing the tightly wrapped dough in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 2 months.

Make ice cream/gelato base:  In a large saucepan, heat milk and cream over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles begin to form at the edges.

In a medium size heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.  Then, whisk the sugar into the yolks until the mixture thickens and looks pale yellow in color.  Temper the egg yolks by slowly adding some of hot cream and milk mixture into the yolks while whisking continuously.  Scrape the custard into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.  It should reach a temperature near 185 degrees.

Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.  Stir in vanilla extract. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight or until the custard is very cold. 

Churn the custard in the ice cream maker as per manufacturer's instructions.  Fold in the pieces of chocolate chip cookie dough as you remove it from the machine.  Freeze ice cream a few hours, preferably overnight, before serving. 

* If cookie dough isn't your thing, how about Cookies 'n Cream ice cream?  For that, make the ice cream base above, omitting the vanilla extract.  Coarsely chop about a dozen Oreo cookies.  As you layer the churned ice cream into a storage container, scatter cookies in between in alternating layers, starting and ending with ice cream.

Update...Here's the cookies 'n cream ice cream!