The season does not matter, it is ALWAYS an appropriate time for ice cream. I know there are a few wackies out there who are ‘not dessert people’, but ice cream… greek yogurt… cookie chunks and cinnamon? Come on. I will MAKE you a dessert person.
The original thought was to do a light, refreshing frozen yogurt. But somehow, seeing as it was Hugh’s birthday and all, we ended up with rich, creamy goodness with big chunks of fresh cookie strewn throughout. It seemed the best option, since I normally get scolded for digging out the cookies from our store bought cookies n’ cream. This was my turn to give back after all the caverns I’ve carved through many ice cream cartons past.
GREEK YOGURT ICE CREAM WITH GOODIES // Makes a rough half gallon // Ice cream maker necessary, organic dairy products preferable
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Cups Whole Milk
2 Cups Greek Yogurt
6 Extra Large Organic Egg Yolks
1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar, Divided
1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
2 Cups Fresh Chocolate Chip Cookies, Roughly Chopped*
Pinch of Salt
*Make your own chocolate chip cookies if you have time to spare. If you use store bought, Immaculate Baking Co. makes a natural product , as does Pillsbury with their new ‘Simply’ branding.
1. In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream, milk and one cup of sugar to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar and scald the cream. Turn off the heat and let it sit a moment. Stirring to cool off.
2. In a large heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolk with remaining half cup sugar. Add a half cup of the warm cream mix to the egg yolks and whisk to bring the temperature up as to not scramble the eggs. Add remaining cream mix to the yolks and incorporate.
3. Pour the mix back into the saucepan, and simmer on medium low and whisk periodically. The mixture should thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. About 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
4. In a larger bowl, make an ice water bath. Put the saucepan in the ice bath to cool to room temperature. Stir every once in awhile. This will take about ten minutes.
5. Add the cinnamon and greek yogurt and whisk well to combine. Put in the fridge to cool for a half hour.
6. While this is cooling, bake your cookies. Bake them a good two minutes less than normal so you get a very soft, delicate, almost raw cookie.
7. Pour the cold cream mixture in the ice cream maker, and turn it on. All makers are different, it will probably take about a half hour for it to firm up. Add in the cookies when it is the consistency of soft serve. Transfer to a container and freeze for a few hours to harden, or overnight. Stays fresh about 4 days.
