Impulse

There I was, on what seemed like my hundreth pass down the kitchen supplies aisle at the ARC thrift store in Fort Collins, when something unnoticed suddenly caught my eye. I had been mindlessly browsing the selection of old teacups and bundt pans while Allie tried on an impressive assortment of fake leather and lime green pants, but I'm surprised I didn't see this gem sooner.

I have been fighting the urge to buy an ice cream maker for a long, long time now. I was so proud of myself for resisting temptation during the weeks of blistering heat last summer, despite the fact that there were a few evenings where I went to bed realizing I had eaten ice cream for dinner. But I could keep those kinds of incidents low, I thought, as long as an ice cream maker remained absent from my mish-mash of kitchen gadgets. I did well for awhile, but I was completely hopeless before this beauty. Seven dollars for a bright red, salt- and ice-less wonder capable of churning out decadent and simple ice cream in half an hour. But you know, even as I was standing in the checkout line wondering if I could fit an ice cream maker into my carry-on, I felt no remorse. Despite prior attempts at resistance, I feel good about this purchase, impulsive though it was. It's probably best that I bought it in the winter anyway, so that I'm not too tempted to use ice cream as a mildly effective replacement for air conditioning in mid-July. It might help me not to go too overboard. Maybe.

Admittedly, I made ice cream twice within the first 72 hours or so of having this machine, so maybe I'm not doing so well on the temperance thing, but it was so worth it. My friend Sylvan brought me some wonderful milk and eggs from the dairy in Fort Collins where she works and we made a simple, decadently rich batch of vanilla bean ice cream. My dad and I upped the ante when I got back to Denver by adding cookie dough (one of his favorites). Heavenly, really. The ice cream is soft and a little thin right after it's made, but it's even better after it's had time to set up in the freezer for a day or so. 

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH ICE CREAM

Cookie recipe from Orangette added to the basic vanilla ice cream recipe that came with the new addition to my kitchen family

FOR THE COOKIE DOUGH:

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. cake flour

1 2/3 cups bread flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate chips (~60% cacao), such as Ghiradelli

FOR THE ICE CREAM:

2 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup milk

2 cups cream

1 vanilla bean 

1. Sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

2. Cream together butter and sugars with a hand-mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add dry ingredients in batches with the mixer speed on low and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate overnight.

3. To prepare the ice cream base, beat eggs and sugar with a hand mixer until thick and cream-colored. Slice the vanilla bean lengthwise and add the seeds, milk, and cream to the egg mixture. Mix well. Use immediately, or refrigerate overnight.

4. When ready to make ice cream, add 1/2 inch pieces of cookie dough to the ice cream base. Add base to ice cream maker and prepare according to manufacturer instructions.

(You're bound to have cookie dough leftover, and as such, I recommend you make cookies! Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove dough from the refrigerator and let the dough come to room temperature. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-22 minutes. Let cookies cool for ten minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough).