I've been on an ice cream binge recently. It is National Ice Cream Month, after all. I have seven more days before I can no longer justify my consumption based on the need to celebrate such a worthy occasion. The other day, my mom asked if I was planning on making ice cream during our family beach trip at the beginning of August. Since my ice cream maker is just an attachment to my stand mixer, I informed her that sadly lugging all of it down to South Carolina was not an option.

That was 45 minutes before the ice cream gods presented me with a more portable Cuisinart ice cream/sorbet maker for only $21 on Gilt. How could I not? So, now I own two ice cream makers, which means this binge isn't going to die down any time soon.

I won’t run through my perceived benefits of having two ice cream makers (trust me, I've thought of plenty) because I realize for any normal person one should do it. That said, if you don’t even have one, find a deal like that and buy it. We all waste $21 on things a lot less useful than an ice cream maker....and I also feel bad for posting so many recipes that are useless to anyone who doesn’t have one.

This recipe, in particular, is one you need in your life. My favorite flavor of all time is Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, which sadly they discontinued a few years back. I don't understand why on earth they did this because it was the best flavor ever, but no one consults with me on these decisions. Alas, I took matters into my own hands, and I now have this incredible mock version. The base is a creamy, flavorful cinnamon that’s filled with chocolate chips and chunks of the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies I posted last week. It will leave you speechless. It will also make you question why you’ve never considered cinnamon ice cream one of your favorite flavors.

The cookies don’t harden inside the ice cream. They taste more like little chunks of cookie dough. The cinnamon base on its own was already a knockout, so with the addition of these cookies (which are my new favorites) and chocolate chips it’s a whole new level of good. If you want to use a different oatmeal cookie recipe you're more than welcome to, but no raisins!!

Cinnamon Ice Cream
Base recipe adapted from Susi's Kochen

Ingredients:

Base
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
1/3 cup (70 g) packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add-ins
3 cups Best Ever Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, crumbled into medium and small sized chunks*
1/2 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions
To make the ice cream, warm the milk, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk the cream, brown sugar, and cinnamon together into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Mix in the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (3+ hours or overnight). Once chilled, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Three minutes before mixture is finished, add in chocolate chips and 2 cups of the cookie pieces.

Spread finished ice cream into a freezer safe container, tossing in pieces from the remaining 1 cup of cookie crumbs as you go. Cover, and place in the freezer until firm.

*Think about it like you would cookie dough pieces in cookie dough ice cream. It's always disappointing when you eat it and you don't have any cookie dough in your spoonful. Leave enough quarter-sized chunks that you will get bites of cookie, but don't have them so big that a spoonful would have only cookie.

 

These cookies are excellent in every way. I only baked them to add to a batch of cinnamon ice cream I was making, but they deserve so much more than just being a complementary player. These cookies are a star on their own. Seriously.

Sometimes oatmeal cookies spread too much. Sometimes they dry out. They'd be high up on my favorite cookie list, but until now I've never had a dependable recipe to use. For the ice cream I wanted to make (a homemade version of Ben & Jerry’s Oatmeal Cookie Chunk - recipe coming soon!), I needed a great oatmeal chocolate chip cookie to add. This one fit the bill.

I like to make recipes based on how people describe them. Mel over at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe posted the recipe in 2009, and at the time she wrote that she’d made them three times in two weeks. She posted an update in 2013 that said 4 years later she was still making this recipe.

I can see why after trying these for myself. We managed to finish off the first batch before they stood a chance at making it into the ice cream. I was happy to make a second batch since it meant a few more days of these cookies. I would eat them every day if that were a viable option (sadly, it's not).

Since it's a fairly large batch they will probably last longer than a few days for most people--in which case, you could keep the extra dough in the fridge for up to two days to make them in multiple batches or pop it in the freezer for fast cookies in the future. I refrigerated the dough overnight before baking them, but this isn't a necessary step with these cookies. Some people (myself included), prefer to always refrigerate the dough if time permits, but it's nice to know you can skip that step if you're in a rush.

Enjoy!

Classic Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Café

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Cream together the butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add baking soda, powder, and salt and mix. Add flour, oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix until combined.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

For all of you ice cream lovers who haven't ventured into the world of making your own ice cream, now is the time. Honestly, this ice cream alone makes investing in an ice cream maker completely worth it. Trust me. It is some of the best ice cream I've ever eaten, and that's coming from someone who typically doesn't even like strawberry ice cream.

My apologies for not posting it while we were still in the peak of strawberry season, but per usual I kept eating the whole batch before taking pictures (I had some help from people equally obsessed with this ice cream). This is a frequent occurrence. One of these days I'll learn to practice some restraint, but that day is not today.

It's hard for me to pick what I love about the recipe best. It could be that it's one of the easiest ice creams I've made. Unlike most other ice creams I make, this one is egg-free and doesn't require using a stove. It could also be that all of my favorite flavors involve some sort of alternating layering of toppings (examples here and here), and this recipe is no exception. It's the key to getting swirls of toppings in every scoop. Or maybe it's that it has cream cheese, and I've met very few cream cheese recipes I didn't like. Too many good things to choose just one.

The base is smooth, creamy and rich. Usually I'm hesitant to use fruit in ice cream because it has a tendency to get icy, but that's not the case with this recipe. Every single bite is as good as the last...and when you do get to that last bite, I guarantee you will want more. You will be sad that you finished your bowl, and you will sneak over to the freezer and get another scoop. Diets be damned. 

Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from Baked by Rachel

Ingredients:

1C whole milk
1C heavy cream
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4C granulated sugar, divided
2C strawberries
2/3 C graham cracker crumbs, roughly 6 sheets

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Slowly add the cream and milk, making sure that the liquid is fully incorporated roughly every 1/4 cup or so. If you pour all of the liquid in at once, you will likely end up sloshing milk and cream everywhere, so be sure to go a little at a time. Once all ingredients are combined, use a spatula to transfer the mixture to a clean bowl. Cover and chill the mixture overnight.  

While the base is chilling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Hull and slice strawberries, tossing with remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Roast on a parchment lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Transfer berries and sugary liquid from the parchment sheet to a clean bowl, cover and chill.

Churn liquid according to manufacturer's directions. In the last 5 minutes, drop strawberries and liquid into the base a small spoonful at a time.

Sprinkle an even layer of graham cracker crumbs on the bottom of a freezer safe container. Carefully spread a layer of ice cream on top of the crumbs. Alternate layers of ice cream and graham cracker crumbs until container is full. Freeze until firm.