My world has been humming these past few weeks. My mother and aunt aided me in introducing light and order to areas (for instance, the kitchen cabinets) of my home that were previously akin to the chaotic blackness of mythical pre-creation. In keeping with the making of a house a home, we’ve been fortunate enough to share our dinner table with various friends and family the past four nights in a row, which is something I take immense pleasure in. This Saturday we had a full house, fitting eleven adults, a toddler, and a baby around the dining room table for hot bowls of pho bo, lemongrass pork banh mi, and a large kale salad followed by the ice cream sandwiches pictured here. Preparing food for people whose company I enjoy is one of the chief pleasures in my life, right up there with travel and sex. My lust for life is, admittedly, literal and figurative. Something to do with Venus in Leo, something to do with the stars. I’m just so pleased to be a human being these days. I like to chop onions and weep, even. It’s all so terribly interesting.
I give you another great author, Walter Pater’s, definition of success in life, as his words are far finer than my own:
This is our proverbial day in the sun. We’re now deep in the season of swimming holes, insects, peaches, thunder, and the ice cream truck that rolls up and down the streets daily, announced by its calliope playing “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”. Be here now. Make love & ice cream.
Oh, and I made Star Wars ice cream sandwiches in the likeness Darth Vader, Yoda, and Boba Fett. Because I could, and I have a long standing love affair with Star Wars. Epic? In space? Yes. Seriously. I know what the stripes on Han Solo’s pants are called.
So, whether you enjoy dairy or abstain, I bid you whip in kitchen cups these concupiscent curds…
Thai Iced Tea Ice Cream
yields 1 quart
Ingredients
2 cups (480 mL) whole milk
1 cup (240 mL) heavy cream
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
5 Thai tea bags (of 1/2 cup loose leaf Thai tea)
5 egg yolks
Cooking Directions
In a sauce pan heat milk, cream, and condensed milk until steaming, almost boiling with little bubbles forming around the rim. Do not let it come to a boil. Add the tea and let steep for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove tea bags or strain out tea leaves using a cheese cloth lined sieve, a “tea sock”, or a coffee filter. Return milk mixture to pot if you strained it. Return mixture to heat.
Whisk egg yolks in a heat proof bowl, and when milk mixture is hot slowly add a bit at a time to your egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper them. I usually add about a cup. Once tempered, whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the hot milk. Cook this over medium heat, stirring constantly for about five minutes, or until it reaches 170° F and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to boil.
Remove custard from heat and strain immediately into a bowl. Chill thoroughly, 2-3 hours minimum and preferably over night. If need be it can be chilled quickly in a metal bowl in the freezer, stirring every 20 minutes or so until cool.
Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I churn mine for 20 minutes. When the mixture looks like the consistency of whipped mashed potatoes, remove it into your desired container and place it in the freezer with plastic wrap pressed to the surface of the ice cream to finish hardening.
If making ice cream sandwiches, line a baking pan or sheet with parchment paper and spread the ice cream evenly to desired thickness. I usually spread it about 1-1 1/2 inches thick. Press plastic wrap to the surface and chill until hard enough to cut into desired shapes, 2-3 hours minimum.
Remove from freezer when ready to cut and use desired cookie or biscuit cutters (can be run under warm water to make cutting easier if the ice cream is very firm) to cut the ice cream into the same shape as your cookies. Sandwich between two cookies, wrap in plastic wrap, and return immediately to the freezer to harden.
Thai Iced Tea Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups 480 mL whole milk
- 1 cup 240 mL heavy cream
- 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 5 Thai tea bags of 1/2 cup loose leaf Thai tea
- 5 egg yolks
Instructions
- In a sauce pan heat milk, cream, and condensed milk until steaming, almost boiling with little bubbles forming around the rim. Do not let it come to a boil. Add the tea and let steep for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove tea bags or strain out tea leaves using a cheese cloth lined sieve, a “tea sock”, or a coffee filter. Return milk mixture to pot if you strained it. Return mixture to heat.
- Whisk egg yolks in a heat proof bowl, and when milk mixture is hot slowly add a bit at a time to your egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper them. I usually add about a cup. Once tempered, whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the hot milk. Cook this over medium heat, stirring constantly for about five minutes, or until it reaches 170° F and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow it to boil.
- Remove custard from heat and strain immediately into a bowl. Chill thoroughly, 2-3 hours minimum and preferably over night. If need be it can be chilled quickly in a metal bowl in the freezer, stirring every 20 minutes or so until cool.
- Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I churn mine for 20 minutes. When the mixture looks like the consistency of whipped mashed potatoes, remove it into your desired container and place it in the freezer with plastic wrap pressed to the surface of the ice cream to finish hardening.
- If making ice cream sandwiches, line a baking pan or sheet with parchment paper and spread the ice cream evenly to desired thickness. I usually spread it about 1-1 1/2 inches thick. Press plastic wrap to the surface and chill until hard enough to cut into desired shapes, 2-3 hours minimum.
- Remove from freezer when ready to cut and use desired cookie or biscuit cutters (can be run under warm water to make cutting easier if the ice cream is very firm) to cut the ice cream into the same shape as your cookies. Sandwich between two cookies, wrap in plastic wrap, and return immediately to the freezer to harden.
Vegan Ginger Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups 300g plain, unsweetened cultured coconut milk (or other non-dairy yogurt)
- 3/4 cup 180 g Tofutti cream cheese (or other vegan cream cheese)
- 1/2 cup 96 g sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp ginger powder
- 1 T finely chopped candied ginger optional
Instructions
- In a blender or food processer combine the yogurt, cream cheese, sugar, and ginger powder until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Stir in the chopped ginger if using and freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- For ice cream sandwiches spread freshly churned ice cream on a parchment lined baking or sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap pressed to the surface, and freeze until firm enough to cut into desired shapes and sandwiched between cookies.
- Remove from freezer 10-15 minutes before serving to allow to soften.
Chocolate Roll Out Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups 335 grams all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup 75 grams extra dark or Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder (you can use regular to good effect)
- 1 1/4 cups 2 1/2 sticks or 285 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup 200 grams granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour and cocoa together and set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt together until light and fluffy. Add the yolks and vanilla and mix until combined, scrape down sides and mix briefly again. Add the flour mixture a little at a time then mix until combined.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and divide into two equal pieces. If the dough is too soft to handle, wrap and chill it until firm enough to roll out (No more than 30 minutes or the dough will become crumbly). Roll each batch a 1/4-inch thick and cut into desired shapes and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet. Use a wooden skewer (or other pointy object like the tip of a thermometer) to poke the cookies with holes. For my round cookies I did 14 holes. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
- Bake the cookies for 16 to 18 minutes, or until they stay firm when tapped in the center. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining cookie dough, rerolling scraps as needed.
Notes
Vegan Chocolate Cookies (variation)
Follow the instructions above omitting the egg yolks and substituting Earth Balance sticks for the butter.Condensed Milk Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour plus up to an additional 1/2 cup
- 2 sticks 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar plus extra for sprinkling (optional)
- 1 14 oz can condensed milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream butter & sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy. Mix in eggs, vanilla, and condensed milk.
- When combined add dry ingredients about one cup at a time and mix until just combined. If mixture appears too wet add up to another 1/2 cup of flour until desired consistency. Remember that the dough will chill & harden in the refrigerator before rolling out.
- Divide dough into two discs and wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least half an hour and, if making ahead, up to three days. Dough can also be frozen at this point up to three months.
- Heat oven to 350° F
- Place dough on a floured work surface and roll out to 1/4-1/8 of an inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Using a wooden skewer or other object (like the tip of a thermometer) poke the cookies with holes. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.
- Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes on racks. If using for ice cream sandwiches, place in a large ziplock bag and freeze. Otherwise they can be stored in an air tight container.
My name is Beth, Elizabeth Evelyn to be exact. A native Tennessean, I was born in the South.
I am the author behind Local Milk Blog.