Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Ice Cream: Best Food or Best Food Ever?

Ice cream makers are awesome.

Well, some of them. I remember making ice cream a few times as a kid with one of those old hand-crank things. And as much as I love ice cream--which is A LOT*--those things are way too much work. It started out as a fun family activity, but it took forever and always devolved into my dad on the back porch cranking the darn thing by himself.

cookies and cream ice cream

But an electric ice cream maker is so easy. Mine is a Cuisinart (like this), and I like the really simple recipes in the instruction book that came with it. There are a bunch with no precooking or eggs or anything.

cookies and cream ice cream

This is cookies and cream (my recipe, slightly altered from the booklet, is below). Very tasty. And easy. And quickly eaten.

cookies and cream ice cream

Easy Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups milk (I use skim, which works fine)
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup coarsely chopped Oreos

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and sugar for a couple of minutes, until sugar is dissolved. Add cream and vanilla. Pour mixture into ice cream maker (my ice cream maker bowl is frozen and spinning at this point). Let it go for 25 minutes, then add the Oreos and let it go for another 5 minutes. Scoop it all into a suitable container and stick it in the freezer to firm up a bit (and hour or two should be good).

*Seriously, I mean, A LOT. Eating ice cream was practically a sport growing up. Giant bowls of ice cream in the evening were pretty much a given in my youth, year round. Snow? Zero-degree weather? So what? I mean, ice cream is great for building an extra heat-retaining layer of pudge right? And that heat-retaining layer of pudge is the only reason I don't eat a giant bowl of ice cream for every meal now.

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