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Nope, that’s not a typo you see, this really is Chocolate Chip Cookie COOKIE dough ice cream…with chocolate fudge too. Store-bought ice cream, you’ve got nothing on this…
Would you believe me if I said I didn’t really care much for ice cream until I was pregnant? It wasn’t that I didn’t like it per se, it just wasn’t my first choice when it comes to dessert, and honestly, I wouldn’t even think twice about passing on it in lieu of something savory. It’s still not an item I would say I crave on a regular basis, however, once every couple weeks I get the ice cream itch – and a plain ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream just won’t do the trick.
For me, ice cream is something I only have every once in a while, so when I indulge in it, it’s gotta be good. While it doesn’t have to be fancy by any means, it does have to be jam-packed with plenty of “good stuff”, which typically means it’s heavily laced with oreo cookies or drowned in hot fudge, caramel and chopped peanuts. The ice cream archives of this blog also echo the same sentiments, because if you searched them, you’d see I don’t half-ass it when it comes to making my own ice cream.
If I need to plead my case with you, let me just provide you with the cold hard facts – Blueberry Buttercookie Gelato, Baklava Ice Cream, and today’s Chocolate Chip Cookie, Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream, to name a few. They’re all a labor of love, but what batch of homemade ice cream isn’t??
Admittedly, this one may require a record amount of steps, but everything can be made ahead of time, and each component individually, is fairly simple to put together.
The components are just as the lengthy name implies – homemade chocolate chip cookies, eggless cookie dough, and a quick-and-easy hot fudge sauce. The base is my go-to and the same one I used in the aforementioned baklava ice cream. It’s two cups of whole milk, one cup of heavy cream, six egg yolks and ½ cup of sugar. From there, it’s just a blank canvas to do what you want.
The only problem in making homemade ice cream is you really need to plan ahead — something I unfortunately don’t thrive at. Luckily this time around, I learned from my past mistakes and made several helpful reminders to ensure the ice cream would be ready in time to photograph yesterday, and inhale this evening. Ideally, the custard needs to chill overnight and the ice cream maker base needs to be placed in the freezer at least 24 hours in advance, but you could do both of those things several days in advance. I would actually even suggest churning the ice cream the day before you plan to serve it, so it has enough time to solidify completely.
For the chocolate chip cookie portion of the ice cream, I used our current favorite small-batch chocolate chip cookie recipe from Dessert for Two. I’ve been cooking almost exclusively out of Christina’s cookbook when it comes to dessert lately, and it never disappoints – these cookies are just one of my many favorites. We love them because they’re super soft, but crispy on the edges, and basically just melt away in your mouth. They’re the perfect addition to this ice cream because the chewy pieces stay chewy and the crispy pieces break off to create the most wonderful texture laced throughout the ice cream.
The chocolate chip cookie dough is pretty straight forward – butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, flour and mini chocolate chips – and comes together with a mere minute beating session in a mixer. The dough is formed into a log, frozen, and then cut into bite-sized pieces before it’s tossed into the almost-set ice cream.
One the ice cream is churned, I transfer it to an airtight container in layers, first with a small layer of ice cream, followed by a drizzle of hot fudge, then more ice cream and so forth. This ensures the fudge stays fudgy and doesn’t just turn into chocolate ice cream. Once it sets for a few hours, or preferably overnight, it’s ready to be devoured…And it will be devoured…
For more ice cream inspiration around the web, check out these posts:
Hazelnut & Salted Caramel Ice Cream – Foodie Crush
Red Velvet Ice Cream with Cream Cheese Frosting – The Cookie Rookie
Chamomile Honeycomb Ice Cream – Snixy Kitchen
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 6 egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1`small batch chocolate chip cookies, cooled and roughly chopped
- Place your ice cream base in the freezer the day before you want to make your ice cream.
- In a medium saucepan, add milk, cream, and vanilla. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow in color, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in about ½ of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks to bring them up to temperature. Whisk the warm egg mixture back into the milk.
- Using a wooden spoon, constantly stir custard mixture until it thickens, about 5-7 minutes. MAKE SURE THE MIXTURE DOES NOT BOIL. If the temperature gets too high, the eggs will curdle. The custard is finished cooking when it coats the back of a spoon and does not drip when you draw your finger across.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool for about 30 minutes.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the custard and store in the fridge overnight.
- Heat cream over a medium heat until it simmers. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until all chocolate chips have melted. Cool to room temperature.
- Add butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla to the bottom of a stand mixer. Beat on medium until creamy, about 1 minute. Add flour, beat until combined. Transfer to a piece of parchment or plastic wrap and roll into a rope 1-inch wide. Place in the freezer until firm, about 15 minutes. Chop into bite-sized pieces, set aside.
- Make the ice cream according to your manufacture's instructions. When the ice cream is almost formed, add ¾ of the chopped cookies and all of the cookie dough. Keep churning until ice cream is completely formed. Pour ¼ of the ice cream in a loaf pan. Drizzle ¼ of the chocolate fudge on top. Repeat 3 more times until all the ice cream and fudge is gone. Place in the freezer and chill until ice cream and fudge sets. Cover with plastic wrap and then cover with foil. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve.
- If you are serving more than 24 hours later, assembly ice cream in an airtight container.
- When servings garnish with remaining crushed chocolate chip cookies.
Michele says
Looks and sounds incredible!!