When you want both chocolate & cookies and cream ice cream, why not combining them? This ice cream is creamy & chocolatey with lots of cookies inside. Definitely would satisfy any chocolate craving!
Summer is coming to an end, but we just got a new ice cream machine. Be honest, ice cream is a really dessert for all year round. So you know more ice cream recipes will be coming your way.
For 10+ years, I have been making ice cream with a hand crank machine. It’s great, but it’s time consuming and it can be a bit of a workout sometimes. So for my birthday this year, I asked Bryan to get me an ice cream machine. We got this nice one from Whynter that has a built-in compressor, which means it doesn’t require pre-freezing. In other word, I can make ice cream whenever I want to and make it more often. It also save some freezer space, which we don’t have right now. Oh, and most importantly, it spins on its own! I no longer need to churn the ice cream with my hand.
When the machine arrived, Bryan asked what kind of ice cream I want to make. After some thinking, I said chocolate with cookies and cream. Chocolate is always my favorite ice cream flavor, but I also like cookies and cream. Let’s just do it together! And it didn’t disappointed!
For the chocolate base, I want to keep it simple and nothing too complicated. I didn’t use any chocolate, just cocoa powder. It’s dutch process cocoa powder, which means it has been alkalized. The flavors is more earthier, mellower and doesn’t have a citrusy taste like in natural cocoa powder. I used Valrhona.
To make the ice cream, whisk together the egg yolks and cocoa powder first. It would be very thick and dry at one point, add some heavy cream. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and no lumps. Then, bring the milk, heavy cream and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan. Slowly add some of the hot cream into the yolk mixture while whisking. That will combine everything without scrambling the yolks. Return everything to the stove and cook until the mixture reaches 170˚F or it coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Always strain your custard with a fine mesh sieve. There could be some lumps from eggs, cocoa powder or even foam. Keep the custard in a bowl and cool to room temperature. Then transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or even overnight.
The fun part is here! Churn the ice cream according to your machine. While that is happening, don’t forget your cookies. I used oreo. Place them in a ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. I crush some a little finer and leave some in slightly bigger chunks. It’s up to you how you want yours. When the ice cream is ready, you can either add the cookie crumbs in the machine for a last few spins, or swirl the cookies with a wooden spoon by hand. Then transfer the ice cream into a container. It’s important to be patient! The ice cream is a little too soft at this stage and it melts too fast. Keep in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.
This ice cream is chocolatey and creamy. It pairs really well with the cookies. I like that it’s more like a dark chocolate and not too sweet. I absolutely love this, and it was the perfect flavor to make for my new ice cream machine. It’s pretty easy to make too. And it’s always extra special with the addition of chocolate sandwich cookies. I hope you guys will like this ice cream too!
Chocolatey Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 9 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreo & Hydrox)
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, add heavy cream.
- In a large bowl, stir to break the egg yolks. Add cocoa powder and whisk together. When the mixture is too dry, pour in about 1/8 cup of the heavy cream in the measuring cup. Whisk until smooth.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the rest of the heavy cream, milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat. Bring mixture just to a simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring often until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.
- While whisking the egg yolk mixture, slowly pour in 1/3 of hot cream. Then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return the pot over medium heat and cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 170˚F on an instant thermometer), about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract and salt. Give a quick stir.
- Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Right before churning the ice cream, place the cookies in a large Ziploc bag. Crush the cookies with a rolling pin. I like some bigger pieces and some finer crumbs. Set aside.
- Pour the custard into an ice-cream maker by following the ice-cream maker instruction. For the cookies, add them into the ice cream when the ice cream is ready. You can do that using the machine or stir them in with a wooden spatula by hand. Transfer the ice cream to a container. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
Notes
- For the dutch process cocoa powder, I used Valrhona cocoa powder. Although it never says “dutch process” in the packaging, its cocoa is alkalized.
- Every brand of cocoa powder can taste slightly different. Use whichever one you like.
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