campfire not required

Well, I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I've been really enjoying my summer so far. I was recently on Martha's Vineyard and had some delicious s'more ice cream from a place called The Scoop Shack. That ice cream haunted me... the milk chocolate ice cream, soft marshmallows and crispy graham crackers were driving my ice cream/s'more cravings through the roof. I think at this point on my recipe page, I should have a section of marshmallow-devoted recipes. This ice cream would be at the top of the list (ok, it actually wouldn't since I alphabetize all my recipes, but you understand my sentiment).

Even though The Scoop Shack's s'more ice cream was fab, I knew I could kick it up a notch. Coating the graham crackers in milk chocolate (I used Hershey's because hello, that's what you use in an actual s'more) not only adds more chocolate to the recipe but it prevents the crackers from getting soft and soggy. And a toasted (slightly burnt) marshmallow is essential for a gooey s'more, so shouldn't it also be required in this ice cream? Nod yes here.

I've made a few different ice creams here on the blog and one thing I wanted to change was the recipe. Typically the other ice cream bases are a custard, made with heavy cream and egg yolks for a rich and decadent ice cream. While that method is lovely, it is calorie dense, super rich and takes quite a bit of time to make and cool down. Therefore, I went for a much quicker style ice cream (technically called "Philadelphia style") that doesn't require cooking egg yolks.

It's absolutely perfect here. The milk chocolate adds the creamy richness instead of the egg yolks. The chocolate covered grahams are an addictive snack all on their own, but crushed into the ice cream add the crunch that is needed. And the toasted marshmallows stay soft in the frozen ice cream, making you forget all about the hot campfire.

flakey

My dad is a firm believer that mint chocolate chip ice cream is for "sissy's" (his words, not mine) and that the only way to enjoy chocolate chip ice cream is if it's vanilla, and only vanilla. Meanwhile, whenever my dad would make an outrageously ridiculous comment like that, my mom, my four sisters and I would all immediately get into a heated battle that went far beyond ice cream flavors.

Truthfully, mint chocolate chip is one of my absolute favorite flavors of ice cream, and I intend on making it soon. But as an homage to my dad, and all the non-sissy's of the world, this one's for you. Happy Father's Day dad!

Have you ever had Italian gelato (called Stracciatella) and wondered how the chocolate "chips" were perfect little flecks? I thought they used shaved chocolate, but actually they pour melted chocolate into the almost-finished ice cream while it's still churning. The coldness of the ice cream hardens the chocolate, while the churning breaks it up into little pieces. And that, my friends, is the method I used in this amazing ice cream. So instead of biting into a large, frozen chalky chocolate chip, these little chocolate flakes melt on the tongue as the vanilla ice cream melts with it. It's sooooo good.

what's in the middle? the white stuff

It was the early '90's and my friend was playing a  a parody song of NKOTB's 'You Got It (The Right Stuff)' by Weird Al Yankovich, but the song was about Oreo's. Now, I'm not a Weird Al fan normally, but I'm tickled by wacky humor and I love Oreo's even more, so this song just gets in my head every time I see those little cookies.

Who doesn't love Oreo's? Those crispy little black and white cookies just beg to be dunked in milk, broken up into ice cream or smashed into a delicious pie crust. But you can't beat a homemade version. Ever.

This recipe is courtesy of the Flour cookbook (I know, I feel like I'm on a bender with this book) and can be made two ways. Bake them for the full 20-25 minutes and you'll have a traditional, crunchy Oreo...or you can be a bit rebellious and under-bake them so that they have a softness to them. There's no wrong way to make them, the point is that you should make them.