Along with Mint Chip Ice Cream, this is one of the most popular flavors among our younger guests. It’s also one of the only recipes for which we don’t make the mix-in ingredient from scratch. The truth is, it’s hard to improve on the perfection of Newman-O’s, and so that’s what we use. You can use them, too, or try any other cookie you like. The Dark Chocolate Cookies are especially good!
AT A GLANCE
MAKES: about 1¼ quarts
TECHNIQUE: Ice cream
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Ice cream machine
CHILLING TIME: 2 hours or overnight
SHELF LIFE: 1 week
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 large egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 1¾ cups heavy cream
- ¾ cup 1% or 2% milk
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups chopped chocolate cookies (in pieces ¼ inch or larger)
INSTRUCTIONS:
MAKE THE BASE
- In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, then whisk in half of the sugar (¼ cup). Set aside.
- In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, salt, and the remaining sugar (¼ cup) and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
- Carefully scoop out about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowly pour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.
- Cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and holds a clear path when you run your finger across the spatula, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Set the container into an ice-water bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Remove the container from the ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight.
FREEZE THE ICE CREAM
- Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you’ll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Add the chopped cookies in the last minute or so of churning or fold them in by hand after the ice cream comes out of the machine. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream, transfer to the chilled container and freeze for at least 4 hours.
SERVE IT WITH …
- Mint Chip Ice Cream—a kid’s dream combo!
- Ricanelas Ice Cream—we call this combo with two flavors that feature chopped cookies “The Cookie Monster.
