fresh fig ice cream

There is a fact in my house that I continue to fight.  I simply can't accept this truth.  I can't get my head around it.  There are four people living in this house and one of them loves fresh fruit and the other three won't touch it.  They won't touch it raw, cooked, baked, blended, juiced  or pureed.  I have tried it all.  I have tried to be sneaky and they continue to revolt.  I feel as if the mom police are going to arrest me because I am not getting enough fruits into my children.  We went to celebrate Great Grandma's birthday and she has the most amazing fig tree on her property.  This tree is filled with huge ripe gorgeous black mission figs.  The kids had fun picking a tray for me to bring home.  The ice cream maker has been churning almost every other day here so, I thought fig ice cream would be the perfect way to get the family to enjoy figs.  I made the ice cream at night so, no one would see the beautiful figs be cooked down to jam.  I even strained the jam to get the little crunchy fig bits out.  I pulled out all the stops.  In the morning I put the ice cream into the maker and it produced this divine dark purple ice cream.  I gave Carter the spatula as I was scraping out the bowl.  His eyes were wide with excitement.  He took a bite of "purple ice cream" and he said yum as the spatula was in his mouth and before a smile could spread on my face he exclaimed "yuck, yuck yuck!" while spiting and convulsing.  After this display obviously little sister wasn't trying it and hubby responded I hate figs.  There I was left with one and a half pints of decadent fig ice cream all for me.  If you like figs this is excellent and I think it would make a very nice addition to a fancy cheese course dessert drizzled with honey.  Since I can't get my family to eat fruit I know a cheese plate for dessert will not fly either ... a mom can dream.

fresh fig ice cream

source: the perfect scoop

2 lbs fresh black mission figs (~20)
1/2 cup of water
1 lemon
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of freshly squeezed, lemon juice, or more to taste

Remove the hard stem ends from the figs, then cut each fig into 8 pieces. Put the figs in a medium, non-reactive saucepan with the water, and zest the lemon directly into the saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes until the figs are tender. Remove the lid, add the sugar and continue to cook until it reaches a jam-like consistency. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Blend together with cream and lemon juice, chill in the fridge overnight and then put in your ice cream maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

skillet baked chocolate chip cookie

Last week was not a good week for me.  I was hit with a major sinus infection and felt like I had been punched in the face and drained of all energy.  This is not good when you have two family birthdays to celebrate, plans every night of the week and a husband traveling.  Brad was in New Orleans for his birthday but, we could not let his birthday pass without a family dinner.  In my state I needed something that showed LOVE and appeared more time intensive then it actually was. Carter saw a picture of this giant skillet chocolate chip cookie and decided this is what daddy had to have.  It was our big secret all week.  Carter would give hints but, never actually gave it away.  I have to say Carter ... nailed it.  This giant cookie is slightly crisp on the top and sides and the soft center is filled with pockets of warm chocolate.  This must be served warm from the oven with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

skillet baked chocolate chip cookie

adapted: martha stewart

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (~ 9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks
vanilla ice cream (recipe below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix until they are fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Transfer dough to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet, and press to flatten, covering bottom of pan. Bake until edges are brown and top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Don't over bake; it will continue to cook a few minutes out of the oven. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve warm; top each wedge with a scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce.

vanilla bean ice cream 

source: the perfect scoop

1 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Prepare Ice Cream:


Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

s'mores ice cream

With the homemade marshmallows we made oven s'mores, dipped them  in chocolate fondue and floated them  in hot chocolate.  Every variation was enjoyed.  I am excited to make them again for the holidays with a bit of peppermint and use in my snugglers!  We still had some left and I was debating between s'mores cookie bars and s'mores ice cream.  The combination of the 90 degree weather in November and my odd fascination with my ice cream maker pushed the scale toward ice cream.  I used a vanilla ice cream base from the perfect scoop.  It is a little more involved then the other ice creams I have made but, it is SO much better.  This ice cream is worth the process.  I am so glad that I have a go to vanilla bean ice cream. Everyone needs one of those in their cooking arsenal.   After the base was made I hand folded in the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers.  This ice cream is good.  Brad said a few times I can't believe you made this.  It is that good but, I think I can make it even better by toasting the marshmallows slightly and melting the milk chocolate into a swirl.  Can't wait to try this again with the potential improvements.  YUM!

I am going to participate in my first blog event!  “Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.”

s'mores ice cream
vanilla ice cream base: the perfect scoop

1 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups graham crackers chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (~ 8 full sheets)
1 cup homemade marshmallows cut into 1/4 inch squares
1 cup finely chopped hershey's milk chocolate bars (~2.5 king size bars)


Prepare Ice Cream:


Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Transfer ice cream to a large bowl and slowly stir in the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. Transfer to freezer save container and freeze until hardened.

peach ice cream

Life is crazy today.  Lindsay Lohan is out of rehab after only 23 days which does not seem like enough time to fix that train wreck and I am making another desert with fruit!  I had peaches left over from my trip to the farmers market for the tart so, I decided to break out the ice cream maker I got over a year ago and had yet to use.  I was scared by the ice cream maker because it just seemed hard.  Boy was I wrong.  I told Brad I was making ice cream and he smiled and said what flavor.  When I said peach his response was "why"!  I wasn't sure why other then the fact I hate wasting food and I could not possibly eat all of the peaches myself before they went bad.  I peeled, chopped, cooked, pureed, and cooled all while doubting myself.  I pureed probably more then others would but, I wanted a smooth scoop that did not contain chunks.  Brad and I continued to peer into the ice cream maker in amazement as the ice cream formed.  We scooped out bowls for the whole family and we all LOVED it.  It was creamy, rich, sweet from the fresh peaches yet the sweetness was tamed by the tang of the sour cream.  This was not vanilla ice cream with peach chunks this was peachy delight.  I have a feeling the ice cream maker will not sit on the shelf another year before it makes an appearance in the kitchen.

peach ice cream
Source: the perfect scoop

1 1/3 pounds (600 g) ripe peaches (about 4 large peaches)

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
A few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice


Peel the peaches, slice them in half, and remove the pits. Cut the peaches into chunks and cook them with the water in a medium, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, covered, stirring once or twice, until soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar, then cool to room temperature.
Puree the cooked peaches and any liquid in a blender or food processor with the sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon juice until almost smooth but slightly chunky.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.