Samoas Ice Cream

Yesterday I promised you guys a sweet treat. Well, here it is...sweet enough for ya? I think I mentioned earlier in the week how I got attacked by the Girl Scouts at the grocery store last weekend (or maybe I Twittered about it). Having once been a Girl Scout myself, I feel it is necessary to support the cause. Plus, who can resist their cute little faces? I only allow myself to buy one box of Samoas and/or Thin Mints and this year I went with one box of Samoas, but I can't promise that if these girls are at the store tomorrow that I won't be tempted again. Normally I like to pop the box in the freezer and have one or two when the mood strikes. This time I thought I could get more creative. I have seen the national name brand Samoas ice cream in the stores and thought I would do my own twist on it. I decided to go with a vanilla bean ice cream base, a fudge swirl and lots of roughly chopped cookies. I don't know about you, but when I have chunks in my ice cream, I want BIG chunks! This ice cream is To. Die. For. Soooo rich and delicious and sinful. Of course I am going to have to walk extra laps this weekend to burn it off, but it's worth it. Have a great weekend!

Many thanks to Christine and Dawn for helping me figure out the three column format. How do you like it?



Samoas Ice Cream

Makes 1 quart

Vanilla Bean ice cream (recipe follows)
Fudge swirl (recipe follows)
Most of a box of samoas, roughly chopped

Freeze the ice cream according to manufacturers instructions. In the last two minutes of freezing, slowly stream in the fudge. Transfer the ice cream to a quart sized container and mix in the chopped up cookies.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
(From David Lebovitz)

1 cup milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean
5 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
A few drops of vanilla extract

Heat the milk, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the milk with the tip of a paring knife. Add the bean pod to the milk.

Stir together the egg yolks in a bowl and gradually add some of the warmed milk, stirring constantly as you pour. Pour the warmed yolks 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. Rinse the vanilla bean and put it back into the custard and cream to continue steeping. Chill thoroughly, then remove the vanilla bean and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

Fudge Swirl
(Adapted from Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments)

1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

This swirl can be prepared a day or two ahead of time, but if you make it at the same time as the ice cream, remember that it needs to cool before adding it into the ice cream.

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, bringing the mixture to a low boil. Boil gently for one minute, then remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla. Cool in a refrigerator before serving.