Category Archives: ice cream

August!

Posted on by
2

August has been a very busy month.  It didn’t start out that way, but it sure got busy fast.

On the 14th I celebrated my birthday.  I made myself a grand birthday cake that I am calling a Banana Split Cake.  It was composed of layers of chocolate, banana, and cherry cakes.  In between the layers of cake I added Tillamook Banana Split ice cream.  Then I covered the whole thing in whipped cream and drizzled chocolate over the top of it.  Finally, I decorated the top of the cake with sprinkles, chopped nuts, and cherries.

It was a beauty, but more importantly it was delicious!   It was also a behemoth, easily one of the tallest (and heaviest) cakes I have ever made, and half of it still remains in my freezer.

 

The cherry cake layer of this cake was delightful.  I don’t really even care for maraschino cherries, but they are spectacular in this cake.  I used Sprinkle Bakes recipe for Cherry-Vanilla Layer Cake.  You can find the recipe here.  This is one cake recipe that I know I will use again.

Just two days after my birthday, we were celebrating again.  This time it was Samuel’s turn.  For his second birthday I made banana cupcakes with bits of chocolate covered toffee inside.  I topped the cupcakes with molasses buttercream, chocolate drizzle, and more bits of chocolate covered toffee.  I will share the recipe for them soon.  They were very tasty.

The day after Samuel’s birthday we had our family photos taken.  This is something that I hope we will be able to do every year around Sam’s birthday.  Photos are very special to me, because at this age, Samuel is changing every day.

Our photos were taken by Krista of Richardson photography.  She did a great job with our photos and I am very pleased.  If you would like to see more of Krista’s work or if you would like to hire her to photograph your family, visit her website or find her on Facebook.

After the birthday celebrations were complete and our photos had been taken, we spent the next two days autocrossing.  This was to be our last event before we head to the Solo Nationals in Lincoln, NE, so we were doing some last minute tire testing.  Hopefully the last minute testing pays off in Lincoln.

On August 20th we flew to Las Vegas for a little vacation.  We stayed at the Worldmark Las Vegas Boulevard.  It was a wonderful resort with 4 pools and a lazy river.  I think the lazy river was probably my favorite.  I could spend hours floating around in it.  It was so relaxing.  Samuel also enjoyed playing in the water.

The best part of going to Las Vegas was getting to see my best friend, Candyce.  We have been friends since the 6th grade.  She lives in southern California, so I don’t get to see her as often as I would like.  In fact prior to this vacation, I had not seen her since 2010.  It was a real treat getting to spend a few days with Candyce and her son Andon.

We returned home from our Vegas vacation last Saturday.  I’ve spent the last few days doing laundry and getting ready for our next adventure.  Soon we will be on the road to Lincoln.

We are driving the 1,625 miles to Lincoln over the course of the next two and a half days.  This will be our longest road trip with Samuel, so I am a little nervous.  For the first stretch of the trip we plan to drive all the way to Salt Lake City.  I am looking forward to meeting up with a friend from culinary school who lives in the Salt Lake area.  From there we will head on to Nebraska.

So as you can see my August has been very busy.  Fortunately, I have been busy doing fun things and spending time with the ones I love.

How has your summer been?  Have you been busy doing anything fun?

-Lacey

www.facebook.com/stcookie

@SmallTownCookie

 

 

Father’s Day Dessert: Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted on by
1
For a few months now, Captain Awesome has been asking me to make ice cream sandwiches similar to an It’s-It.  I thought it would make a nice treat for Father’s Day, so I made some just for him.  Aren’t I swell?
If you don’t know, It’s-Its are ice cream sandwiches made with oatmeal raisin cookies, ice cream (duh), and a chocolate coating.  They have been made in San Francisco since 1928.  They are delicious treats.  Unfortunately our local grocery store does not carry them, so it’s not very often that Captain Awesome gets to enjoy one.
The thing about It’s-Its is that even though they have raisins, you don’t bite into a raisin when you’re eating one.  It’s like the raisins have been pulverized or something.  I wanted to try and replicate that, so I combined the raisins with about half of the oats.  I gave them a good toss so that the raisins would get coated in the powder from the oats.  Then I put the two in the food processor and processed until the raisins were ground into bits and came together.
I used two 10×15 sheets like this to bake the cookie in.  Line the sheets with parchment.  Process the raisins with the oats and set them aside.
In a mixing bowl cream together the butter, sugars, spices, salt, and baking powder.  Then mix in the eggs and honey.  Next add the raisin/oat mixture and mix until it is evenly distributed throughout.  The mixture will be thick and look like this.
Finally, stir in the flour and the remaining oats.  Cover the dough and refrigerate it for about 20 minutes.  Chilling the dough makes it easier to press into the pans.
Once the dough has chilled divide it in half.  Press each half into a parchment lined sheet.  Use an offset spatula to help smooth the dough.
Wrap the dough lined sheets with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours until chilled.
When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°.  Bake for 10-15 minutes.   Baking times will vary based on your oven and rack position, etc.  (I originally baked at 375°, but I feel this was too hot and would bake at 350° in the future.)  Keep a watchful eye on the cookies as they will brown fast.  You want them to be golden, but not too dark.  If they get too dark, the raisins will taste bitter.
After baking, allow the cookies to cool to room temp.  Once they have cooled, wrap the sheets in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to fill the cookies with ice cream, remove your ice cream from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.  You want the ice cream to be soft, but not melted.  Use any flavor of ice cream you would like.  I chose Tillamook Vanilla Bean.
Remove one cookie sheet from the freezer.  Loosen the cookie from the edges of the pan, so that it will easily come out once it has been assembled.  Cover the entire cookie with ice cream.  Work fast and use and offset spatula to smooth the ice cream.  I added enough ice cream so that it came up to the rim of the sheet pan.  I used about 3/4 of the carton.  You can add more if you would like.
If at any point your ice cream starts to melt, just pop everything in the freezer for about 10 minutes so it can firm back up.
Once your ice cream is on the cookie, place the whole thing back in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes remove the ice cream covered cookie and the other cookie from the freezer.  Top the ice cream with the 2nd sheet of cookie.  Press gently on the cookie so that it will stick into the ice cream.
Put the whole thing in the freezer for about 2 hours so it can firm up.  After it has been in the freezer for a couple of hours, go around the edge of the pan with an offset spatula to loosen the cookie and ice cream from the sides of the pan.  Turn the pan over onto a large cutting board and lift the pan off.  The cookie and ice cream should slide right out.
Cut the cookie into bars.  I chose to cut mine into 16 pieces.  They were kind of on the big side, so you might want to cut yours into a smaller size.
Place the cut bars in the freezer.  While the bars are in the freezer, melt some chocolate over a double boiler.  Add about a tablespoon of shortening to the melted chocolate.
Work quickly and dip the bars into the chocolate or use a fork to drizzle chocolate onto them.  Place the chocolate coated bars onto a parchment lined sheet.  Place them in the freezer to firm up.
Store ice cream sandwiches in the freezer in an air tight container or on a sheet pan wrapped in plastic.
This recipe does take quite a bit of time to produce because of the time needed to chill everything.  If you want to make it, I recommend doing so over the course of 2 days.  Bake and chill your cookies on the first day and assemble the ice cream sandwiches on the second day.
Ready to make your own?  Here’s the recipe:
Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

Oatmeal Cookie Bar Recipe
(Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies)

6 oz butter, unsalted, softened
2.5 oz sugar
3.75 oz brown sugar
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 whole egg
1 egg white
3.25 oz honey
4.5 oz all purpose flour
7.75 oz oats, old fashioned or quick cooking
11.25 oz raisins
Line the bottom of two 10×15 sheet pans with parchment paper.
Combine the raisins with about half of the oats.  Toss to coat the raisins with the powder from the oats.  Place in a food processor and process until the raisins are chopped into bits and it all comes together.
In a mixing bowl cream together the butter, sugars, spices, salt, and baking soda.  Add the vanilla, eggs, and honey.  Mix to combine.  Add the raisin/oat mixture and mix until combined.
Add the flour and oats and mix.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
Use an offset spatula to press the chilled dough into the parchment lined pans.  Wrap the pans in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°.  Bake cookies for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool the cookies to room temperature.
Wrap the pans in plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours or overnight.
Ice Cream Sandwich Assembly
Spread softened ice cream onto one of the frozen cookies.  Place the pan in the freezer for about 15 minutes and then top it with the other cookie.  Place the whole thing in the freezer for about 2 hours.
Use an offset spatula to loosen the cookie and ice cream from the sides of the pan.  Turn the pan over onto a large cutting board.  Lift the pan off.  Cut into equal sized bars.  Place the bars in the freezer.
Chocolate Coating
16 oz Chocolate (Dark, Milk, or a mix)
1 Tbsp shortening
Melt chocolate over a double boiler.  Add shortening and stir to combine.
Dip the frozen bars into the chocolate or drizzle them with chocolate.  Place bars on a parchment lined tray.  Place chocolate coated bars in freezer until chocolate is firm.
Have a Happy Father’s Day Weekend!

-Lacey
www.facebook.com/stcookie
@SmallTownCookie

Brownie Sundae Pie

Posted on by
2

It’s National Best Friends Day!  Did you know that?  You do now.
Today I’ve got a treat for you that is perfect for sharing with a best friend… or two.

Brownie Sundae Pie




I’ll get to that in a minute.  First let me tell you about my best friends.  They are two great ladies that mean the world to me.  Unfortunately I don’t get to see them as much as I would like to because they both live in California, and I live in Oregon.  Thank goodness for Facebook and cellphones.

These two ladies have been my friends for many, many years.  Candyce and I became friends in 6th grade.  We were instant friends and have remained friends all these years. Kerry and I became friends in middle school.  I am so thankful to have them both in my life.  I don’t know what I would do without them.

Kerry, Lacey, Candyce
July 2002

I am super excited because I get to see Candyce this year!  Our families recently made plans to spend some time together later this summer.  The last time I saw her was in 2010, and the last time I saw Candyce’s son, he was a toddler.  He’s 8 now.

So. Freakin. Excited!

Anyway, back to the Brownie Sundae Pie…A few weeks ago I picked up a deep dish tart pan by Nordic Ware.

Remember my post last week with the birthday cake graham crackers?  Well, I had some dough left over and decided to use it in my new deep dish tart pan.  I rolled out the dough, lined the pan with it and then I filled it part of the way with brownie batter.  After baking and cooling the brownie, I filled the pan the rest of the way with ice cream.  Then I topped the whole thing off with Chantilly cream and sprinkles…Oh yes I did!

I suggest you make one and share it with a friend in celebration of National Best Friends Day.

To make the Brownie Sundae Pie you will need:
Birthday Cake Graham Cracker Dough
Brownie Batter
Ice Cream, any flavor, about 1/4-1/2 carton
Chantilly Cream
Sprinkles

Start with the Birthday Cake Graham Cracker dough.  You can find the recipe here.

Prepare the dough and chill it.  Then roll out about 1/4 of the dough in a circle shape to 1/8″ thick.  Roll it out on a lightly floured surface.  Be sure to use flour on top of the dough too, as it can be sticky. Place the dough into the tart pan.  Gently press the dough into the fluted edge of the pan.  Trim any excess dough from the top.  Place the dough lined pan in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for one hour.

The next step is to make the brownie batter.

Brownie Batter Recipe
(Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Fudge Brownies Recipe)

2.5 oz butter, unsalted
5.25 oz sugar
1 egg
1.25 oz dutch process cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp water
2 oz all-purpose flour
4 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place the butter and sugar in a saucepan.  Heat until the butter is melted, but do not let it boil.

In a medium bowl combine the egg, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla, baking powder, and water.  Whisk until smooth.

Add the melted butter and sugar to the bowl.  Whisk until combined.  Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.  Mix just until combined.

Pour the batter into the chilled tart pan lined with graham cracker dough.

Bake for 15-25 minutes.  The brownie is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it.  The graham cracker crust will look dark.

Allow the brownie to cool on a rack for about 30 minutes.  Then place it in the freezer to chill for about 20 minutes.

When you are ready to add the ice cream to the pie, remove the ice cream from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.  You want the ice cream to get soft, but not too melty.  For my pie, I used Tillamook Vanilla Chocolate Chip.  It’s my new favorite.

Place several scoops of ice cream on top of the brownie.  Use an off set spatula to smooth the ice cream and gently press it down.  Continue this process until the entire surface of the brownie is covered.   Place the pie in the freezer to allow the ice cream to firm back up.

While the pie is in the freezer, make the Chantilly Cream.

Chantilly Cream Recipe


1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the ingredients and whip on high until soft peaks form.

Top the pie with Chantilly Cream.

Finally, top the pie with sprinkles.

Serve with chocolate sauce or other sundae toppings.
Happy National Best Friends Day!
-Lacey
www.facebook.com/stcookie
@SmallTownCookie