Dairy-free Biscoff Ice Cream [v.]

My favorite ice cream is the Biscoff flavor at this local ice cream shop in my hometown. It’s not what I would describe as a luxurious ice cream. It’s not exceedingly rich or overwhelmingly complex, but each bite is like a refreshing bite of chunky cookie butter. When I order it with friends, we get it sundae style, topped with chocolate shell and oreo crumbs. While I didn’t have oreos when I took the photos, chocolate shell was a must.

The ice cream’s base is lightly spiced, and there are copious rushed cookies added for texture. I’ve tried Trader Joe’s cookie butter ice cream and while good in a “how-can-you-screw-up-vanilla-ice-cream-and-cookie-butter” kind of way, it couldn’t compare to the biscoff ice cream at this shop.

Since my stomach has been rebelling against dairy as of late, I thought I’d try to make a dairy-free version of my favorite ice cream. I used a coconut cream and cashew milk base which I sweetened with brown sugar and plenty of crunchy cookie butter. I won’t lie and pretend you can’t taste any coconut because you can, but I thought the flavor paired perfectly with the cookie butter. I normally don’t like the taste of coconut, especially chocolate with coconut, ick, but the coconut flavor was mellow and if anything, enhanced the overall flavor of the recipe.

Dairy-free Biscoff Ice Cream  – gluten free. vegan.

• 1 can coconut cream
• 1 can’s worth cashew milk (measure with the empty coconut cream can)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup biscoff spread or trader joe’s chunky cookie butter
• (optional: 2 tbs plain vodka, to improve scoopability)
• 5 ounces biscoff style cookies, crushed into a mix of crumbs and chunks

To make the ice cream base, whisk together the coconut cream, brown sugar, and biscoff spread. Once smooth, whisk in the cashew milk, and vodka, if using.

Refrigerate the ice cream base until cold, and then churn in an ice cream maker according to the machine’s directions. Right as the ice cream’s finishing, add in the biscoff crumbs and let the machine go for a few more seconds until the crumbs are mixed in.

Scoop into a tupperware container and freeze for at least several hours. Or if you’re feeling impatient, eat soft serve style straight out of the ice cream maker.

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Dulce de Leche Gelato (with cookie chunks!)

When I was in Mexico I ate an embarrassing amount of dulce de leche.

Dulce de leche drowned chocolate ice cream. Dulce de leche crepes. Dulce de leche drizzled doughnuts. Dulce de leche everything.

You can blame me though–you would too if you were in Mexico and had an unlimited supply of it.

In honor of this delicious topping, I made Dulce de Leche Gelato with dulce de leche cookie chunks. Unfortunately I don’t have the recipe for the cookie chunks, because they resulted from a experimental recipe flop, but I think nearly any type of crushed cookie would work fine for this recipe (oatmeal especially, yum!).

The recipe for the ice cream base is creamy and caramel-y, but not too sweet. It took a matter of ten minutes and seven people for the entire batch to be eaten, and we were licking our bowls afterwards. Let me tell you, I can foresee a lot of this ice cream in my future. A lot.

Dulce de Leche Gelato

recipe adapted from this book

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup dulce de leche
• ½ cup crushed cookies

1. Combine the milk and heavy cream in a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until bubbles start to form. Stir occasionally.
2. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.
3. Gradually pour about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking the entire time.
4. Add the egg yolk sugar milk mixture back in the saucepan. Whisk until smooth.
5. Heat the mixture until it is 185 degrees, and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Pour the base into a bowl, cover the top with ceram wrap, and allow to cool.
7. Whisk in the dulce de leche, and then refrigerate until cold.
8. Churn the ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Right before the ice cream is finished, add the crushed cookies and allow to process for about 10 seconds.
9. Place the ice cream into a container, and then freeze for several hours. Enjoy!