Two years ago, my mom gave me a cute little mint plant. It was about three inches tall and just one measly plant. Two years later, it has taken over my life...er...flower box. I kind of knew that mint was aggressive and took things over, but I guess I didn't realize it to this extent. It has exploded, and I'm not really a huge mint user. I love it in mojitos, and I love some mint chip ice cream. And that's about it for my mint usage. However, I never thought about making my own mint chip ice cream until I posted a picture of my crazy mint plant on Instagram and someone suggested it. (PS, I love Instagram...follow me! Emily_SheMakesandBakes)
 
I'm so glad I got the ice cream suggestion because it is fantastic. It has a wonderful fresh mint flavor that you don't get from the ice cream at the store. It's not artificially colored, and you can choose what kind or how many chips to put in the ice cream. It takes a tad longer than other ice creams to make because you have to steep the mint in the hot milk mixture to extract the flavor, but it's so worth it! As usual, I scaled it down for two servings because I'd rather have a large variety of ice creams in my freezer than a lot of one kind. The notes below tell you how to make a bigger batch.
 
Mint Chip Ice Cream for Two Recipe
Makes two cups
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Note: To make six cups of this ice cream, multiply all the ingredients by three but only use 5 egg yolks. Follow the same process.

2/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar, divided
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, cream, salt, vanilla, and half of the sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add in the mint leaves and let them steep for 20-30 minutes. Remove the mint leaves and return the mixture to a boil.

While the milk mixture is reheating, whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and thick.

When the mixture has come to a boil, slowly whisk it into the eggs. When you have whisked in approximately two-thirds of the milk mixture, return everything to the saucepan. Using a spoon, stir the mixture constantly over low heat until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Don't let it boil. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about a few hours. Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. During the last couple of minutes, add in the chocolate chips.

Source: Adapted from Cuisinart

Do you think Olympians eat ice cream? If not, they definitely should. Missy Franklin lives in my neck of the woods, and I'd love to give her some of this stuff. She seems really nice and fun; I think she'd like it. PS, I think the swimming relays are one of the most exciting things to watch. I'm on the edge of my seat and holding my breath to see who will come on top. Can we have a relay every night please?  

Since it's the last day of National Ice Cream month, I had to give you guys another ice cream recipe. After my first foray into roasted strawberries, I knew that I wanted to include them in as many things as possible. Enter this ice cream. Since chocolate and strawberries pair so well together, I figured I would roast some strawberries in a simple syrup (which turned them into a very tasty jam) and then add them into a super creamy chocolate ice cream while it was churning. The result is a wonderful dark strawberry flavor in every bite that's mixed with cold, creamy, rich chocolate. I scaled this recipe down to two cups (because I like to have a wide variety of ice cream flavors available), so excuse me while I go finish the bowl. Dinner schminner; I'll just have this please. 

Roasted Strawberry & Chocolate Ice Cream for Two 
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Note: This recipe is scaled down to make two cups. If you want to make a full recipe, multiply everything by three but use 5 egg yolks. 

For the ice cream:
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dutch process cocoa powder
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the roasted strawberries: 
2 cups strawberries, hulled and diced in half
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup hot water

To make the ice cream base, in a medium saucepan over medium high heat, whisk together 1/3 cup of the cream and the cocoa powder until the cocoa powder is dissolved. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low and let boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the semisweet chocolate until melted and smooth. Stir in the remaining 1/3 cup of cream and pour into a medium sized bowl. Place a fine mesh strainer over the bowl. 

In the same pan, mix together the milk, sugar, brown sugar, and salt over medium high heat. Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks together. When the milk mixture is warm, slowly pour two-thirds of it into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pan while stirring. Continue to heat it over medium high heat, stirring with a spoon, until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of the spoon. Do not let it boil. Once it has thickened, remove it from heat and pour it through the fine mesh strainer into the chocolate mixture. Stir together and add in the vanilla extract. Once everything is incorporated, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator. Once completely chilled, churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

While the ice cream base is chilling:
To make the roasted strawberries, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Place your cut berries on a sheet pan, combine the hot water and sugar, and pour on top of the berries. Cook them in the oven for 10-15 minutes until softened. Let them cool, and add them to your ice cream during the last few minutes of churning. 

Store your ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to serve. 

Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop  

When we were staying in Ireland a few weeks ago we passed an ice cream shop that made all of its ice cream. There were some great flavors that inspired me, like sea salt, caramel, and Bailey's. Since I have a love affair with Bailey's, I chose that; you got two scoops in a serving, so I paired it with chocolate. It was heavenly, and I knew I wanted to try it when I got home. 

I must love you guys because I had to make two batches before it was right. It's hard work being a blogger sometimes. In the first batch, I added too much Bailey's so it was really strong (which was ok) but it never really froze. It was similar to soft serve but had the consistency of sour cream. I did a fudge ripple in it, which turned out like chocolate syrup. Overall it was good but not quite right. I wanted a more typical ice cream consistency and chunks of fudge. I made it again and perfecto--it's probably the creamiest ice cream I've ever made! It's definitely my new favorite ice cream. 

Bailey's Fudge Ice Cream for Two Recipe
Makes about 3 cups
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Notes: While the directions indicate to boil the Bailey's mixture for one minute in an attempt to cook off the alcohol, I'm not sure that it ever really cooks off. I definitely would not recommend serving this to children, pregnant women, or people who don't drink. I like the chunks of chewy fudge in the ice cream, but if that's not something you'd like (or if you have loose fillings in your teeth), use the fudge as hot fudge on top or make a half batch of chocolate syrup and swirl some of that throughout ice cream in the last minute of churning. If you want to make 2 quarts, multiply all the ingredients by three, except for the egg yolks--use 5 egg yolks.  

For the ice cream:
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
1/3 cup milk (I used 2%)
1/3 cup sugar, divided
Pinch of salt
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the fudge:
5 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons water
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

To make the ice cream: In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, Bailey's, milk, salt, and half of the sugar. Heat over medium, stirring frequently, until it comes to a boil. Let it boil for one minute.

While the milk mixture is heating, whisk together the egg yolks and the other half of the sugar until thick and pale. After your Bailey's mixture has boiled for one minute, slowly pour a steady stream of it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once you have poured 2/3 of the Bailey's mixture into the eggs while whisking, pour the egg mixture back into the pan and reheat over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and pour it through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Remove the strainer, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to cool for 2-3 hours. 

While the ice cream is cooling, make the fudge by combining the corn syrup, sugar, heavy cream, water, and salt in a medium saucepan set over medium heat, stirring frequently until thickened. This should take about five minutes.

Meanwhile microwave the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Whisk in the sifted cocoa powder until it's dissolved.
 
When the sugar mixture has thickened, take it off the heat, add in the butter and vanilla, and let cool slightly. Add in the chocolate and mix until smooth. Set aside. 

Once the ice cream mixture is cold, churn it according to the manufacturer's directions. During the last few minutes of churning, drop 1/2 teaspoon-fulls of the fudge into the ice cream maker, using about half of the fudge mixture. Store the rest of the fudge in the refrigerator and heat slightly before using later. Scoop the ice cream out of the maker and into a bowl. Freeze it for several hours before serving. 

Ice cream a She Makes and Bakes creation based on a Cuisinart recipe
Fudge adapted from Cook's Illustrated    

Happy ice cream month! I hope you're celebrating. I love ice cream, but I usually forget about it. With brownies or cupcakes or cake or cookies on my counter, I forget about the lonely ice cream in the freezer. You know that chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream I made awhile ago? It's still in there. The other problem is that the hubs is lactose intolerant, so he hardly ever partakes in ice cream. Therefore, I decided to scale down an ice cream recipe to a more manageable size. Not to mention that with so many wonderful flavors, I don't want two quarts of one flavor. Give me options! 

This is a great strawberry ice cream recipe. Instead of eggs and milk, it has sour cream in it. It tastes great (not like sour cream though), it's creamy, and it's easy to make. Plus, with a small portion, it only takes about five minutes to churn. You'll be eating ice cream before you know it! I like to eat this ice cream with a little basil syrup poured on top...love that strawberry basil combo! 

Strawberry Ice Cream for Two Recipe
Makes about 2 cups
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6 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vodka (optional)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine the sliced strawberries, sugar, and vodka in a bowl and let sit at room temperature for about an hour. Stir occasionally. 

Transfer this to a blender or food processor and add the sour cream, cream, and lemon juice. Process a few times until blended, but you'll want to leave a few clumps. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour. Churn in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. You'll probably only need to churn it for about 5-10 minutes, so keep an eye on it. If you want a harder consistency, freeze overnight. 

Recipe scaled down from Annie's Eats. 

After I made my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, I needed to do something with the rest of it. Since the hubs is lactose intolerant, he doesn't partake in ice cream too frequently. This means that I have a lot of leftovers when I make a batch of ice cream. I have a lot of other sweets usually sitting on the counter and I forget about the lonely ice cream in the freezer. I won't be forgetting about these sandwiches though.

These are pretty incredible, and they're really not difficult to make. Also, you don't have to make your own ice cream. You could use any store bought ice cream you like. And, truth be told, you don't really have to make cookies. You could buy your favorite kind. But for now, let's stick with these cookies. They are a very rich and indulgent chocolate cookie; when paired with the ice cream, they take you back to summer days when you were a kid and the ice cream truck rolled around. These are about a million times better than that though, and I just found out they're way cheaper. Apparently the ice cream truck charges $4 or $5 for an ice cream sandwich. Whaaa? Try these out. They're perfect on a hot summer day.

Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe
Makes 8 sandwiches
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1 recipe chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
For the cookies:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Melt butter in a saucepan and remove from heat. Whisk in the cocoa until fully incorporated and stir in the sugars until it looks like coarse sand. Add in the sour cream or yogurt (use what you have; I've used both at different times and they both work great) and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture and stir until combined. Drop dough by rounded teaspoon-fulls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, let your ice cream thaw for about 10 minutes or until scoopable. Scoop it into a 9x13 pan and press it down into a single layer using plastic wrap. Place in the freezer until solid.

Once your ice cream is solid and your cookies have cooled, use a round cookie cutter to cut circles of ice cream that are slightly smaller than your cookies. Pair up your cookies according to size, place the ice cream round in between, and place in the freezer. Once solid, you can serve or place in a freezer bag for later.

Cookies barely adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod
Idea was all mine

My husband's favorite cookies are chocolate chip, but he's strange in that he'll eat a couple and be done until I make them again. This kills me. I wish I had that kind of will power/craving control. If there are cookies (or any dessert) out, I'll eat them until they're gone! Clearly we see who gains the weight in our family. Usually when I make chocolate chip cookies, I'll bake half or more of the dough and then keep the rest in the fridge as I much prefer the cookie dough. I love things that have cookie dough in them. My favorite kind of cheesecake is chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake. And my new favorite kind of ice cream is this one. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

I know that it looks like vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips, but it's not. It's a brown sugar ice cream with mini chocolate chips that also has egg-free chocolate chip cookie dough in it. Oh man. I never buy chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in the store because, to be frank, it sucks. Boring vanilla ice cream (and I actually like vanilla ice cream) with a few pieces of cookie dough here and there. This is so much better. The ice cream is smooth and creamy, and you can control how much cookie dough you put in it. Are you surprised that I loaded it in? Therefore, you get the taste of the cookie dough and brown sugar flavor in every bite. I think this would be awesome if you put some hot fudge or chocolate sauce in the ice cream machine while it was churning, too. I didn't have any, but I'll definitely be sure to add some in next time. With the unofficial start of summer this weekend, I definitely suggest you dust off your ice cream machine and make this!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Recipe
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For the cookie dough:
5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled for a few minutes
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

For the ice cream:
3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups heavy cream
4 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

To make the filling, stir together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the flour and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips and place in the refrigerator until cold.

To make the ice cream, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often. Pour in the cream slowly, whisking constantly, and cook until it starts simmering. While that mixture is coming up to a simmer, whisk your egg yolks until light and fluffy. Once the cream mixture is simmering, temper your yolks by very slowly adding a little bit of the hot mixture into your eggs while whisking. Once you have added about 2 cups of the hot mixture to your eggs, pour the egg mixture back into the pot while whisking. Cook this over medium heat until it has thickened slightly and can coat the back of a spoon (170-175 degrees).

Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl that is sitting in an ice bath. Add in the vanilla, salt, and milk and stir. Once the bowl has cooled, cover with plastic wrap and place in the coldest part of your refrigerator until well chilled.

Freeze this mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. In the last few minutes of churning, add in the mini chocolate chips. Take your chilled cookie dough out of the fridge and scoop out pieces of it. When your ice cream is done churning, pour it into a bowl, adding the chocolate chip cookie dough pieces throughout. Freeze until hardened.

Source: Barely adapted from Sunny Side Up in San Diego, who got it from many others.

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