Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Snickerdoodles are a bit nostalgic to me. Back when they used to teach Home Economics in middle school, it was my first, homemade cookie that I ever had; they were soft; they were chewy; they were crunchy around the edges, yet soft and chewy in the middle. At the time, I thought they were the best thing, EVER! So, to my middle school teacher, Ms. Young, if you're reading this, I want to let you know that the first time I ever baked anything was with you! Who knows...maybe my love for baking started much earlier than I thought!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of softened unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup of sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 3/4 cup of all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons of cream of tartar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda


FOR THE CINNAMON AND BROWN SUGAR COATING:
3 Tablespoons of sugar

3 teaspoons of cinnamon

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
vanilla bean ice cream or ice cream of your choice!

sprinkles!! All the sprinkles!!

round biscuit or cookie cutter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Line a small baking dish with some parchment paper. Take your ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften a bit before using (about 10 minutes). Scoop out desired amount of ice cream into the baking dish and level it out using a flat spatula. Cover the ice cream with a piece of saran wrap, making sure to press over the ice cream's surface. Freeze until firm. (I usually do this whole step the night before)

2. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and using a biscuit cutter, cut out your ice cream. Place your cut-out ice cream pieces back into the freezer until ready to assemble.

PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 400 DEGREES F.
3. Into a shallow plate, mix together your sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

4. Into a mixing bowl, add in your flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

5. In a large mixing bowl, add in your softened butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat JUST UNTIL COMBINED. Add in your eggs and vanilla and beat just until combined. USING A SPATULA, fold in your dry ingredients, being careful not to over-mix.

6. Using a melon baller (or by hand) shape your cookie dough and drop them into your cinnamon and sugar mixture. Place them on your cookie sheet fitted with some silpat (or parchment paper/foil), making sure to space them at least two inches apart.

7. Bake cookies for 8 minutes, EXACTLY.

8. Immediately remove cookies from your baking sheet and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack until ready to use.

9. Remove your ice cream from the freezer and begin to assemble your ice cream sandwiches. Roll them gently into your sprinkles (if using). I recommend making two at a time (leaving the rest in the freezer while you work), and eating them asap! In other words, make them and eat them right away! The ice cream will begin to melt as soon as you take them out of the freezer.

NOTES:
-Do not attempt to put any assembled ice cream sandwiches back into the freezer: the cookies will harden and it will be quite difficult to eat!

-This recipe makes over 3 1/2 dozen cookies. You may cut the recipe in half, but why would you?! Chilled dough makes the BEST cookies! Simply roll out the leftover dough into two separate logs, wrap each one in saran wrap, and place them into the freezer for later use.

Avocado Ice Cream

No ice cream maker needed here!!

But if you have an ice cream maker...

Did you guys know that avocados were packed with at least 20 different nutrients like fiber, potassium, vitamin E...and the list goes on?!! There are 13 vitamins that are essential to the human body and those are: vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins((thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate). And the best part is...AVOCADOS NATURALLY CONTAIN ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS!!

The recipe that I'm posting here, contains sugar and uses heavy whipping cream but if you're a health nut or are making these for your kids, you can sub the sugar in this recipe for splenda, equal, stevia powder, or whatever you wish. You can also sub the heavy whipping cream and half and half for ALL fat free half and half, and it will still turn out great! But keep in mind that when making ice cream, the higher the fat content, the more creamier your ice cream will be, so skimming on some of the fat will affect the overall texture by just a tad bit. Also the type of ice cream mold matters! I use Orka Ice Pop Molds that I purchased from Amazon for about 15 bucks for a set of 4. They are made of silicone and are the best ice cream molds that I have ever used!!


You will need:

A blender

Silicone Ice Pop Molds(I recommend Orka)

6 RIPENED avocados(you may cut recipe in half)

1 cup of heavy whipping cream

1 cup of half and half

2 tsp of vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cup of sugar

1 1/2 T of MATCHA green tea powder(optional)

The juice from half of a lemon(to prevent browning while chilling)

Step 1: Cut avocados in half, remove the pit, and using a spoon, scoop out the avocado and place in blender.

Step 2: Place all of the other ingredients into the blender and puree until smooth. If you try to taste the mixture now, it will probably be super sweet but don't fret my friend, because it's SUPPOSED TO BE, DUH!! One of the many rules of ice cream making, is that you have to add a little bit more sugar then you normally would because when you freeze it, it will lose some of it's sweetness.

Step3: Take a large ziplock freezer bag and add the avocado mixture into it. Cut about half of an inch off of the corner of the bag and pipe into the ice cream molds. After you've filled them all in, place the tops on, lift the ice cream molds 2-3 inches off of the counter, and drop them back down quickly, giving them a few good wacks on the counter(this step helps get rid of most of the air bubbles and pushes the ice cream further down into the mold). Check to see if you need to add in more of the mixture into the molds after you have wacked the tray a few times.

Aren't these adorable??

Step 4: Freeze for at least 6-8 hrs. If you are using your ice cream maker, follow instructions for your own ice cream maker which most will require that you chill the mixture in the fridge first before starting the freezing process. If you chill in fridge first, the tops of the avocado mixture may start to turn a brownish/green shade but that's normal. You can either just scoop that part out or just give it a quick mix with a spatula(it hasn't spoiled and you won't die if you eat it I promise).



Okay, so I felt a little wacky and decided to try...

CHOCOLATE COVERED AVOCADO ICE CREAM!! Am I kooky or what??!!

I used bittersweet chocolate mixed with a splash of vanilla and some shortening(no substitution)and melted them using the double broiler method. I don't remember how much chocolate I actually used but the general rule is 1/2 T of shortening per ounce of chocolate.

Step 1:Melt chocolate and shortening in a metal or glass bowl fitted over a pot of simmering water. Keep heat on low and make sure that the water DOES NOT TOUCH THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BOWL. Chocolate is very temperamental, so I don't recommend that you go and put a load of laundry in the wash or anything, while you're waiting for it to melt.

Double broiler method

Step 2:Stir the chocolate mixture and right before it looks like everything is about to be melted down completely, remove from heat and continue to stir, until mixture is smooth and silky.

Step 3:Once your avocado ice cream pops have been in the freezer for a couple of hours, take a large spoon and quickly coat the ice cream pops, spinning them as you go along trying to make an even coat. You must work quickly here, because the chocolate will begin to harden. Once you are done, place on wax paper and put back into the fridge for 1 hr.

Mmmmm...crazy is, as crazy does