Where Caramel Goes to Die

Sadly, I have ruined two more batches of caramel. This experience has taught me something very valuable that was not given in any of the 10 caramel recipes I consulted. The cream must be room temperature before you incorporate it into the boiling sugar. Otherwise, the cream will cool the liquid too quickly and you'll get a lumpy and still wet mess.

The other thing I learned was that there is an easy way to clean the pan when this happens. Fill it with water and bring it to a boil. Then pour the contents out and all the sugar stuck to the pan will be gone.

I blame this all on Baby Fellow. She may be very cute, but she is also very dangerous. She gave Mrs. Fellow and I a nasty case of the Ebola. It has me off my "A-game". Please forgive the lack of recipe this week. I'll have something for you soon after I recover. In the meantime, if you crave ice cream recipes, check out the Food Network. It is brain freeze week or something like that. It is also a good time to check out a couple of my friends like Ice Cream Ireland and Dessert First.

Update

I burned my caramel. Usually this is not a big deal because but I used up all of my sugar. I feel awful for making such a rookie mistake. Caramel should be easy, but I second guessed myself and let it stay on the heat for a couple of seconds too long. The color went from the medium-amber it should have been to dark amber. It tasted bitter and was too close in color to the chocolate ice cream.

Hang tight the recipe is coming soon.

Poll Runoff

The poll was a tie between Cherry Coke Ice Cream and Chocolate Caramal with Spiced Peanuts. So I changed the poll to remove the less popular choices. You have until sunday to break the tie. I have great ideas for both.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Saturday, August 2 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, this week’s recipe is cinnamon ice cream sandwiches with oatmeal chocolate raisin cookies. Sorry I am not much of a photographer. I do okay with most things, but ice cream melts so quickly it can be hard to get the shot right before too much damage is done.

You already know the cinnamon ice cream recipe, so I won’t bother to repeat it. You can find it here. The original recipe was posted prior to the worksheet implementation so I feel obligated to provide it for you now.



As for the cookies, they are an adaptation of the Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins and Milk Chocolate Chips from The Sweet Life, by Kate Zuckerman. I added a hint of cinnamon to the cookie to accent the ice cream and changed the process for sizing them to make making ice cream sandwiches easier. Her hint, which holds true for my version is to not use quick cooking oats. I wouldn’t go so far as to use the steel cut McCann’s brand either. It won’t cook fast enough and there isn’t enough liquid to soften that style of oats either. Your best bet is the Quaker Oats can.

Some notes on assembly of the sandwiches -- You are best making the cookie far enough ahead and cooling it completely before freezing the ice cream. You don't want a warm cookie melting your ice cream during assembly. Also, you are best to apply the ice cream right out of your ice cream machine when it is still soft. Be careful not go too far to the edge because once the second cookie is put on top, it will push the soft ice cream down and out the sides some.

Oatmeal Cookies with Golden Raisins and Milk Chocolate Chips:

1 ½ cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ounces butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 whole eggs, room temperature
1 egg white, room temperature
3 cups uncooked oatmeal
8 ounces milk chocolate, chips, or chopped bar
1 cup golden raisins (about 5 ½ ounces)

1. Heat an oven to 350F
2. Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to incorporate. Set aside.
3. Cut the butter into rough chunks. Cream in a stand mixer (use the paddle attachment) on medium speed for a minute or so.
4. Add the sugar; beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl at least once.
5. Add the dark brown sugar. Beat for 4 more minutes. Scrape down the bowl as necessary.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time, at low speed. Beat until batter looks glossy and smooth.
7. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and oats then roughly incorporate by hand. It will take about 10 + turns. Return the bowl to the mixer and mix on low for 60 – 90 seconds until everything is well combined and nothing looks dry.
8. Add the chocolate and raisins. Beat for a minute or two on low speed to fully incorporate.
9. Line two baking pans with greased (I use butter) aluminum foil, parchment paper, or silicon mats. Spread half of the batter onto each sheet. Make sure that batter stays about 2 inches away from every edge of the baking pan. The cookies will spread you want to make sure they have somewhere to go. Don’t worry this batter is very stiff and holds its shape well when you spreading it into the pan.
10. Bake for 12-15 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are crisp and brown and a cake tester comes out clean from the middle.
Let the cookies cool completely before removing them from their pans.
11. To make the ice cream sandwiches:
12. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the first cookie on the foil, top side down.
13. Spread the ice cream on the cookie in an even layer about 1 inch thick. Place the next cookie on top of the ice cream, top side up. Place the assembly in the freezer to harden for a few hours.
14. If you want, trim the edges to get everything even and remove the hardest parts of the cookies. Cut into shapes or bars.

The Poll is Back

I know what I want to do this week and maybe next, but I have too many flavors to think about again. Please help me prioritize them by voting on my poll.

Dean and Deluca is offering 9 pints of Jeni's Ice Cream for $100. If you order from Jeni's website it is cheaper. They definitely have some interesting flavors. Has anyone tried it?