diy: guinness frozen custard

So, it’s been awhile a week since I’ve written a post about frozen custard.  Seeing as though most frozen custard stands in St. Louis are closed for the season, it makes it a little difficult to keep up with visiting new ones + trying out new treats.  To make up for this, the Hubs + I decided we would try making some of our own frozen custard in our new handy, dandy ice cream maker!

So, what makes frozen custard different from ice cream?  Well, your typical run-of-the-mill ice cream is made of milk, cream + sugar.  What makes frozen custard different is that it has egg yolks in addition to the milk, cream, + sugar, giving it a richer flavor and creamier texture.  So, if you are ever making “ice cream” at home and need to use egg yolks, you are really making a frozen custard. [You can find all this on Wikipedia.]

And that’s your trivia for the day…

I must admit, though, I actually had no part in this recipe except for buying the ingredients to make it.  This was all the Hubs’ idea + development.  Plus, it has one of my new favorite beers as the main ingredient, making it even better.  What can I say, the man has good taste – he chose me, didn’t he?! ;o)

GUINNESS FROZEN CUSTARD
From The Boston Globe.  Makes approximately 1 quart.  The only change made was using a whole vanilla bean instead of just half of one.  I’m not sure if it really changed the flavor at all, but I like more vanilla than less!

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cups Guinness stout beer
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons molasses (we used blackstrap)
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, scrape the vanilla bean seeds.  Add the pod, milk, and cream.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Turn off the heat, cover, and let the flavors infuse for 30 minutes.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together Guinness and molasses.  Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract.  Slowly whisk in the milk + cream mixture.  You want to do this slowly, as you do not want to scramble the eggs in the process.  [That would be very bad, and very gross!]  Start by whisking in a few tablespoons at a time, and then slowly stream in the remaining milk + cream.  GO SLOW!  Pour the now egg + milk mixture back into the medium saucepan.

Stir the beer mixture into the cream mixture.  Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (about 6-8 minutes).

Strain the mixture into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap so that it is lightly touching the top of the custard, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. 

When ready, process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions.  Ours took about 5 minutes to freeze.  You will then want to freeze the custard until ready to serve, or serve immediately if you can’t wait!

       

This has a wonderful coffee like flavor to it and is not beer-y at all!  Don’t be scurred of the Guinness… it is not a beer-y beer to start with, and makes the custard extra creamy.  If only I had my own industrial frozen custard machine to REALLY get that wonderful creamy texture I love so much!

This is AWESOME with chocolate chips mixed in!  Your own homemade Concrete Runner concrete!  With that, I’m going to finish off the rest of the quart in our freezer!

eskimo balls

Back in college, before my friends got married and moved away, we would always get together for one big New Year’s potluck party.  Each person would bring a different dish to share – somehow I was ALWAYS in charge of salad.  (Do my friends know me or what.)  One of the main features at these parties were Stefanie’s Eskimo Balls, and of course all the ball jokes you could ever think of to go with them.

They are probably one of my all time favorite cookies!  Not only do they taste absolutely DElish, they are also super easy to make!  I think I could easily wolf down 10 of them, they are THAT good!       

And yes, you MUST call them Eskimo Balls AND tell ball jokes as you serve them…

Eskimo Balls
Adapted from this recipe.  Makes ~2 dozen balls.

3/4 cup Earth Balance (or butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (dark chocolate is the best!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum (I used coconut but you can use any flavor, or just water)
2 cups quick oats or semi-processed rolled oats (see below)
1/4 cups powdered sugar

Gather the necessities.  The original recipe calls for water, but I gave it a little twist by adding coconut rum.  You can skip the rum if you want, since I don’t really think you can taste it that much.

If you are using rolled oats, you are going to need to grind them up a bit in a food processor.  About 10 pulses should do it.  You don’t want them to be completely ground, just broken up a bit.  If you have quick oats, just use those – I but the HUGE bag from Costco to fit my everyday oatmeal habit.

Mix all the ingredients except the powdered sugar in a bowl.  Refrigerate the dough overnight.

Once thoroughly chilled, form 1” balls.  I use a cookie scoop because I am a perfectionist and like them all to be pretty much the same size.

 

Roll in powdered sugar to coat thoroughly.  I only used 1/4 cup but you are more than welcome to use more if you’d like.  Place them back in the fridge for a little while longer.

 

ENJOY!

cookies of christmas past

Today I bring you a recipe from my Christmas past.  This is the one cookie I remember making every Christmas, and pretty much only at Christmas time.  It is actually my deceased grandmother’s recipe, which gives it just so much more meaning to me.  Plus, it is a super easy recipe and tastes wonderful!  Of course I couldn’t just make the original recipe… I had to “health it up” a bit.

But first, let’s talk about the cookie press before we start.  A cookie press is a device used to easily make cookies in to pretty shapes.  Sort of like a cookie cutter but 10x easier.  Your dough has to be a soft dough without a bunch of stuff in it though.  Therefore, perfect for these cookies.

There are several different types of presses.  A hand press (like mine or this one) or an electric press.  I am lucky enough to have my grandmother’s antique hand press and it still works perfectly.  My mom and I have tried newer versions and an electric, but they don’t work nearly as well.  But, that’s just my opinion and you can find one you love using for yourself.

Vegan Cream Cheese Press Cookies
Makes 6-7 dozen cookies.  Original recipe adaptation in brackets.

1 cup Earth Balance [1 cup butter or margarine]
1/3 cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese [3 oz. cream cheese]
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 2 tablespoons water [1 egg yolk]
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
[Or just 2 1/2 cups AP flour]
Cookie press

Grab all your ingredients.

Make a flax egg by adding 2 tablespoons water to 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed.  It will gel nicely after you let it sit a few minutes.  Or, you can just use 1 egg yolk.

Cream together butter and cream cheese.  Add the sugar and flax egg and cream well.  Then add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Slowly add the flour. Mix until all is incorporated until adding in the next batch.

If you want, you can add some food coloring to make the cookies a bit more festive.  I used green food coloring because I wanted to make Christmas trees.  (You will notice that mine look more like shamrocks than Christmas trees.)

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30-60 minutes.  You don’t have to do this, but we always have in my family.

Fill cookie press and press cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet (OK, I greased mine).  Add sprinkles if your heart desires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Let cool on tray for 2-3 minutes and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

So, mine definitely don’t look like the Christmas trees I was hoping they would, but oh well.  Shape doesn’t effect the taste!  I would’ve done red and make poinsettias like we used to when I was a kid, but I was out of red food coloring.

                                     

  

These aren’t the sweetest cookies in the world, but they are still delicious.  And they make the BEST tasting cookie dough in the world.  OK, that might be an exaggeration, but my dad, brother, and I would seriously eat this by the spoonful when my mom would make them every Christmas.  Soooo goooooood!

I hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!