Anyone who has been “lucky” enough to stop by my house on an ice cream day has had the experience of me running up to them with a spoon in my hand filled with some kind of ice cream concoction. I do love experimenting and part of my motivation comes from what I find in the stores or at the farm stands in various seasons. Summer berries are no exception. While one can buy berries just about year-round these days, picking them yourself is just part of summer in New Jersey. I’ve dragged my kids to farms in 90 degree heat just to pick fresh berries, and while I know I’m the one having the most fun, I can say that we all enjoy whatever recipe comes from the result of our work.
Last summer, I wrote up a recipe for a Mixed Berry Pie. Part nostalgia, and part celebration of the summer season, it’s still one of my favorite desserts. And then I wondered if I could take that pie and turn it into ice cream. The simple answer: yes! It just took a little creative thinking and some planning ahead, but in the end it was one of our favorite experiments.
Mixed Berry Pie Ice Cream
Ingredients:
½ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 ½-2 cups mixed berry puree*
½ of a Pillsbury sugar cookie roll
¼ cup cinnamon sugar
What’s Next:
Place cinnamon sugar in a small bowl.
Cut cookie dough into very small pieces about a 1/4″ square or even smaller. Toss it in cinnamon sugar to coat and place in refrigerator to keep chilled.
Place sugar in a large bowl and add milk and vanilla. Stir with a wire whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
Add heavy cream and continue stirring.
Add berry puree and mix some more until fully incorporated.
Pour milk, cream, puree mixture into the freezer bowl of ice cream maker and turn it on.
About 25 minutes into mixing, when ice cream is just about done, add the small pieces of cookie dough by large spoonfuls to the ice cream, waiting a minute or so in between additions.
When ice cream is ready and all of the cookie dough pieces have been added, transfer contents to a 2 quart bowl and freeze for several hours or overnight.
Notes From My Experience:
This ice cream has the best flavor when it has had 24 hours for the flavors to meld in the freezer.
The purpose of the cinnamon sugar coated cookie dough pieces is to create the crumb topping flavor within the ice cream. I’m a grab the cookie dough by the spoonful kind of girl, but the first time I made this the pieces were too big. Keep them very small when cutting them up- it really works much better when mixed in the ice cream.
*Berry Puree:
Combine 2 cups each of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries in a large bowl. Pour 1/3 cup of sugar over them and stir to combine. Let the berries sit in the sugar for several hours. Then, puree them in a food processor. (You may need to do this in two batches). Next, push the pureed berries through a strainer so that the seeds don’t end up in your puree. Set aside for up to three days in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the ice cream.
