Lemon Speculoos Ice Cream

Being in the kitchen with Josilin has become one of my favourite activities.  When both kids were young we baked a lot of cookies, muffins and scones together.  Inevitably they would start licking spoons, bowls and beaters.  Every bit of me struggled with this behaviour and I regret to say, we stopped baking for awhile because of it.  Most times we were baking for other people and I couldn't in good conscience give away food that had my kids' goobers in it.  It quit being fun when I spent most of the time being "mean mommy." 



Never ones to go without baked goods, the kids started to bake together without me present.  This allowed them to ensure they had baked goods on their lunches and also gave them some control over what they were making.  Thankfully the pantry is not stocked with all the sugary ingredients they wish were available.  I've learned to relax a little more over the taste tests in the kitchen and they've gotten much better at waiting til the last cookie is made before diving in to the empty bowl for the last bits.



Lately Jos has been joining me in the kitchen when I'm making things.  It's been wonderful to have her company and her skills alongside.  When she heard ice cream making was on the agenda she was all in!  I was thankful for the second set of hands and even more grateful to spend the afternoon together.  I can sense she is on the verge of wanting more space for herself and perhaps she won't want to hang out with her mom quite so much.  It makes me crave those days of baking together when they were little even more.  I probably should have let them lick the bowls clean or at least taught them the principles of double-dipping much sooner.

As for this ice cream? The flavours are surprisingly good together. Think cookies and cream for texture, with WAY better taste than all that hydrogenated oil in Oreo cookies.  The freshness of the lemon pairs wonderfully with the ginger-y spice of the cookie.  Tasted like nothing I had ever had before which is always a home run for me.  There are a lot of little steps in this recipe that appear overwhelming but are quite easy once you've got the hang of it.  Setting up all the bowls, pots and ice bath before starting makes things easier.  A second set of hands makes it a breeze.

 

Lemon Speculoos Ice Cream

adapted from The Perfect Scoop

 3 large lemons
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
Pinch of salt
5 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups crumbled speculoos cookie (recipe below)

Zest the lemons directly into blender. Add the sugar and blend until the lemon zest is very fine. 

In a large pot, warm 1 cup milk with the lemon-scented sugar, 1/2 cup of cream, and the salt.  Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for one hour or longer. (this is a good time to make the cookie~ recipe below)

Pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk into a large bowl over a ice bath (a larger bowl full of ice and water). Set a mesh strainer on top of milk and reserve.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and reserve.

After one hour, rewarm the lemon-infused liquid. Slowly pour about 1 cup of the lemon milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly (this is when 4 hands came in handy!)  Pour the egg yolk mixture into the pot of milk and return to stove on medium heat.  Stir constantly until the mixture thickens, ensuring it doesn't stick to bottom while you cook.

Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cold milk. Discard the lemon zest in the strainer and stir until cool over the ice bath.
Chill the mixture in your refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions (mine took 25minutes).

Remove from the ice cream maker, stir in the crumbled cookie and enjoy!

 

Speculoos Cookie

 

2 Tbsp butter, softened
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp molasses
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup flour (note: I used gluten free flour)
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line half a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix together the butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in the molasses and egg yolk. In a separate small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and spices. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix until smooth. Form the batter onto the baking sheet in a circle about 5 inches in diameter and bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once cool, break into bite-sized chunks.

** not sure what to with the 5 egg whites leftover? 

Make meringue cookies!  Jos whipped these up all by herself!**