Up until now all of my homemade ice cream recipes used a traditional custard base, cooked over the stove, chilled, and then churned in my ice cream maker. Delicious, but pretty laborious for ice cream. Over the summer I tried my friend Claire’s homemade chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and asked for her recipe. Imagine my amazement when her recipe involved no custard and no cooking! Claire’s batch was incredible so I was positive the recipe would be a game changer. I was also intrigued because she used Egg Beaters rather than plain eggs (more on that below). I’m so glad I tried this recipe out – it was a big departure from my go-to custard but just as yummy and far less work. All the credit goes to Claire here and I hope she doesn’t mind me sharing the recipe. One as good as this deserves to be shared!
Claire’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Sweet Cream Base:
1/2 cup Egg Beaters (or 2 eggs)
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
Cookie Dough:
4 tbsp. (1/4 cup) butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. Egg Beaters
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Start by making the cookie dough. Soften the butter (10 seconds at a time in the microwave without it becoming liquid) and mix together with the rest of the ingredients. Add the chocolate chips in last.
With the batter thoroughly combined, I formed small dough pieces, placed each piece on a plastic wrap lined plate, and put in the freezer to chill. By chilling the cookie dough first you’ll ensure that when mixing it in later, that it won’t bring down the temperature of the ice cream. (I’ve made this again since and formed a thin log of cookie dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, and thinly sliced before adding to the ice cream – and that worked well too.) Let the cookie dough pieces hang in the freezer until the ice cream is done, you’ll need them during the very last step of this recipe.
Moving on to the sweet cream base. As I mentioned, Claire’s recipe used Egg Beaters rather than a custard base. Egg Beaters, if you don’t know or have never used them before, is a healthy alternative “egg substitute product” – which sounds really vague and kinda weird. Basically they are just pasteurized egg whites, commonly used instead of regular raw eggs to conserve on calories, fat, cholesterol, etc. (Here’s a handy chart of the nutritional differences as well as a chart on how to substitute Egg Beaters for regular eggs in recipes.)
The main reason for using them in this recipe is that most Egg Beaters, or similar products, are pasteurized which means you can consume them raw. For this recipe I used Abbotsford Farms Egg Product (bought at Whole Foods). Be sure to check the package on whatever brand you use to ensure what you’re using is pasteurized!
To make the sweet cream base, start by whisking the Egg Beaters in big bowl for 1-2 minutes until they are light and fluffy. Whisk in the sugar a little at a time until it is fully incorporated into the Egg Beaters. Lastly, pour in the cream and milk, and stir to combine.
When the sweet cream base is ready, add to your ice cream maker/machine and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to make ice cream (for my KitchenAid attachment bowl, this takes anywhere from 15-25 minutes).
On to the final step! Remove the cookie dough pieces from the freezer and grab a tupperware container to store the ice cream in. When the sweet cream base is done, transfer half to the tupperware container. Add half of the cookie dough pieces and stir to combine. Then add the second half of the ice cream base on top, cover with the remaining cookie dough pieces, and stir again to combine. Chill for at least 6 hours before eating. Overnight is good too if you can wait!
I have to be honest – I don’t know if I will ever go back to a custard-based ice cream recipe. Sure it’s rich and has great texture but it’s really time consuming to make and I don’t love how eggy it usually tastes. This recipe has cut the prep time of homemade ice cream in half, probably more. And the best part is that none of the flavor or texture is sacrificed! It’s seriously just as good. Not to mention that cookie dough ice cream is just awesome because when you make your own cookie dough, it really feels special. Like you are sneaking a spoonful of actual cookie dough. This is a must make! Thank you Claire!
Domestocrat 
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