Salty Gingerbread Cookie Ice Cream

Christmas for most means cookies, but for me, it always means ice cream. I am smitten with holiday-flavored ice cream. Last year, I made my twentieth ice cream bombe and my first prize winning peppermint ice cream, but I think this year, I have created the best holiday ice cream of all time.

I was inspired by a ginger salt from Marx Foods, but you could also use sea salt.

Ginger bread. Vanilla Bean. Brandy. Ginger Salt. This flavor combination speaks “Christmas” like nothing else can.

The gingerbread men are homemade.  The ice cream is my first ice cream made without eggs and I am loving the silky texture. The brandy does what it needs to do, and then there is the ginger salt which hit the taste buds slowly and then lingers, inspiring yet another bite. It’s the kind of ice cream that makes it hard to stop. Creamy, sweet, aromatically spicy, salty and even a bit refreshing.

I’m going to suggest three ways to make this ice cream.

• Traditional homemade vanilla with custard base
• Eggless homemade vanilla (which is what I used here)
• Store bought vanilla and ingredients are added

Each type takes a different amount of time, and all three work fine and will depend on what you want to do or have time to do.

Vanilla Ice Cream without Eggs
I have been curious about deleting eggs from ice cream for a while. I wanted a lighter texture, one that would wouldn’t coat the mouth as much as a custard. I gave a guess at using half and half and it worked out great. The texture still has air in it because I use a standard machine, but it gets the texture a little closer to gelato, creamy, not icy, but melts quicker.

Recipe

• Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe below)
• 1 tablespoon brandy
• Gingerbread cookies (2 cups crushed)
• Ginger Salt 1-2 teaspoons
• Option: You can substitute a good sea salt for the ginger salt)

1. Using Homemade: As soon as the ice cream is prepared, add in 1 teaspoon ginger salt, 1 tablespoon, brandy, followed by the crushed cookies. You will have to decide how salty you want the ice cream.
2. Using store-bought, mix cookies:

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (without eggs)

• 5 cups half and half
• 3/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
• 1 vanilla bean pod
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

1. Put half and half, sugar and scrapings of pod and the pod into the a saucepan and bring to a near boil. Turn off.
2. Cool for 20 minutes. Strain, put bowl in ice bath, and chill several hours or overnight.
3. Use ice cream maker according to directions. You might want to sprinkle a dash of ginger salt over ice cream when serving.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (custard base)

• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 vanilla bean pod, scraped and including pod
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 10 egg yolks

1. Heat milk, cream, 1/4 teaspoon salt, vanilla paste (from pod), pod over low heat just to simmering. Beat egg yolks with sugar until creamy and light yellow.
2. Temper eggs by adding 1/4 cup milk mixture to egg mixture. Transfer egg mixture into pan and cook on low for six minutes. Strain into a bowl and put into an ice bath. Cool in refrigerator overnight or several hours.
3. Proceed with ice cream maker. At the end of cycle add, extract, ginger salt brandy and crushed cookies. Ice cream is consistency of soft serve and must be frozen. When serving, you might sprinkle a dash more of ginger salt, (optional).
4. Freeze for at least 3 hours prior to serving. The alcohol will prevent the ice cream from freezing rock hard, and even after freezing overnight, you will be able to scoop easily.