Maple Bacon Ice Cream

While on the treadmill at the gym, I end up watching a lot of Food Network which then leads me to making things like Maple Bacon Ice Cream.  Which then leads me to spend even more time at the gym.  It's a vicious circle.

I've had an ice cream maker for a few years and aside from a particular coconut milk ice cream, I haven't really found a recipe I love.  This recipe from Claire Robinson takes a very easy and typical custard base and kicks it up a notch by adding maple syrup, caramel, and bacon.  The hard crunchy caramel pieces will   dissolve a little throughout the ice cream leaving flavorful swirls.  The recipe calls for grade B maple syrup but I didn't have any on hand and didn't want to spend the money on good maple syrup when I wasn't sure how the recipe would turn out.  I used good ol' Mrs. Butterworth and it was just fine.  I refrigerated the base for 6 hours but I think a good 24 hours would be better because it took my ice cream maker longer than the half hour it usually takes to turn the base into ice cream.  In the end, I ended up freezing the base and it froze into a more ice cream like substance.  I really loved the maple flavor and the smoky bacon and crunchy caramel added a salty goodness to the sweet ice cream.

  

Ingredients

• 1 cup grade B maple syrup
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon (about 6 slices)
• Special equipment: candy thermometer, ice cream maker

Directions

In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, reduce the maple syrup to 1/2 cup. Set aside.

Over moderate heat in a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half with 1/2 cup sugar until hot and just bubbling around the edges.

In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks with 1/2 cup sugar, then add 1 cup hot half-and-half mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour the whole egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon and registers 170 degrees F on a thermometer. Do not let boil. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl and whisk in the maple syrup. Cover with parchment paper letting the paper touch the surface of the mixture, to prevent a skin from forming. Chill the mixture until very cold, at least 6 hours and up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a rimmed sheet pan with heavy foil. Place a baking rack over the lined sheet pan and arrange the bacon slices across the rack next to each other. Bake until crispy, about 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, finely chop.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a fork, until the sugar starts to melt. Stop stirring and cook until the sugar is a golden caramel color, about 10 minutes. Add the bacon and stir to coat. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and let harden. Chop the candied bacon into small pieces.

Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, 20 to 30 minutes and at the last minute, add the candied bacon and let churn until just combined. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze.

Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sometimes, you have to try something different.  Everyone loves a chocolate chip cookie and my husband is no different.  I got this recipe from my sister-in-law and these are so so good.  It's a Jacque Torres recipe, how could you even go wrong?  The salt really brings out the bittersweet chocolate and the cake flour makes the cookie nice and soft.

Ingredients
2 cups minus 2 tbsp cake flour
1 2/3 cups bread flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 extra tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pound bittersweet chocolate disks (at least 60% cacao content)

sea salt

1.  Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 2 ounce mounds of dough (about 1/3 cup) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, pressing the salt into the cookie so it sticks, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes.  Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.  Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

The one change I made to the recipe is the cookie size.  I use 2 oz. balls of dough versus the suggested 3.5 oz.  Be careful how much you salt each cookie, I find that being diligent and careful with the salt is the only way to go because you want all the cookies to be uniform with the correct amount of salt.  I wouldn't salt much more than the picture above.  Try this cookie for something a little different.