Basil Olive Oil Ice Cream

It’s Day 8 of our little 12 Days of Christmas Project and I’m turning tradition on its head and giving you an ice cream recipe. I know that ice cream may not be the most tradition of holiday desserts, but we eat snow so why not ice cream? Like all of the ice cream recipes I have here on the blog, this ice cream base can made without an ice cream maker or with the assistance of one so there are no real excuses for not making ice cream.

I created this recipe a few months ago as a part of a Thanksgiving campaign featuring Monini’s Basil Olive Oil and it was a hit. A simple vanilla ice cream custard base is steeped with basil leaves and basil olive oil is added after whipping the cold custard (or drizzled in during the churning process if you are using an ice cream maker). Once the base has frozen overnight, more olive oil is drizzled on the ice cream before serving. It’s bright and floral and interesting and makes a really lovely dessert when served after a rich, heavy meal.

If you don’t have access to Monini’s Basil Olive Oil, this recipe can easily be made using high-quality, extra virgin olive oil. And if you are looking to go the extra mile, scrape out a few vanilla beans and place the seeds and pods in a jar with some olive oil and let it infuse. Store it in your pantry and have it on hand to drizzle over any ice cream or fruit anytime.

Basil Olive Oil Ice Cream

makes 1 quart of ice cream

Ingredients

2 cups (460 g) heavy cream

6-8 fresh basil leaves

3 strips of lemon zest (from about 1/2 of a lemon)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 egg yolks

pinch of salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup Monini Basil Olive Oil or extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Procedure

1. In a medium saucepan, heat cream, basil leaves, and lemon zest over medium-low heat until it is beginning to bubble around the edges of the pan and is hot to the touch. When hot and bubbly, remove from the heat and cover. Let steep for 30 minutes, then strain out basil and lemon zest.

2. Return the steeped cream to the medium saucepan and set it back over the heat. Bring the cream back to a simmer.

3. While the cream is heating, whisk together sugar, egg yolks, salt, and vanilla extract until a thick paste forms. When the cream is hot, slowly stream it into the egg mixture, whisking continually the whole time. Transfer the entire mixture back into the saucepan and return to heat.

4. Cook, stirring continually with a wooden spoon, over low-medium heat until the sauce is thickened, but do not bring to a boil. You can test if the sauce is ready by wiping your finger through the sauce along the back of the wooden spoon. If the line your finger creates holds, the sauce is ready. If it drips, continue cooking.

5. When the sauce is sufficiently thickened, remove from heat and immediately strain into a large mixing bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly over the top of the custard, cover and refrigerate, until completely cold (preferably overnight).

6. When the ice cream base is cold, transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form and then, with the mixer running, stream in the 1/4 cup of olive oil

7. Spread the whipped cream mixture into a 8x8” loaf pan, press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface, wrap tightly, and freeze for at least 12 hours.

8. To serve, scoop ice cream and drizzle with more olive oil.

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Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies

It’s Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas Desserts and a beautiful day for cookies. I don’t know about you, but my Instagram and Pinterest feeds have been inundated with Christmas cookies since the end of November. Little gingerbread people decorated with little royal icing outfits, very-structurally sound gingerbread greenhouses, and cookie boxes galore. My problem with Christmas cookies in general is that often, the prettier the cookie, the less delicious it is. (I know that this is a very broad stereotype, but I’ve found that 9 times out of 10, that’s the case.) When I was in culinary school, our pastry cohort spent six months building an entire gingerbread village. The finished product was intricate and detailed and absolutely amazing, but completely inedible. I’m not here for all of that. I like unassuming Christmas cookies with chewy centers and crunchy outsides. The slightly less-cute cookies are always the most delicious.

These chocolate espresso crinkle cookies definitely fall into that not as cute Christmas cookie category, but they deserve a place in your repertoire. A fudgy, brownie like interior is packed with dark chocolate and espresso and then each cookie is rolled in powdered sugar for that just-took-a-dip-in-freshly-packed-snow look. A Christmas classic. These also freeze beautifully, just wait to roll them in powdered sugar until just before baking.

Chocolate Espresso Crinkle Cookies

makes 24-28 cookies

Ingredients

11 oz (312 g) dark chocolate, chopped 

1 stick (113 g; 4 oz) unsalted butter, cubed

1 tbsp instant espresso powder

1 cup (240 g; 8.4 oz) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (100 g; 3.4 oz ) light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

2 cups (290 g; 10.3 oz) all purpose flour

2 tbsp (14 g) dark cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Procedure 

1. In a medium-sized heatproof bowl set over a double boiler, melt the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso. When completely melted and combined, set aside to cool slightly.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Whip on medium-high speed until the mixture is light in color and slightly thickened. (You should be able to pull the whisk out of the bowl and the mixture should leave a ribbon-like mark in the mixture.)

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

4. Switch from the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and gradually add the dry ingredients, with the mixer on low speed. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently and mix until just combined.

5. Keep the mixer on low speed and stream in melted chocolate mixture. Increase speed to medium and mix until just combined (about 30 seconds). Use the rubber spatula to continue gently folding the mixture until all one color. Be careful not to overmix, but you want to ensure that everything is homogenized.

6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to overnight.

7. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using either a medium or large cookie scoop, portion cookies, rolling each one in powdered sugar before placing on prepared tray, leaving about 2” of space between them because they will spread a little.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes for smaller cookies, 10-12 minutes for larger cookies. Let cookies cool at least 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.

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Key Lime Pie

Inspired by the Atlantic Beach Pie, this tart key lime pie features a salty potato chip crust filled with a tangy key lime and sweetened condensed milk custard.

Ah, key lime pie. When I was a kid, there was a period of about two years where we regularly dined at a fish house called Catfish Dewey’s. At least once a month, on a Friday night, we would make the 20 minute trek all the way out to Oakland Park and sit on a bench outside of a rickety wooden trailer for 40 minutes while we waited for a table in a dimly lit dining room with creaky floorboards. We sat at tables covered in plastic checkered table cloths with little packages of salad crackers, aka appetizers, eating our weight in crab legs (which now as an adult I realized are not cheap at all and I see that my parents were saints for letting their children eat so many). And finally, the meal always ended with key lime pie. My dad isn’t much of an “order dessert at a restaurant” kind of guy, but he always made an exception for the key lime pie at Catfish Dewey’s. It was very basic, tart and creamy, topped with whipped cream and exactly how a true Florida key lime pie should be.

key limes vs limes: what is the difference?

Does it matter which one you use? Can you make key lime pie without key limes? Let’s dive in.

Key limes, also known as Mexican limes or West Indian limes, are small, vibrant limes and their juices are slightly tart and very floral. Back in the early 1900s, they were grown all over Florida, especially in the Key’s (hence the name Key Limes) and because of the alkaline soil and hearty rains, these little flavorful limes flourished in Florida. They were bright and juicy and well-rounded. In the 1920s, hurricanes wiped out a lot of the key lime groves around Florida and farmers replaced them with Persian lime trees, which are those big, dark green limes we find in the grocery store. Because Persian limes are now more widely grown, they are much more accessible and a lot of the key limes found in the United States are grown in Mexico and don’t necessarily have that je ne sais quoi that the original Florida key limes possessed.

Lucky for me, living in the Sunshine State, it’s a little easier to get your hands on key limes grown in Florida. They are more expensive than their more accessible Persian counterparts and because of their petit size, they yield less juice, but if you are able to get your hands on some, I recommend using them. Even using real key lime juice for half of the amount of lime juice called for will give your key lime pie that traditional balanced tartness that a true key lime pie is known for. That being said, if you aren’t able to find key limes from Florida and don’t want to spend a billion dollars for that bottle of key lime juice you found on Amazon, big green Persian limes will do the trick and save a couple of dollars.

how to make swiss meringue: 

You can use the leftover egg whites to make an easy peasy Swiss meringue for topping your pie. All you need is egg whites and sugar. Culinary school says that Swiss meringue ratios are usually one part egg whites to two parts sugar, but I sometimes go for a 1:1.5 ratio. I usually start with about 60 grams egg whites (from about 2 eggs) and about 100 grams granulated sugar. Combine whites and sugar in a heat-proof bowl and set over a double-boiler. Cook, whisking frequently until the mixture is hot to the touch and sugar has completely dissolved. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer and whip on medium-high speed until cooled, thick, and glossy. Pipe or swirl it on top of your pie and use a blow torch (carefully) to get those pretty toasted edges. 

Yield: serves 8

Author: Anna Ramiz

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Key Lime Pie with Potato Chip Crust

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

Inspired by the Atlantic Beach Pie, this tart key lime pie features a salty potato chip crust filled with a tangy key lime and sweetened condensed milk custard.

Ingredients

for the potato chip crust

• 4 T unsalted butter
• 8 oz kettle-cooked potato chips
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

for the key lime filling

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup lime/key lime juice
• zest of 1 lime
• pinch of salt

Instructions

for the crust

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until butter begins to foam and turn light amber in color and the milk solids begin to brown. The butter should smell nutty and fragrant. Remove from heat and immediately transfer to a small bowl to prevent burning. Cool to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, place potato chips in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for about 30 seconds until finely ground. Add flour, and pulse once or twice more to combine.
4. With the food processor on, slowly stream in browned butter and mix until the crumb begins to hold together.
5. Pour crust into tart pan and firmly press it along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (It may be a little crumbly, but should hold together when pressed.)
6. Bake for 15 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely.

for the pie

1. In a large bowl, combine egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, key lime/lime just, zest, and salt. Whisk until smooth and homogenous. (If you have time, transfer the filling to a airtight container and refrigerate overnight. This allows the air bubbles to settle and makes for a smoother pie.)
2. When you are ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 300° F and pour filling into your prepared crust. Set tart pan on a baking sheet inside the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes until filling is set, and has a slight jiggle when gently shaken. Remove from oven and let cool completely before transferring to the refrigerator to chill.
3. Top with whipped cream or toasted Swiss meringue and enjoy!

Notes:

I wanted a sweet and salty combination so I went for a potato chip crust. If you are feeling a little more traditional, you can always substitute the potato chip crust for a graham cracker crust (either homemade or store-bought). Because graham crackers contain gluten and potato chips do not, simply substituting graham crackers for the potato chips in this recipe will not work. You can google a graham cracker crust recipe or fly by the seat of your pants and combine graham cracker crumbs with a little sugar and enough melted butter to make it hold together.

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