Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I'm in the middle of making my second batch of Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop, because the first batch was such a hit (presented with Lean Chocolate Sauce from the same cookbook).

I purchased my ice cream maker about a month ago, and it's already made 6 batches of frozen yogurt or ice cream, counting today's. So to those people who told me it would be a waste of money and kitchen space: You haven't tried this recipe! It's creamy and fresh, without requiring the stove, as so many ice cream recipes do.

For the party, I paired it with the Roasted Banana Ice Cream, which was also good, but which strangely only made about 1/3 the quantity of the strawberry, so it's the strawberry that wins, which is why I'm bringing it along to a friend's party tonight.

(Keep reading after the recipe for the most amazing chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe...)

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream from The Perfect Scoop
1 lb strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp vodka or kirsch (I used blueberry vodka)
1 cup heavy cream (I've also used whole milk instead here, when I didn't have any cream; it worked fine)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp lemon juice, fresh if possible

Hull the strawberries and chop coarsely; put in a medium bowl with the sugar and vodka/kirsch. Stir vigorously until the sugar begins to dissolve (about 30 seconds). Cover and leave on the counter for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Pour mixture into the blender, and add cream, sour cream, and lemon juice. Blend until mostly smooth, but with some small pieces. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then freeze in ice cream maker according to its directions.



Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Cooks Illustrated

The last few times I made chocolate chip cookies, I was lazy and just used the recipes on the bag of chips I had in the pantry. The cookies were mediocre -- certainly not the meltingly thick and chewy rounds of goodness that came out of the oven this week, when I turned to an Actual Cookbook for direction. These were quite simply the best cookies I have ever made. Mmmmm. This recipe describes a special way to form the dough balls which is a little hard to describe, but which made amazingly precise, chewy rounds. So if you can figure it out, give it a try. It doesn't really take any longer than the usual way, once you get the hang of it.

Cooks Illustrated note: These truly chewy chocolate chip cookies are delicious served warm from the oven or cooled. To ensure a chewy texture, leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool. You can substitute white, milk chocolate, or peanut butter chips for the semi- or bittersweet chips called for in the recipe. In addition to chips, you can flavor the dough with one cup of nuts, raisins, or shredded coconut.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm (I used the freezer for the cooling - 5 minutes is more than enough)
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (I used peanut butter chips, which I highly recommend in this cookie)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.