Loaded Gluten-Free Cookie Dough Ice Cream
yields: 12 servings, 2 quarts
This gluten-free cookie dough ice cream has chunks of edible chocolate chip cookie dough loaded into a brown sugar vanilla ice cream base that also tastes remarkably like cookie dough. The base is made with cream cheese for extra smooth texture rather than using eggs.
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, or lightly softened in the microwave
- ½ cup (100 g) light or dark brown sugar, preferrably organic
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (81 g) gluten-free oat flour
- ½ cup (56 g) super-fine blanched almond flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon milk, dairy or non-dairy
- ½ cup (4 oz) mini chocolate chips, semisweet or bittersweet
Brown Sugar Vanilla Ice Cream
- 3¼ cups whole milk, divided
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 5 tablespoons (2½ ounces) full-fat cream cheese (blocked), cut into ½-inch cubes, softened to room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey or light corn syrup
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste , or use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- First, ensure your ice cream maker freezer bowl has been frozen for at least 10 hours.
- Prepare the edible cookie dough. In a medium mixing bowl, smash together the softened butter and sugars using a silicone spatula against the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and smash until it's evenly combined.
- Add the oat, almond flours, and salt, again smashing the dough against the sides of the bowl to combine. Add the milk to soften and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips.
- Scoop the cookie dough into ½ teaspoon-sized balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet that fits in your freezer and freeze while you prepare the ice cream.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice cubes and water.
- With a fork, whisk ¼ cup of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
- In another small both, mash the softened cream cheese until soft and creamy. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 3 cups of milk, cream, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla paste and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching the bottom. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Give the cornstarch slurry another stir to loosen it until smooth, then, whisking, pour it into the saucepan. Return to a boil and cook, stirring, until the custard lightly coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly pour about ⅓ cup of the hot custard into the cream cheese bowl and mix with a fork until smooth. Whisk this cream cheese mixture into the saucepan until completely smooth.
- Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a large 1-gallon Ziploc bag. Seal it and submerge the mixture in the ice bath until cold, about 30 minutes. Alternatively, place it in a bowl in the refrigerator until chilled, 2-4 hours.
- When ready to churn, pour the ice cream custard into the bowl of your pre-frozen ice cream maker. Follow the directions on your ice cream maker to churn the base into ice cream, until it is the consistency of soft-serve, about 15-20 minutes.
- Fold in ⅔ of the frozen cookie dough bites, reserving the remaining for on top. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe 2-quart container such as a 9x5 loaf pan or a 9-inch round 2-inch tall cake pan. Place the remaining ⅔ of the frozen cookie dough bites over top, cover, and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Notes
Can you eat raw cookie dough ice cream?
If made from regular flour, you should heat the flour before adding it to your cookie dough, but here we're using gluten-free flours. Oats and almonds can be eaten safely raw so there's no need to cook them first! If you are making the nut-free version with sorghum or teff flour, they are also safe grains to eat raw.