What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? I like pretty much all flavors, and it usually depends on where my ice cream is from, but I consistently love coffee and mint chocolate chip- not together, of course! Cookie dough has never really been my favorite flavor. It’s good, but it has always seemed a little bit boring. .. you know, normal vanilla ice cream with a cookie dough bite here and there. Well, this cookie dough ice cream is as far as you can get from bland! What you are looking at right now is a brown sugar, brown butter ice cream (that tastes like cookie dough) studded with chocolate chips and chunks of eggless cookie dough. It’s a pretty fabulous combination, particularly the ice cream itself. Brown butter is to die for, so it’s no surprise that this ice cream is as well. Next time (there will most definitely be a next time) I might reduce the chocolate chips, because there were a few too many, even for me (although if you are a chocolate chip fanatic, go right ahead and use the full amount!). If you are looking for a recipe that screams summer, this is it!

Just for fun, here are some of our favorite ice cream shops:

–Capogiro Gelato (Philadelphia)- ranked #1 in the world by National Geographic. Yes, it is really that good! Cappuccino is good, as are Bourbon Butterscotch and Dark Chocolate (not sure what the official Italian names are). Well worth the $4.75 cost for a small scoop.

–Humphry Slocombe (San Francisco)- the Pistachio Brittle flavor here was marvelous, but you really cannot go wrong. My aunt says that their olive oil ice cream is really good- it sounds intriguing!

–Annapolis Ice Cream Company (Annapolis, MD)- This is a great, classic ice cream parlor. They have lots of delicious and fresh flavors!

–Sundae Best Ice Cream Parlor (Avalon, NJ)- Our family has vacationed in Avalon, and this is our favorite place to get ice cream there. They have lots of fun flavors as well as classics.

–Penn State Creamery (State College, PA)- Death by Chocolate is always a solid choice here. August Pie is another favorite-so good! Our relatives kindly brought a freezer bag full of Penn State’s ice cream all the way, for many hours, to a family gathering. We were thrilled!

–Island Creamery (Chincoteague Island, VA)- They make their own waffle cones-enough said! The ice cream is great as well.

Double Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Recipe from Annie’s Eats, base originally from Joy the Baker and cookie dough originally from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Makes about a quart, serving around 8

Ingredients:

For the cookie dough:

5 tbsp. salted butter, melted

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2- 3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini works well, just so you aren’t biting on a huge, frozen chocolate chip)

For the ice cream:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

4 large egg yolks

Pinch of coarse salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups whole milk

3/4-1 cup chocolate chips (we used mini)

Directions:

For the cookie dough:

In a small bowl, combine the butter and the sugar. Stir until smooth. Add the vanilla. Mix in the flour and the chocolate chips. It will be a little on the soft side, but it will firm up in the fridge. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge until firm.

For the ice cream:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until it turns golden brown. Whisk in the heavy cream and heat until the mixture is simmering. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together into a medium, heatproof bowl until lightened in color and fluffy. Once the cream mixture is ready, pour a little bit of it into the egg yolks and whisk constantly. Slowly add the rest of the cream mixture, being sure to mix constantly. You don’t want scrambled eggs! Add the salt.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat until it is slightly thickened and registers 170-175 degress F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract and the whole milk. Cover tightly and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. We usually chill overnight.

Once the mixture is ready, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Meanwhile, cut the cookie dough into small chunks. When the ice cream is almost ready, pour in the chocolate chips. Once the ice cream is finished, transfer to an airtight container and stir in the chunks of cookie dough. Put into the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours. Enjoy!