Picture
Move over Dryer's, I've got this one covered.

"Oh, you made homemade ice cream and put Samoa cookies in it?" you ask.

No. I turned the cookie into ice cream.

We've been going on a scratch-only kick around here, and I rarely trust any food from *any* chain store or cafe with a kitchen the size of a train bathroom. At Noah's Bagels, we baked bagels fresh everyday - from thawed, frozen, pre-made bagel dough rounds delivered in a box from a factory somewhere. A friend at Safeway says their cakes arrive frozen, ready to be thawed and decorated. Even their freshly-baked bread comes from a mix.

Food should not come from a factory, from a mix, or from a box.

And Samoa cookies, my friend, come from a factory. But not this ice cream. This ice cream comes from a land of rainbows and clouds and confetti goodness.

Picture
These recipes balance out perfectly so that your bonus fudgey goodness evenly spreads on your extra butter cookies.
Picture
I'll get better at these shots, I promise.

 
Picture
The hardest part about ice creams (and all custards, really) is not curdling the eggs. When egg yolks get too hot too quickly, the proteins bunch up into little tiny non-creamy chunks.

This is why some pumpkin pies get a little grainy and watery: the bunched-up proteins separate from the liquid that would normally be occupying the bunched-up space in creamy togetherness.

Top Tips to Prevent Curdling:

  1. Mix in a small amount of heated milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper, or warm, it.
  2. Use a low, low temperature. Did I say low? I mean low.
  3. Stir. Try to use consistent, smooth strokes with a wooden spoon (whisks are good at keeping liquids moving -- and therefore cool -- but they also form bubbles. Custards do not like bubbles.)
  4. Cool the custard rapidly once it hits temperature. (This is why we have ice baths prepared.)
WARNING! I accidentally recorded with sound; turn off speakers for best results!

What Do You Do When Your Custard Curdles?

There isn't any way to get over the hurdle of a curdled custard. You can continue, and be satisfied with a non-perfectly-creamy ice cream, or you can start over.