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july super six

"Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos."-Don Kardong

Due to recent current events, the term willful blindness is popping into conversations. If you haven't heard the legal term yet, it is defined as "if there is knowledge that you could have had or should have had but chose not to have, you are still responsible." This got me thinking. In this unbearable summer, don't we all have a tad bit of willful blindness when it comes to frozen and not exactly the healthiest treats?  I could read the label on the ice cream container and see how many calories it is and I should have posted today about healthy alternatives to ice cream and popsicles like fruit but chose not to. Therefore, I am responsible, if by reading this month's super six, you gain 10 pounds. Sorry. This July's sinfully delicious Super Six is all about cooling off with sweet, frozen (and slightly unhealthy) treats.

 
1. Homemade Ice Cream
The best purchase we have made this summer has to be an ice cream maker (more on that in number three: tools). Homemade ice cream just tastes so delicious and making it is like a little science experiment. One of the first ice creams I made using my new toy was coffee ice cream using this recipe from David Lebovitz. It's just the right amount of sweetness with a wonderful rich coffee flavor (to avoid the caffeine, it tastes just as good if you use decaf beans like I did) The result is a creamy delight that you have to avoid eating right out of the container.

  
2. Kulfi
If you're feeling slightly exotic and don't want to bother with tools like ice cream makers, this frozen treat is the perfect lazy gal's ice cream. Kulfi is a popular, milk-based dessert from India. Think of it as regular ice cream but just denser (it is not whipped like western ice cream). There are tons of variations, flavors and recipes you can find, but I grew up every summer eating this simple version that my mom makes. In our family, there would literally be fights for who would get the last kulfi, so you can imagine that if you follow this recipe, you won't be disappointed. (As an added bonus, this literally can be done in five minutes)

SD's Mom's (super easy) Kulfi
1 (14 oz.) can of condensed milk
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
rose water (available at most Indian or Middle Eastern stores or here) (optional)

1. Blend condensed milk, evaporated milk and ricotta cheese to a smooth, liquid consistency. (I watched my mom do this and she blended for about two minutes)
2. Pour into popsicle molds. Place approximately half a teaspoon to a teaspoon of chopped pistachios at the top of the kulfi mixture in each mold compartment.
3. Freeze for a minimum of eight hours.
4. If desired, sprinkle with rose water when serving and enjoy.
 

cookie experiment: recipe three

"Once in a while I say, 'Go for it' and I eat chocolate."-Claudia Schiffer

 

Break-ups, horrible bosses and the end of All My Children: some events in life beg for serious pick-me-ups. To date, the great cookie experiment has highlighted Martha's delicate side, so PR decided to try the decadent peanut butter whoopie pies. These are are not your granny's dainty tea cookies, but more a crack-like hit of chocolate, peanut butter goodness. While bikini season may not be the most ideal time for this caloric bomb, as someone whose personal motto is "I'm starting my diet next Monday", I was, of course, up for the challenge.

The whoopie pie is two cookies sandwiched together with heaps of yummy frosting. To call the ends, "cookies" is a stretch--they are more like thin cakes. Due to their distant relationship to the cupcake and cakeball, whoopie pies have been increasingly popular in bakeries (NYC's famed Magnolia Bakery has been serving whoopie cookies for the last couple of years) and cookbooks. The great thing about these humble little pies is that they are relatively easy to make, and call for ingredients that even the most reluctant baker would have on hand. I used the recipe from Martha's book which varies slightly from this recipe available online. The key differences: the book's version calls for buttermilk, white sugar and butter versus her online recipe of whole milk, a brown/white sugar combination and a butter/shortening combination. I'm sure you can't go wrong either way.

 
 
After mixing my ingredients, I was wondering..could this be? Easy as whoopie pie? Almost. The recipe calls for 1.5 tablespoons of batter for each cookie, but due to the runny, cake-like consistency of the batter, I could not keep the cookie sizes consistent. This resulted in crazy, whoopie pies of varying sizes and shapes, making sandwiching difficult. Sorry, Martha. I could just imagine her disapproving but composed smile. Cooking time is also essential, so don't even think about pulling the cookies out of the oven early, in hopes of a gooey version. The ends are meant to be firmly cooked and will fall apart if not cooked thoroughly.

With my golf ball-to-hockey puck sized cookies cooling in the background, I was ready to tackle the icing. Butter? Sugar? Peanut Butter? Hello heaven. After mixing up the icing and then licking the beaters like a crazed 7-year-old, I nearly keeled over in a sugar-induced coma. The icing is extremely rich. In a zombie-like state, I was able to ice and sandwich the cookies but could only bring myself to eat one of the completed pies. Traumatic life events aside, you only want to indulge in these whoopies if your diet starts next week.

image source: RW

-RW