Cookie Monster Ice Cream

5 from 3 votes

Naturally blue colored cookie monster ice cream! Vanilla ice cream studded with chopped Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies. A fun and festive ice cream for Cookie Monster fans!

Yield: about 1 quart

Prep Time30

Inactive Chill Time:12

Total Time12 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Equipment

ice cream maker
candy thermometer or digital kitchen thermometer

Ingredients

2 Tablespoon reduced light corn syrup* (42 g), optional
1 cup Reduced fat (2%) milk (227 g)
2 cups heavy cream (454 g)
2 Tablespoons dried butterfly pea flower tea* (5 g), alternatively use ½ teaspoon blue food gel coloring (see notes)
½ cup granulated sugar (100 g)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
4 large egg yolks (56 g)
1 Tablespoon high quality vanilla extract (14 g)
8 pieces Chips Ahoy cookies, or more if desired
8 pieces Oreo cookie sandwiches, or more if desired

Instructions

OPTIONAL: To make reduced corn syrup: pour 40 grams (2 Tbsp or 30ml) light corn syrup into a microwave safe bowl or cup. Bring to a full boil in the microwave (about 20-30 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir in an equal amount of light corn syrup. Cover and set aside.
In a heavy bottomed medium sauce pot, mix together milk and cream. Set over medium heat. Heat until mixture almost reaches a boil. Keep on an eye on the mixture, stirring oven to make sure milk does not scald.
Remove from heat and add in butterfly pea flower. Cover pot with lid and steep mixture for 15 minutes. Check color. If the blue tint isn't dark enough, cover and steep for another 10-15 minutes.
Strain liquid mixture. Discard butterfly pea flowers. Place blue liquid back into medium sauce pot. Set over medium heat.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, salt, sugar, and about ¼ cup of blue milk mixture.
Once blue milk starts to simmer, lower to heat. Temper hot blue milk into sugar-yolk mixture. Slowly add about ¼ cup hot blue milk, whisking to distribute heat. Continue adding hot milk into the sugar-yolk mixture until a few tablespoons of milk remain in the pot. Then, pour the entire sugar-yolk mixture into the pot.
Continually stir over low-medium heat until mixture reaches nappe consistency, or 180℉ on a kitchen thermometer. Let mixture sit at 180-185℉ for a few minutes to pasteurize the egg yolks. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.
Pour mixture into an airtight container. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing wrap to directly sit on top of ice cream base mixture. Cover with lid and let mature in the fridge overnight.*
The following day (or when ice cream base is cold), freeze mixture in ice cream machine according to your unit's instructions.
Once volume has increased by half and the mixture has reached a soft-serve like consistency, add chopped cookies into churning ice cream. Continue to churn ice cream for 1-3 minutes until cookie bits are thoroughly distributed.
Transfer mixture into a freezer safe container. Spread into an even layer. If desired, sprinkle additional chopped cookies on top. Cover tightly. Keep in the freezer for at least 2 hours to firm up before serving.

Notes

Ingredients:

"Reduced corn syrup" has the same consistency of glucose. It will give the ice cream a creamy, easy to scoop consistency. More information about this ingredient explained in this ice cream post.
Light corn syrup is optional. If you don't like it, simply omit it! However, it will slightly alter the texture of ice cream.
Butterfly Pea Flowers: you can choose to use the loose leaf dried flowers or the ground powder version. I prefer the loose leaf tea because the flowers are strained out of the mixture. The ground powder version results in an earthier flavor because the powder is dissolved into the milk-cream mixture.
- If using the powdered version, you may have to use an immersion blender to fully dissolve powder into the milk mixture.

Blue Food Gel Coloring Option: Add 1/2 teaspoon blue food gel coloring to ice cream base mixture in Step 7 along with the vanilla extract. Add more coloring depending on your desired color outcome. Food gel coloring is more concentrated than liquid food coloring.

Storage & Leftovers: Keep homemade ice cream covered (preferably in an airtight container) in the coldest part the freezer for up to two weeks.

Nutrition