ELF – a Family Favorite Ice Cream

Years ago, I stumbled on the idea of combining EL Fudge cookies with a traditional chocolate ice cream and came up with one of our family’s favorite home-made ice creams.

First, prepare the ice cream mix according to the Old Fashioned Chocolate recipe from Hershey Kitchens. This recipe is not gluten free, as it uses general purpose flour to add needed solids to the mix. I’ve not tried any flour substitutes, yet. Let me know if you do.

The mix can be refrigerated to prepare it for freezing, but an ice bath can be used to speed the cooling process. Half fill a large mixing bowl with ice and water, then place a smaller bowl containing the mix on the ice water bath. Stir the mix every few minutes until all the ice melts. If you want to freeze right away, it might be best to repeat the bath with fresh ice. Be sure to keep the water out of the mix!

Chop a full (about 15 oz) package of Keebler E.L. Fudge original cookies into about ½” pieces, about the size of dice. It’s perfectly ok to leave some bigger cookie pieces, too. Pour all the crumbs into the mix before churning in a regular ice cream freezer.

Chocolate freezes at a lower temperature than vanilla. If you’ve never made chocolate before, and if you’re using a machine with ice and rock salt, use a bit more rock salt than normal to get the temperature down. As the ice melts, be sure to add more to the brine.

Once the mixture begins showing signs of freezing, but before it’s done, stop the churning, and carefully open the container and add all the small pieces of cookies. Be sure that none of the brine contaminates the ice cream.

After the mix is frozen, you can leave it in the freezing container or transfer it to individual serving size containers (we use 6 oz cups with lids). Add all the larger pieces of cookie, if you chose to do so. I’ll often keep a number of the elfin heads to decorate the tops of the individual servings. If you leave it in the churning bowl, use a wooden spoon to stir the remaining pieces into the mix.

This should all be completed at least a couple hours before you plan to serve the treat, as it should be put in a freezer to firm.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Ice Cream

2 c Sugar
2 Eggs, slightly beaten 1/4 c All-purpose flour
1 tb Vanilla extract 1/4 ts Salt
1 qt Light cream 2 c Milk
1/2 pt Whipping cream 2/3 c Hershey’s Cocoa

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, flour and salt; stir in milk and eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils; boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla, light cream and whipping cream. Refrigerate until cold. Freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s directions. About 2-1/2 quarts ice cream. Hersheys is a registered trademark of Hershey Foods Corporation. Recipe may be reprinted courtesy of the Hershey Kitchens.

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