From the time before Christmas, life was a little too overbearing for me. It wasn’t stress from school, and neither was it the people who hurt their knives with your back. It was the toll of rashes, coughs, sore throats, fever, ulcers, and wisdom teeth. I have since removed all my wisdom teeth, each tooth costing an arm and a leg. And not to mention, an aftermath of swollen cheeks and aching gums, all in the name of calcium.
I have no memory of the surgical process, as I opted for intravenous sedation. But I do remember the dentist (who was a tad weird) saying, ice cream will help ease the pain out. Ice cream, he says? Well, it may not have been that effective, but it did create an onslaught of non-stop thoughts about my favorite dessert in the world. It must have been fate or sheer coincidence, that the kitchen was well stocked with eggs, milk, heavy cream, and made-in-Portugal generic oreo biscuits. For the pain and profuse bleeding I had to bear on the first night, I definitely had to reward myself. With a bowl, a spoon, and a freshly churned cookies and cream gelato to boot.
Cookies and Cream Gelato
about 1 quart
2 1/4 C whole milk
3/4 C heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 C sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg yolk
oreo biscuits, moderately crushed
1) Put 1 1/4 C milk and the cream into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat over medium heat, until bubbles appear around the edge and it’s about to boil.
2) Meanwhile, put the remaining milk, sugar and cornstarch into a small bowl. Stir to combine. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Return the saucepan to heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and mixture thickens slightly, 8 to 10 mins. Remove saucepan from heat.
3) Put yolk into a bowl, and whisk until thickened. Pour in 1 cup of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually pour this back into the saucepan, stirring. Set aside to let it cool, stirring often. Also, add in the vanilla.
4) Chill for 2 hours. Churn in your machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Once your ice cream is almost ready, dump in your crushed oreos. The amount is up to you, really.
Note: This will create an icier, and light ice cream. But don’t worry, it won’t be like a shaved ice consistency. If you like creamy ice cream, then this recipe is not for you.
Yum! Your cookies & cream gelato sound delectable and so decadent.
What a coincidence…. I was just reading up on making ice cream. Cookies and cream! One of my favorites!
I love cookies and cream ice cream….I’ve even made it… and am intrigued by a gelato version. Beautiful! Also – I agree with that doctor – ice cream cures all.
lovely photos, as usual!
thanks everyone! (:
ugh when i got my wisdom teeth, i got them all out at the same time too and it is not fun. the ice cream does help though. hope the cookies and cream heal you quickly!
This sounds like the absolute best way to recover from such a painful experience! You definitely deserved it
This ice cream would help ease all of my sorrows. It look super delicious!
Yum! Ice cream is also my favorite dessert. And it only gets better when you throw in Oreos
Thanks for sharing, and hope you’re feeling better soon!