Macaroon Ice Cream

 Sometimes, an ingredient is right where you never look. For the life of me, I could not locate macaroons, not in the local grocery, nor the "big box" grocery. I finally bought a small package of gluten-free fancy (read: expensive) macaroons with chocolate that I found locally. Then a family member and her partner tested positive for COVID-19 (not from our household, nor were we in close contact) so we went shopping at the dollar store to make up a gift bag of goodies to drop at their doorstep to help ease the quarantine. And wouldn't you know it, there was a box of macaroons, for the right price of one dollar! I was so happy to find it!

This recipe dates to 1935, and recommends rolling the cookies into crumbs with a rolling pin. Thanks to modern inventions, I used our food processor and had loads of crumbs in a few pulses. Then I used another modern invention, the electric (Cuisinart) ice cream maker, and a pistachio ice cream recipe that came with the machine, substituting cookie crumbs where it calls for pistachios. It was a hit in this household! The macaroon flavor is excellent, and the delivery system for this "cold cookie" is creamy-smooth-melt-in-your-mouth ice cream perfection. The only difference from the 1935 recipe? Way more cookies (I used about a dozen, which crumbed makes approx a cup). And where the old recipe calls for 2 qts light cream, I used 1 1/2 cups whole milk and 3 cups heavy cream (but we will try all light cream next time around). Add a wee bit of vanilla extract, set it to churn, and you've got yourself a frozen confection that stands the test of time!

BTW, our family member and partner thankfully had mild cases and have nearly completed their quarantine. The fav gift in the gift bag, to alleviate cabin fever? Nerf pistols!


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