I’m going to tell you the secret to life. Here it is: Make homemade strawberry cookies ‘n cream ice cream, and you will be happy. There are three reasons why: A) it is arguably more delicious than store-bought ice cream, B) you can control everything about it and make it completely perfect in terms of flavor, mix-ins, and wants, and C) there is a level of satisfaction reached by digging into a bowl of homemade ice cream that is way better than the feeling of digging into a bowl of store-bought ice cream.

I think three reasons is enough. Because those are some good reasons. And good things come in threes. Do you need any other reason to go get an ice cream maker? Or if you have one, to get it out of your pantry right now?

And I think you should make this ice cream first. Because, according to my family, this strawberry cookies ‘n cream ice cream is one of the best ice creams I’ve ever made. And that’s going up against flavors like Salted Caramel, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Blueberry, and Pretzel and even S’Mores. So their praise is saying something.

Also, it’s summer, and strawberry cookies ‘n cream ice cream and summer just go really well together.

What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?

-Audrey

Strawberry Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (With Nutella Swirl)

Ingredients

1 pint strawberry
1⁄2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1⁄2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1⁄8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1⁄4 cups heavy cream
2⁄3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1⁄4 cup buttermillk

Mix-ins

Oreos, broken up into small pieces, but not totally pulverized
Nutella, slightly melted in the microwave to make it more spreadable

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Hull strawberries and slice. Combine strawberries with sugar in an 8″ square glass or ceramic baking dish, stirring gently to mix well. Roast for 8 minutes, or until just soft. Let cool slightly. Puree in a food processor with lemon juice. Measure 1/2 cup of the pureed berries; refrigerate the rest of the puree for another use.
Mix about 2 Tbls of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.
Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heat-proof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture in to the cream cheese until smooth.Add the buttermilk and reserved strawberry puree and blend well. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
Pour the ice cream mixture into the frozen canister of electric ice cream freezer and run according to directions of ice cream maker.
When it’s done, scoop half the ice cream into a container. Sprinkle the Oreos and dollop the Nutella on top, and swirl it around before adding the rest of the ice cream and giving it another swirl. Top with more Oreos if desired. Cover the top of the ice cream with parchment paper, then quickly place in the freezer for it to firm up, for at least four hours. Makes about 1 quart.