You will love this twist on strawberry ice cream because swirls of caramel surround sweet, silky strawberry ice cream dotted with chocolate cookies.
I love ice cream! LOVE. If you even just casually read blogs or food magazines, you can’t help but be bombarded with delicious photos of every conceivable type of ice cream. It was torture; so several weeks ago I finally caved and bought an ice cream maker!
My brother’s visit seemed to be the perfect time to break it in! I texted him asking his current favorite type of ice cream but he responded, “I don’t know.”
Ummm I don’t know how to make that type of ice cream so I suggested that strawberry used to be his favorite (how he could pick that over chocolate, I could never understand!). But why make plain strawberry when you can make Strawberry Caramel Swirl Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream instead?!
Why indeed.
You will love this twist on strawberry ice cream because what could be better than swirls of caramel surrounding sweet, silky strawberry ice cream dotted with chocolate cookies. This is how I do fresh fruit dessert: with chocolate and caramel tipping it way over the edge of “healthy.”
I made the caramel with a higher ratio of sugar to cream and cut out the butter entirely so that it would stay semi-fluid in the freezer. Nobody wants to chip a tooth on their ice cream.
You know what I learned? Ice cream is easy. Too easy.
And my Cuisinart came with a bonus extra mixer bowl to keep in the freezer at all times.
I got this Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker, White
Uh oh. I see lots of ice cream and extra hours in the gym in my future…
So back to my brother’s visit to Atlanta! It was amazing! And, yes, I got the AC fixed before he arrived! Here’s a rundown of the highlights:
- We walked in Piedmont Park and checked out its weekly farmers market
- We walked to Barcelona, a fabulous restaurant, in Inman Park via The Beltline (obsessed!)
- We caught a Braves game (they lost badly and we were 3 rows from the last row but we still had an amazing time!)
- We visited the GA aquarium (I took some phenomenal pics from a secret viewing room that The Husband and I found the first time we were there)
- I made several meals including some Nutella Swirled Banana Bread to go…no one leave chez moi hungry
- …And, of course, we ate this Strawberry Caramel Swirl Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream!
This ice cream got rave reviews from both Andrew, my brother, and Hubs. Rave!
Not bad for my first go at it! I wish I could say the same for the photos…{sigh}
Recipe
Strawberry Caramel Swirl Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream:
- 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries (hulled and diced)
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup crushed chocolate cookies (I use Moravian cookies because I’m hoity-toity, but Oreos will work!)
For the Caramel:
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream (room temperature)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-freeze your freezer bowl at least 24 hours in advance!
- Place the strawberries in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse until the berries are your desired consistency. I really didn’t want too many large chunks so mine was fairly smooth.
- In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, salt and milk together with a whisk or a hand mixer on low speed until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla, mix until combined. Add the strawberry puree and mix until combined. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours to overnight. Overnight is better.
- Several hours in advance, or the night before, prepare your caramel. Heat sugar in heavy-gauge saucepan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally, until the sugar has melted and turned an amber color. Remove from the heat and pour in the cream while stirring the caramel. An oven mitt is super helpful here because the steam can burn and the caramel will sputter. If small clumps form, you can return the caramel to the heat and stir until it melts. Just know that the longer you cook it, the harder it will be in the freezer. You don’t need all the caramel so you could just remove the lumps. Stir in vanilla. Allow to cool completely before using.
- Place the container that you are going to use to store the ice cream in the freezer.
- Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the chilled mixture in the feed tube with the maker running. Let churn 15 minutes and then add the crushed cookies. Churn an additional 5 minutes or until the ice cream has thickened considerably. It should be slightly thicker than soft serve.
- Spread ⅓ of the ice cream in the storage container. Drizzle some caramel over the surface; repeat with the remaining ⅔’s. You can further swirl the caramel with a knife if you desire, but it isn’t really necessary.
- Cover with a piece of plastic wrap that touches the surface of the ice cream and doesn’t leave any space for air. Cover with an additional piece of plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band or you can use a lid if your container has one. Freeze for at least 2 hours prior to serving. It will harden substantially more after 4 hours or over night.
I agree - What IS better than this ice cream?? I can't even imagine what caramel and strawberry taste like together, but it sounds decadent and right up my alley!
You seem like a good big sis! I really really want to try that ice cream. I remember when I was little, my mom used to buy Dreyer's strawberry ice cream. And every time she bought ice cream, it would be a surprise which flavor it would be. And I'd get so disappointed if it was strawberry. I don't know why I disliked it so much. I've had great ones too though. And you certainly can't beat homemade.
Lol! When I was little I couldn't understand why anyone, my brother included, would choose strawberry when there was chocolate and chocolate peanut butter to be had! As I've gotten older, I have learned to appreciate the well-made fruit ice cream, but when pressed to order just one flavor, it will never be fruit. Mark my words! 😉
This ice cream sounds wonderful.. I am sure it tasted as good as it sounds. Love the use of chocolate.. caramel and strawberry in one ice cream. Great idea.
Thanks, Ella! You can't go wrong with adding caramel and chocolate cookies!
I am so tortured my ice cream photos! The worst part about making ice cream is waiting for the bowl to freeze. I can't wait to try this combination!
Which is why I always keep one bowl in the freezer so that I don't have to wait! Whose got the patience for that!?
Such a unique flavor!! Definitely love all of the treats in the strawberry ice cream!
Thanks!
What a brilliant ice cream flavor! I never would have thought to combine strawberry ice cream with caramel and chocolate cookies. I NEED to try this soon! And, I think your ice cream photos are beautiful! 😉
Thanks, Kristine! I tried! I like the ones in the container better than the bowl. I'll work on it 🙂
OK, this is the last straw - I am buying an ice cream maker ASAP!! I have been seeing so many yummy recipes lately and it kills me that I don't have one yet.
Haha! Do it!!! Because once you do, I know you'll come up with some totally delicious recipes that won't totally wreck my waistline!
This ice cream is everything I love in one sweet treat! I can't get enough of strawberry, caramel and chocolate. And I always love visiting the Atlanta aquarium. That picture of the whale shark is pretty amazing!
Thanks, Ashley! Next time you visit call me up and I'll show you the secret viewing room where I took that picture! There were some other ones of a manta ray but I figured people were here for the ice cream and not the sea life! lol 🙂
Oh my gosh! There are so many things to love about this ice cream. It looks so much better than plain strawberry ice cream. Glad you had a nice visit with your brother. Love the Georgia Aquarium!
Thanks, Christin! I've visited aquariums all over the World and the GA one is my favorite!
Oh my goodness...WHERE has this gorgeous ice cream been all my life?! Seriously, Lindsay this looks amazing! Totally genius combo of flavors. Dyingggg over how good this looks and your photos are gorgeous per the usual! Pinning!
LOL Thanks, Sarah! And thanks for the pin!
Wow, best ice cream flavor ever! What a great idea to combine strawberries, caramel, and cookies. I'm in awe of this, Lindsey! Pinned!
Haha I know, right?! I was, like, I can't just make strawberry for my first attempt...that would be so mundane... Thanks, Gayle!!! And thanks for the pin! So appreciate it 🙂
This ice cream looks fantastic! I just love all the chunks and ripples of flavour! Divine!
Thanks, Jessica! It's long gone for exactly that reason 🙂
This ice cream just needs to get into my life asap. Seriously.
lol I'll make a fair trade for some homegrown veggies any day!
Gahhhhh!!!!! Get out of my head!!! Lindsey, you and I were definitely separated at birth. I swear my sistah - I just bought an ice cream maker and it's churning at this very moment! Great minds think alike! And, I'm so glad you posted this, because now that I have an ice cream maker, I'll be making your flavor next! Mine will post next week, so watch for it! I can't seem to keep my spoon out of it, and it's still got 7 minutes to churn. It's hard to dodge that circling paddle, but I'm managing. 😉
ALOL!!! We so were! I totally understand the difficulty of dodging the paddle as it churns because I was doing the same thing! The key is a swift swipe off the top! lol! Can't wait to see what you're making! Mmmmmmm. Good thing I'm keeping a bowl in the freezer at all times.