Maple Whisky Ice Cream v2 #IceCreamWeek

Prior to getting the book Scoop Adventures, my usual methods of making ice cream were to either make a custard base and cool it, or make an eggless, uncooked base.

Sometimes I made a cheater ice cream that used instant French vanilla pudding mix, but that was for one specific recipe.

The peanut butter and jelly ice cream from Scoop Adventures had another method - using cornstarch to slightly thicken the mixture - like a very loose pudding. (I left the jelly out of the PB&J ice cream recipe, but I was totally crazy about the peanut butter part.)

So I decided to give it a whirl with a version of one of my favorite ice cream flavors - Maple Whisky.

And then, while I was waiting for the ice cream base to cool, I had another thought. A lot of ice cream recipes suggest that you cool the base by immersing the bowl in an ice bath and stirring it to chill it. Which makes sense. It cools a lot faster. Others suggest letting it cool to room temperature, then refrigerating.

But then I thought, gee, what's going to cool my ice cream base faster than putting it in the ice cream machine? I mean, it's a cold place and it's constantly being stirred. So why not?

Obviously (or perhaps not-so-obviously) this method wouldn't work if you have a freezer-bowl style of ice cream maker. Probably not for the ice-cubes-and-salt style either, unless you replenished the ice and salt after the base was cold but not frozen. Otherwise, you'd lose the chilling power before the ice cream was solid.

But if you've got an ice cream maker with its own compressor, it doesn't lose its chill. It keeps chilling as long a you're churning.

So I gave it a try.

I don't know if it's okay to put a HOT ice cream base into an ice cream maker, but I added mine when it was warm rather than cool or cold, and everything seemed to work just fine. You might want to check your ice cream manual's instructions, and if there are dire warnings about not adding hot/warm liquids, then heed those warnings or proceed at your own risk.

Welcome to Ice Cream Week 2014! 

You could win these!

This post is part of ICE CREAM WEEK and it's a little bit sad that it's almost over. Ice cream is fun to make and fun to eat and fun to share, but there's one day left, with a lot more recipes to come.

And then you're on your own.

Remember, you can enter the giveaway through the end of the month.

This year the event is hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of  The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen.

We have teamed up with 25 amazing bloggers to bring you ice cream treats all week long. I hope you have as much fun as we did. Break out those stretchy pants and celebrate Ice Cream Week with us.

Our sponsors for the event have provided us with some great prizes. Wow! Check out the great stuff!

A huge thanks to Cake Boss, Anolon, Microplane, WÜSTHOF, Page Street Publishing and Quarry Spoon. 

Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen have tossed in a bonus prize of a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker because they think everyone should own one!

Be sure to swing by all of today's Ice Cream Week Participants:

• Roasted Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Blackberry Peach Ice Cream by Scoop Adventures
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundaes by The Redhead Baker
• Maple Whisky Ice Cream by Cookistry
• Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream by Life Tastes Good
• Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream by My Catholic Kitchen
• Coffee Chip No Churn Ice Cream by The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Caramel Macchiato No Churn Ice Cream by Renee's Kitchen Adventures
• Double Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches by Crumb
• Lemon Meringue Pie Ice Cream by Love and Confections
• Snickerdoodle Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches by Gluten Free Crumbley
• No Churn S'mores Ice Cream by The Spiffy Cookie
• Cocoa Pebbles Ice Cream Cake by Wishes and Dishes
• Mocha Mint Milkshake by The Gunny Sack
• No Churn Low Carb Peanut Butter Coffee Ice Cream by Yours and Mine are Ours

Maple Whisky Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk, divided
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup maple whisky
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Put the heavy cream, 1 cup of milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and heat to a vigorous simmer, stirring as needed to dissolve the sugar.

Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of milk, 1/4 cup maple whisky, and the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

When the milk has reached a simmer, whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Continue cooking, stirring, until the mixture returns to a hard simmer and the mixture thickens. You'll feel it thicken. Make sure you're scraping the bottom and sides of the pan.

Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool, stirring occasionally - or fill bowl with ice and put your pot into the bowl and stir to cool it faster. Then refrigerate until fully chilled, then churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Transfer to a storage container and freeze.

Check out my previous Maple Whisky ice cream HERE.

And now for the GIVEAWAY!!!

More goodies to win!

The Ice Cream Week Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada. It closes at midnight on 31st. It's ONE WINNER TAKES ALL!

• One Cuisinart Ice Cream Machine in White
• One Cake Boss Mechanical Ice Cream Scoop with Red Silicone grips
• One Cake Boss 4Pc Ice Cream Bowl Set, Icing Pattern
• One Anolon Advanced Bronze 2 Qt Covered Straining Saucepan with Pour Spout
• One Microplane Herb and Salad Chopper
• One Microplane Premium Classic Grater in White
• One WUSTHOF CLASSIC 9-inch Double Serrated Bread Knife
• One Copy of the Cookbook Making Artisan Gelato by Torrance Kopfer
• One Copy of the Cookbook Everything Goes with Ice Cream by Koralee Teichroeb
• One Copy of the Cookbook Vegan Scoop by Wheeler del Torro
• One Copy of the Cookbook The Great Vegan Bean Book by Kathy Hester
• One Copy of the Cookbook Eat More Dessert by Jenny Kellar
• One Copy of the Cookbook The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
• One Copy of the Cookbook Scoop Adventures by Lindsay Clendaniel

The giveaway is now OVER.

Maple Coffee Ice Cream

Obviously, summer isn't here yet. But I know it's coming because I've suddenly been wanting ice cream. When fall turns to winter, I lose my interest in chilly desserts. In summer, I make a whole lot of ice cream and we have it for dessert almost every night.

I decided to make a pretty simple ice cream - egg free, no cooking. I started with the idea of maple, but than added just a tiny bit of instant coffee. I really liked the result.

For a little more depth of flavor, I used brown sugar instead of white.

Since I've got an ice cream machine with a compressor, I tossed this in right after mixing. It took a looooong time to churn - almost a full hour. If you have an ice cream maker that uses a freezer bowl, make sure you let the ice cream base chill thoroughly, or you might have trouble getting it to freeze before your ice cream bowl thaws.

And then you'll hate me.

So, let's talk a second about ingredients. It's pretty obvious I love the Crown Maple Whiskey. I use it a lot. The Blis maple syrup is pretty awesome stuff, but it's pricey. You can use regular maple syrup. And then we come to the instant coffee. To be honest, I have no idea what brand it was. It's a little jar of my emergency coffee, just in case my coffee machine breaks or someone steals all my beans.

There's one little trick to the instant coffee. Make sure it dissolved in cold liquid. If it doesn't heat a little bit of the milk, then add the coffee and stir to dissolve. Then add that to the rest of the mixture.

Maple Coffee Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Crown Maple Whiskey
2 tablespoons Blis bourbon-barrel aged maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon instant coffee

Combine all the ingredients and stir until the sugar, salt, and coffee* are dissolved and everything is mixed in. Chill well before churning, particularly if you're churning in a machine that has a freezer bowl.

Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a container and freeze.

*Make sure the instant coffee can dissolve in cold liquid, otherwise heat some milk and dissolve the coffee in that before adding it.

#MapleMonday Cocktails

Last Monday, I posted some recipes from Crown Royal for #MapleMonday. One was a lemonade, and the other was an iced tea.

This week, I'm using those recipes as a starting place to create some new cocktails.

First, I revised the iced tea. I thought about using herbal tea or one of the many flavored teas I have - Maple Vanilla or Ginger Peach would have been good.

But I kept thinking about iced coffee.

I mean, really, doesn't that sound good? Iced coffee with maple ... mmmm. and a touch of cinnamon.

After all, I was supposed to twist their recipe, and changing the tea to coffee seemed like a logical twist, right? Well, I thought it was. So I proceeded.

I didn't think the orange garnish they used in the tea would work in the coffee, but I wanted to add just one more flavor to the party, so I added some almond extract to the whipped cream. It was perfect.

Maple Iced Coffee

1 ounce Crown Royal Maple Finished Whisky
Strong brewed coffee*, sweetened to taste, chilled
Almond-flavored whipped cream**
Cinnamon sugar
Cinnamon stick and/or sugar cane swizzle stick, for garnish

Fill a glass with ice. Add the Crown Royal Maple Finished Whisky, then add the coffee. Stir to combine. Add a dollop of whipped cream on top, then sprinkle the whipped cream with the cinnamon sugar.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick and/or a sugar cane swizzle stick.

Serve

*I used decaf, but regular coffee is fine, as well.

**There are flavored whipped creams available in cans, but I whipped my own cream with a little bit of powered sugar and just a touch of almond extract.

It's Not Lemonade

As much as I like lemonade or plain old orange juice, lately I've become quite fond of orange/pineapple/banana juice - it doesn't seem as acidic as plain orange juice, and the flavor is a little more complex. The first time I bought it, it was in a bottle in the refrigerated juice section, but lately I've been buying the frozen concentrated juice.

If you can't find orange/pineapple/banana, a mix of orange and pineapple juice would make a good substitute.

So, when I got the lemonade recipe from Crown Royal for last week's post, I thought an interesting twist would be to use the orange/pineapple/banana juice instead. To be brutally honest, at first I wasn't quite sure if I'd like the combination of maple and orange, but then I realized that the two play together really well at the breakfast table, if you drink orange juice with your maple-syrup-covered pancakes.

This would be a great drink for a Sunday brunch - something different than the usual Mimosas or Bloody Marys. In a tall glass with a lot of ice, it would be great as a refreshing summer cocktail, too.

Adjust the amount of liquor to taste, and the size of the glass.

The Fruity Maple

1 ounce Crown Royal Maple Finished Whisky
Orange/pineapple/banana juice
Lemon slice, for garnish

Fill a glass with ice. Add the Crown Royal Maple Finished Whisky. Top with the juice to fill the glass. Stir, then garnish with the lemon slice.

Serve.

I received products from Crown Royal for making cocktails. 

Maple Walnut Oatmeal Breakfast Bars (or Muffins!)

Perfect for breakfast on the run or at the table.

Although I wrote the recipe for bars, you can use this recipe for muffins (like the photo) as well.

Nuts are optional.

Maple Walnut Oatmeal Breakfast Bars (or Muffins!)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup applesauce
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9 x 13 baking pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy with an electric hand mixer. Add brown sugar and beat until combined. It should be light and fluffy Add maple syrup and beat until completely combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Add applesauce and vanilla and beat until well blended.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix gently by hand until it is blended. Do not overmix. Add nuts and mix just until well distributed.

Spread the batter into the pan and even out the top. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely before slicing into 24 squares.

Maple Pecan Biscotti

These biscotti are the traditional shape and size, but they’re lighter and not as hard, so you can eat them without dunking in a beverage.

1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3/4 cup maple syrup
3 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two quarter-sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda and mix well.

In a separate large bowl, cream together butter and maple syrup with an electric hand mixer. Add eggs and beat well after each addition.

Add dry ingredients to wet, and mix until blended. Add nuts and mix until well incorporated.

Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a log about 12 inches long. The logs will spread and flatten as they bake, taking on the traditional biscotti shape. Place each long onto a separate quarter-sheet pan and bake on the center rack of the oven at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and firm.

Remove sheets from the oven and let cool slightly, until logs are cool enough to handle. With a serrated knife, slice logs into pieces about 1 inch thick. If the slices crumble, the logs are too hot. Give them a little more time to cool for easy slicing. Place slices cut side down, back onto the baking sheets. Return sheets to oven, and bake another 10-15 minutes, until they are lightly toasted on both sides.

Remove sheet from the oven and move slices to a rack to cool completely.

Maple White-Wheat Oatmeal Bread

I’ve been on a bit of a maple binge lately. That happens a lot. I get stuck on an ingredient and I start putting it in everything, until I move on to something else.

This bread is hearty, with a nice sweetness from the maple, which helps to counteract some of the bitterness that some people detect in whole wheat products.

This bread takes quite a lot of kneading to get it to the shiny and elastic stage, but it does get there. It’s also a bit slow rising; don’t rush it. This loaf is worth waiting for.

Maple Oatmeal White Wheat Bread

1 cup lukewarm water
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup instant oats
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups white wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
Cornmeal

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine water, yeast, maple syrup and oats. Let sit for 10 minutes until the oats hydrate the liquid starts bubbling, indicating that the yeast is alive.

Add salt and 3 cups white wheat flour and mix with stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add more flour 1/4 cup at a time, slowing or stopping the mixer while adding flour. Continue kneading at medium speed until the dough starts getting stretchy and is tacky but not sticky. You may not need all of the flour. Add olive oil and continue kneading until the dough becomes shiny and elastic.

Turn dough out of the bowl and form into a ball. Place the ball in a clean, large bowl, Drizzle with a little olive oil to coat the dough ball all over, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet.

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into desired shape. I tend to like oval loaves, but it’s up to you.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.

Remove plastic wrap, slash top of loaf, and bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes, until the bread is a rich brown.

Take out of the oven, put on a rack, and cool completely before cutting.