The first day of Spring here in Northern Indiana gave us a beautiful 87° day. It was awesome and while I planned our garden, Jeff was headed to hike the Appalachians and this amazing weather would be perfect for him and I alike.

Instead the temperature dropped and it rained and our garden had to wait. And Jeff? Well he hiked in the pouring rain and slept in the blustery wind and froze in 20° nights and threatened to throw himself off a cliff so they would air lift his frozen carcass home to me.

Heck just last night we had yet another hard freeze warning.

Mother Nature is f*&#ing with us.

However ice cream don’t care if your freezing. It waits for no one. And even if you are hypothermic, ice cream always manages to make you feel better. And let’s face it eventually this weather will break (this week is the rumor, but I will believe it when I see it) and you will want this recipe in your dessert arsenal. Because to be quite honest and to try not to break my arm while I pat myself on the back, it turned out amazing.

The beer used in this is called Wild Blue. It is an odd beer which I liken more to a fruity wine then a beer. Maybe a combination of wine and beer. (Now THERE’S an idea…) There is no hop aroma and very few end hints of malt. It is however VERY blueberry tasting. And if you like blueberry, you will like this. Plus it packs a punch at 8% alcohol by volume.

Wild Blueberry Beer Cheese Cake Ice Cream

One Bottle of Wild Blue blueberry lager
1 8 oz block WHOLE FAT cream cheese cut into chunks and softened.
1 C half and half (WHOLE FAT) (Heavy cream can also be used)
1 egg
3/4 C sugar
1 heaping C frozen blueberries

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat pour 1 bottle of Wild Blue Blueberry beer. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and mix in the cream cheese. Stir till cream cheese is melted and blended. Remove from heat.

Combine the half & half, sugar and egg.

Stir into warm beer mixture and mix till well combined.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, get your ice cream maker ready before you remove the beer cream mixture from the fridge. Stir in 1 heaping cup of frozen blueberries and pour the mixture into the ice cream maker. Follow your makers instructions till ice cream is set. Move ice cream to a container and let set up in freezer overnight.

Enjoy!

It should be noted that this beer is not boiled long or is it reduced. Therefore the alcohol content does remain and this is NOT an ice cream for children.

I would assume that this recipe would also work with other strong fruit beers like lambics. Just change the frozen fruit you add accordingly.

By the way this is ALSO part of Elle’s New England Kitchen and my plan for WORLD DOMINATION thru ICE CREAM also affectionately known as SCOOPAPALOOZA. More details to come but head on over to her blog and check it out.

ANYHOO – I already KNEW ice cream was in my future as I recently spied some vanilla beans that I had forgotten we had. Swirl in some of that delicate banana gooeyness with what was already going to be killer and you have PURE SEX on a SPOON. So we recruited Kathy at A Good Appetite Renee at Flamingo Musings and Barbara at Vino Luci (Who hasn’t posted her ice cream yet but DAMN THOSE BROWNIES!) to create banana debauchery along with us. If I were you I would FEAR clicking the previous links of my partners in bananadom because if you are no where NEAR ice cream, you may just PANIC. Then again mayhem may break out just from this photo alone:

And now, because that is the kind of girl I am, I will TEACH you how to cause said mayhem. ( Yea yea, I ROCK.)

You need this:

2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 vanilla bean, split and scraped.

Pint o’ blackberries

4 Bananas

(Oh by the way. You ALSO need a thermometer, an ice cream maker and a food processor to pull this off flawlessly.)

Have everything? Ok…

Then you do this:

Combine the half and half, the cream, sugar and vanilla bean in a medium sauce pan and cook over medium low heat. Stirring occasionally, bring this mixture to 170°. DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL FOR THE LOVE OF GAH!

Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Pour into non reactive, air tight container; throw in the scrapped vanilla bean pod and let cool in fridge overnight. (Must get to 40°)

About 2-3 hours before pulling out the ice cream maker, peel bananas, slice into chunks, and freeze. (If you go longer it is ok, just let them thaw a tad.)

Ok time to make the ice cream. Set up your ice cream maker (according to the manufacturers directions…) and pour in the cream and vanilla mixture. OH! Remove the pods first. (NOW rinse them and dry them and put in your sugar for yummy vanilla sugar!) Turn it on and let it run.

While the ice cream maker is doing its job, take the frozen bananas and process the bejezzus out of them in the food processor. You will need to scrape down the sides like 259,035 times, but it is worth it. Keep it up till you have what looks like ice cream.

During this time, your ice cream maker has probably done its magic and you now have some beautiful double vanilla bean ice cream forming. When you have about 5 minutes left on the ice cream. dump in the black berries. You CAN chop roughly if you like. I just tossed them in whole. While it is wrapping up it job, get out another non reactive air tight container.

Spoon some of the banana “ice cream” on the bottom of the container. Then layer with the vanilla black berry ice cream. More banana. More cream. More banana. More cream… I think you get my drift.

Then place in freezer till it sets. Sorry folks, this AGAIN may be over night.

However your patience will be paid off in SPADES because this is some of the most decadent ice cream you will ever lay your taste buds on.

Oh. You are VERY welcome.

How Santa even came to our house that year is beyond me.

Oh yea that’s right. He smelled the oh so delicate, fresh baked kolacki that my baby brother’s little hands ever so lovingly (HA! Right…) set out for him. Then I snuck him some Stoli and Case Dismissed! Put this girl BACK on the “Nice” list. But alas. I never stayed there for long.

Kolacki are Polish filled cookies that taste like little perfect bites of puff pastry with a touch of sweet filling. This filling can be cherry or cheese or apricot or plum or nut or blueberry… do I really need to keep gong here? You get the drift right? You can fill them with whatever your wittle ole tummy desires. Make your own filling, or buy it in a can. Solo makes some EXCELLENT fillings for Kolacki. I wouldn’t recommend them if I have not used them and been thrilled with them myself. I actually L O V E their cherry filling. And we already know, cherry is one of my favorites!

So gather ye goods!

1 8 oz block of cream cheese. (NOT neufchatel – Full fledged CREAM CHEESE. Please.)
1 1/3 cups of butter
2 T sugar
1 t vanilla
1 2/3 cups flour, sifted with 1/2 t baking powder
powdered sugar

Follow thee directions!

Beat cream cheese & butter until creamy. Blend in sugar & vanilla. Add flour / baking powder mixture slowly and mix till combined and a nice stiff dough has formed. Press into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for several hours – or overnight.

Preheat oven to °350.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4″ thick. Now the next step you can go about a couple ways:

1) Cut into 3″ squares. Make a depression in the middle of the square with the back of a spoon or your finger or a billiard ball… and fill with about 1 t of your filling of choice. Take the opposite ends of the cookie and fold over filling, pinching the corners together. Bake for 10ish minutes

or

B) Using a 2.5″ biscuit cutter, cut out circles. Make depression in the dough using your fist or a beer bottle or your cats head… and fill with about 1 t of your filling of choice. Bake for 10ish minutes

I started out doing 1)… but we all remember my kitchen right? It is about °369 in there right now and the dough went in the oven too warm and the cookies opened and what do we do with a bunch of ugly cookies?

That is right boys and girls we EAT THEM.

gurgle…

SO I opted for B). And they look so pretty and yummy but hell no am I eating any more of these because I ate so many already I need to run about 27 miles to work it off.

But where was I… oh yea. Let them COMPLETELY cool. Then dust with powder sugar.

Then eat quickly, because once you put them out for guests. They will be gone.

Since this is my last post before Christmas, I would just like to take this opportunity to wish EVERYONE a very Happy and Jolly Holiday. Stay safe, enjoy your loved ones and eat till your hearts (or belly’s) content. And be sure to stay tuned for a very very festive post from my special guy, Jeff. I swear, he is SO FULL of holiday spirit why he could be Santa’s head elf! You do NOT want to miss it.

Yea. You.

Referring to my previous, yet highly whimsical blog as a *BARF* baking BLOG? You obviously glanced over the pepper vodka, beef jerky, Italian sausage, beer and brats and the world famous bacon brie swammich posts. It was a regular party over there! Oh and a few items of note: 1) I don’t recall you objecting while your mouth was full of said baked goods and B) remember it was YOU who helped BAKE this…

Just saying…

But like any relationship, there has to be give and take. And Jeff is going to give me hella grief if I don’t post more then baked goods. Even tho this IS THE HOLIDAY season, and no one wants to bring brisket to a cookie exchange…

So I decided to meat him half way. Ha haa! Meat him. I slay me.

I about perfected my basic chocolate chip cookie recipe this past weekend. I would post those but none are left because oh that’s right – someone helped EAT them… so instead I am going to combine that recipe, with a special something from my recipe bag o’ tricks. Sure to quell even the crankiest of meat eating beasts.

Chocolate Chip Maple Bacon Cookies

That sound you just heard was Jeff’s head exploding.

I did something in this recipe that might freak a few people out. I never did it when I made these before but I thought why the hell not. Let’s throw down that smoked meat gauntlet! You may want to sit down…

Ok – let’s start.

The Goods

8 slices of thick cut, high quality, bought from the butcher, bacon, diced. (PLEASE not pre-packaged slimy stuff… blech.)
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c REAL maple syrup (You there. Put down Mrs. Butterworth.)
2 eggs
1 T Vanilla
2 1/2 c AP flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t cream of tartar (optional – see note.)
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

The Deal

Cook up bacon slowly in a pan till crisp. Remove bacon to paper towel to drain and strain the rendered bacon fat from the pan. Measure out 1/4 cup of that bacon fat and place in the fridge to cool. (Be sure to save the rest of that fat for future use.) Scared yet?

After the bacon fat has cooled, add to the butter and whip till combined. I told you to sit didn’t I? You could easily just use 3/4 cup of butter or even a whole cup, which is what I usually use for my regular ole’ chocolate chip cookies. But that bacon fat was just STARING AT ME. Taunting me. So I thought why not.

When thoroughly combined with the butter, add the eggs, vanilla, sugars and maple syrup. Whip into submission.

Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar and add to the butter and sugar mixture till just combined.

You will notice the lack of salt here. I felt that the bacon fat and the bacon itself added quite enough where no extra would be needed.

Fold in chocolate chips. Then the bacon. Mmmm bacon.

Note: The cream of tartar gives the cookie surface more definition. Without it you get a very smooth cookie. If that is the look you like, you can omit this as it is strictly for cosmetic purposes.

Chill the dough. Un-chilled dough will spread out so thin when baked you can see thru the cookies…

Once chilled, place balls of dough on a pan and throw it in a pre-heated 350° oven for 10-12 minutes (till golden my friends) and then remove to rack to cool.

Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

I bet you take back that BARF baking crack now…