Biscoff Frozen Yogurt

As soon as I saw this ice cream recipe posted on Katie's Cucina I wanted it. Immediately. (I'm not always the most patient person in the world) I am also someone that really shouldn't eat ice cream. I love it, but it does not love me. I can have cheese, skim milk, and yogurt, but cream makes my stomach hurt. Usually every year as soon as the weather is warm, I drag Dave out for ice cream. I immediately regret not getting frozen yogurt and spend the whole night whining about the pain I am in. Luckily, once or twice a season is all it takes to remind me that avoiding ice cream is worth it.

I also needed a recent reason to use the jar of Biscoff spread aside from just dipping a spoon in it daily. These wants and needs led to making this Greek frozen yogurt adaptation of Katie's recipe. I've successfully used the Purple Cow recipe amounts to make a number of yogurt bases. This is one of my absolute favorites. The Greek yogurt tang is still slightly there but is well balanced by how sweet the Biscoff tastes. I don't think this is going to last long in our freezer!

You will need:
*1 cup Biscoff Spread + 2 tablespoons
*3 cups plain Greek yogurt (2%) nonfat does not work for frozen yogurt....it would for popsicles though!
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*3/4 cup sugar

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and yogurt until smooth. Add one cup of Biscoff spread and continue to mix until creamy. Stir in the vanilla. Cover the mixture and chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

2. Stir the chilled yogurt mixture and then pour/spoon it into your ice cream maker. Churn for about 20-30 minutes depending on your ice cream maker. (I did 20 minutes in my Kitchen Aid attachment)

3. Stir in the additional 2 tablespoons of Biscoff. Place in an airtight freezable container. Freeze for a couple hours before serving; Freeze up to one week.

Note: Frozen yogurt often freezes more solid than ice cream. Allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes before serving. If you scoop earlier, the frozen yogurt chips off more like ice.

Purple Cow Frozen Yogurt

Happy Birthday to me! I decided to share this delicious treat in celebration of my birthday. It is one of the best things I have made in my ice cream maker. My KA mixer ice cream attachment was a gift from mom for my birthday last year. It has certainly been used this year! The bowl just lives in our freezer, ready to make ice cream whenever we need it to. I love Greek yogurt, so it is no surprise that I enjoy it in this fro yo. There are many flavor combinations in my head that I can make with this frozen yogurt base, and I hope to do some experimenting soon. This recipe was taken from Cook Like A Champion.

You will need:
*3 cups 2% Greek yogurt (the nonfat kind will not work well, trust me!)
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*2/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
*2 cups blackberries
*semi sweet chocolate chips
*white chocolate chips

1. Combine yogurt, sugar and vanilla and stir until sugar is disolved. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

2. Wash and dry blackberries and puree in a food processor. Strain the blackberries to separate the liquid from the seeds. Then stir in one tablespoon of sugar. Cover and refrigerate one hour.

3. After at least an hour, add blackberry puree to yogurt mixture and stir until combined.

4. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. The yogurt will be a soft serve consistency. Place into an airtight container and mix in the chocolate chips. Keep in freezer until yogurt is completely frozen.
*I needed to let the yogurt sit out a bit before serving because it was too hard right from the freezer.

Thanksgiving Dessert-Pumpkin Pie and Cinnamon Ice Cream

We made the basic/traditional fixings for our main course. Dave took care of most of the sides as I was cleaning up the appetizers and preparing the table for round 2! I do not have pictures of dinner, but I did take a few of the desserts I made. This was the first pie I ever made. It didn't come out looking spectacular, but it tasted delicious. I liked adding marshmallows on the top. I also made cinnamon ice cream to serve with this and an apple pie my in-laws brought over. The ice cream was the best consistency of any I have made yet! Here are the recipes I used:

Pumpkin Ginger Pie
I found this recipe on the Pillsbury website

Crust
1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box), softened as directed on box

Streusel
1/2 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (9 cookies)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

Filling
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh gingerroot
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Topping
2 to 2 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 425°F. Place cookie sheet on middle oven rack. Unroll pie crust in 9-inch glass pie plate as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie. In small bowl, mix streusel ingredients. Sprinkle streusel in crust-lined pie plate.
2. In large bowl, mix filling ingredients. Pour into pie crust on top of streusel. Place pie plate on cookie sheet in oven. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake 35 to 45 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 3 hours.
3. Just before serving, set oven control to broil. Spread marshmallows evenly over top of pie, completely covering filling. Broil pie with top about 5 inches from heat about 30 seconds, watching carefully, until marshmallows are lightly browned. Marshmallows will brown quickly.
(I did not put my pie in a broil safe dish! So I baked it at 350 and watched for the marshmallows to brown)

Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.

Cinnamon Ice Cream
From All Recipes website

You will need:
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar and half-and-half. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat, and whisk half of the mixture into the eggs. Whisk quickly so that the eggs do not scramble. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, and stir in the heavy cream. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool.
2. Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.