Pine Nut Shortbread Basil Ice Cream Sandwiches

It's amazing how circles will find a way of closing themselves. After making basil sorbet and ice cream I had half a bunch of basil leftover. It was enough to make pesto so I bought pine nuts. After making pesto I was left with half a baggie of pine nuts. The idea of making ice cream sandwiches had been kicking around in my head for a few days and it eventually dawned on me to use the leftover pine nuts in the cookies that would sandwich the basil ice cream. I'm just glad I had used all the garlic.

I got out The Best of Fine Cooking's Cookies magazine from last Christmas, remembering that it included several shortbread recipes. The one that caught my eye was the Orange-Hazelnut Shortbread, but instead of using orange zest and hazelnuts I substituted lemon zest and pine nuts. The nuts, of course, had to be ground. Pine nuts, it turns out, don't grind very well. Because of the high oil content they go very quickly past the ground state to pine nut butter. Initially I was distressed, but decided to use the pine nut butter anyway. The only difference it seemed to make was that the cookies spread a little more than shortbread usually does. The texture was still good and flaky and the flavor was worth a bit of spreading.

Pine Nut Shortbread

adapted from The Best of Fine Cooking: Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, cold
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 5 oz. flour
• 1/4 ground pine nuts (may resemble pine nut butter)
• 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
• In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter, sugar, and salt at low speed until combined but not completely smooth. Add flour, pine nuts, and zest and mix, again at low speed, until the dough begins to come together. Be careful not to overmix.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and bring it together with your hands. Roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick and cut out cookies with either cutters or a knife. Place cookies on prepared baking sheet. Gather the scraps and reroll the dough for more cookies.
• [Alternately, form the dough into a cylinder, making sure it is well compacted and not hollow in the middle, and freeze for at least half an hour. Cut 1/4-inch thick cookies from the cylinder and arrange on prepared baking sheet.]
• To decorate, attractively arrange a few whole pine nuts on half of the cookies. These will be the tops of your ice cream sandwiches.
• Chill cookies in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. Bake until cookies are golden on the bottom and edges and pale to golden on top, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Remove to racks and allow to cool completely before assembling ice cream sandwiches.

Makes enough cookies for 6-8 ice cream sandwiches.

For the sandwiched material I used ice cream that had already been in the freezer for a few days. I made ice cream pucks by mushing it into a cookie cutter the same diameter as my cookies and then sandwiched the pucks between the cookies. It worked pretty well, although the edges melted very quickly and I kept having to catch drips and clean the edges and finally I just through the sandwich in the freezer, figuring it would work itself out there. And it did. I think a better system would be to have the cookies made and cooled before you churn the ice cream and then scoop the still soft, freshly churned ice cream onto the bottom cookie, put the other cookie on top, gently squeeze them together until the ice cream reaches the edges and then calmly put the sandwich in the freezer. As for the freezing, I think the sandwiches can harden up openly in the freezer and only once they are completely frozen need to be transferred to an airtight situation for storage.

Ice Cream Sandwiches

for 6-8 sandwiches

• 1 recipe pine nut shortbread
• 1 pint basil ice cream

• Method one (using ice cream already made and hardened): Clear a space in your freezer and place a baking sheet in the cleared space. Using a cookie cutter or other mold the same diameter as your cookies, a plate, and a spoon, form a scoop and a bit of ice cream into a puck. With an offset palette knife, or any other tool you have to hand, place the puck of ice cream on the bottom cookie. Place the other cookie on top of the ice cream and squeeze slightly. Quickly clean up the edges and place the sandwich on the baking sheet in the freezer. Repeat with remaining ice cream and cookies. Allow sandwiches to freeze completely and then place them in an airtight container or wrap them to store.
• Method two (using freshly churned ice cream): I haven't actually tried this, but I think it might be the superior method. Clear a space in your freezer and place a baking sheet in the cleared space. Put a scoop of freshly churned (and thus soft serve-y) ice cream in the center of the bottom cookie. Place the other cookie on top and gently squeeze until the ice cream reaches the edges. Place sandwich on baking sheet in freezer. Repeat until all cookies are made into sandwiches. Allow sandwiches to freeze completely and then place them in an airtight container or wrap them to store.

Just feel fortunate in the knowledge that you have homemade ice cream sandwiches in your freezer.

Basil Two Ways in Tuile Cups with Peaches

Several months ago in the July/August 2009 Cucina Italiana, I saw a picture of peach slices and sorbet garnished with ribbons of basil. I could only assume it was the sorbetto di limone e basilico su letto di pesche, or, as I learned from the ever helpful translation, lemon and basil sorbet with peaches. That sounded good enough, but having a hard time getting behind any dessert that doesn't somehow incorporate heavy cream, I decided it needed to be accompanied by basil ice cream.

The sorbet was good, the peaches (the first from my fall fruit share) were excellent, but the ice cream was divine. The sorbet would shine, I think, as an intermezzo, but for dessert give me the ice cream. At first it's just pure, creamy, not too sweet heaven and then at the end you get the basil flavor, which goes very nicely indeed with the sweet tartness of the peaches.

Basil Ice Cream

adapted from Fine Cooking, Issue 99

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 packed cup basil leaves, roughly torn

• Mix 1 cup of the cream with the milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a medium sauce pan and place over medium heat. Warm the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved and small bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and add the roughly torn basil leaves. Cover and let stand for 1 hour, or until flavor has achieved desired intensity.
• Just before the hour is up, get your yolks ready in a medium bowl.
• Remove basil leaves by either straining the mixture or scooping them out with a slotted spoon (or by any other method that suits your circumstances). Place mixture back over medium heat and warm until small bubbles once again form at the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and temper your yolks by pouring half the cream mixture over the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you do so.
• Pour the yolk mixture back into the pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and is able to hold a line drawn through it with a finger.
• Have the remaining cup of cream ready in a medium bowl. When your custard mixture is ready, pour it through a strainer into the bowl holding the cream. Mix well and place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the custard, excluding any air bubbles, so a skin does not form. Place in the refrigerator for several hours until completely chilled.
• [Alternately, you can place the remaining cup of cream in a metal bowl in an ice bath, strain the custard into that and stir the mixture until cool, then refrigerate. This will save you some time.]
• Once the custard is cool, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. At this point the ice cream willresemble soft serve. Transfer to air tight containers and freeze until solid, 4 hours or so. Allow to stand at room temperature 10 minutes before attempting to scoop.

Makes one quart creamy deliciousness.

Lemon-Basil Sorbet

adapted from La Cucina Italiana, July/August 09

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 10 basil leaves, roughly torn
• zest and 2 Tbs. juice of one lemon

• Combine water and sugar in a small heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in basil leaves. Cover and let stand until cooled to room temperature, about an hour.
• Once syrup is cool remove and discard basil leaves. Add lemon zest and juice. Refrigerate until completely chilled, or quick chill in an ice bath.
• Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to airtight container and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours. Allow to stand at room temperature 10 minutes before scooping.

Makes one pint.

Tuile cups are something I've been wanting to make for a while and they seemed fine vessels to hold my frozen basil desserts. They could just as easily be made into cones by rolling them into a cone shape when they come out of the oven instead of draping them to form little bowls.

Tuile Cups

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• splash vanilla
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1/2 cup flour, sifted

• Either by hand or at low speed in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla to a paste. Gradually add the egg whites while still stirring. Add the flour a little at a time and stir to make a smooth batter, being careful not to over-mix.
• If decorating cups, reserve a small amount of the batter and add to it a drop of the food coloring of your choice.
• Cover batter and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat and, using a 6-inch circle template, spread out an even layer of batter. Carefully remove the template and repeat until you can fit no more cookies on your sheet. Place colored batter in a pastry bag and pipe lines on the circles.
• Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. Remove immediately from silicon mat and drape over a mug or bowl to form the cup. You may have to train it somewhat with your fingers. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.