Homemade Peppermint Patties

This weekend has been cold here in NYC. And by cold, I mean all you non-hat-wearing people had better suck it up, pack a comb, and cover your precious little heads. It's that cheek-stinging, ear-burning, eyes-watering, toe-numbing kind of cold that makes you tingle all over.

I'll tell you a secret: I kinda like it.

This kind of cold reminds me that I'm human, living on a planet with varying moods and tempers. It makes me marvel at the immense ability of nature to create beauty from extremes. And it inspires me to pause, breathe deeply, and take in the black-and-white landscape around me.

Well, not pause TOO long, or else my fingers will fall off.

To me, peppermint is the perfect flavor to capture the feeling of a day like today. It's crisp, refreshing, and stings your tastebuds with just the right amount of wake-me-up bite. It's not the same thing as stepping out the door into a winter wonderland, but it's pretty darn close!

So today's treat is for all you out there with the privilege of wearing hats as mere fashion accessories. Make a batch of these peppermint patties, pop one in your mouth, and stand in solidarity with those of us hoping (or not) that the snow melts faster than the chocolate.

-Becky


Peppermint Patties
Makes approximately 24 patties
Adapted from Blue Eyed Bakers

Approximately 2 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil
Additional confectioners sugar for sprinkling

1. In a large bowl, beat confectioners sugar, corn syrup, water, peppermint extract, and vegetable shortening on low speed until smooth. If mixture does not hold shape, add confectioners sugar by tablespoon until mixture forms pliable dough. Shape into rough ball and sprinkle generously with confectioners sugar.
2. Roll or press dough between two sheets of parchment paper until 1/4 inch thick. Slide parchment onto cookie sheet and place in freezer until dough is very firm, about 20 minutes.
3. Using 1 1/2 inch circle cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, cut dough into rounds and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Form scraps of dough into ball, sprinkle with confectioners sugar, and repeat steps 2 and 3 until all dough is used (you do not need to refreeze dough each time you roll it out). Freeze patties until firm, for at least 15 minutes.
4. While dough is chilling, melt chocolate chips in microwave safe bowl, stirring every 30 seconds. When chocolate is smooth, add coconut oil and stir until well combined.
5. Remove patties from freezer and quickly coat with chocolate using fork. Remove excess chocolate by shaking fork from side to side, then scraping bottom against side of bowl. Slide patty onto another cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. (Patties melt quickly in the warm chocolate; dip each one as fast as possible. If patties begin to soften before dipping, place sheet of undipped patties back in freezer.)
6. Place cookie sheet of dipped patties in refrigerator and allow chocolate to set completely, about one hour. Store in fridge, between wax paper in an airtight container. Bring to room temperature before serving.

IT'S-IT! The San Francisco Treat...

We're not talking about Rice-a-Roni here, people.

The IT'S-IT is a frozen treat that made its debut at San Francisco's Playland-at-the-Beach in 1928. Not just your regular ice cream sandwich, it combines vanilla or mint chip ice cream, soft oatmeal cookies, and an oh-so-thin chocolate coating that satisfactorily snaps in two at the first bite.

IT'S-ITs are melty and messy and make you go Mmmmmm. In short, when it comes to frozen ice cream treats, an IT'S-IT is it.

I make this bold statement as an expert on the IT'S-IT. You see, every day - every single day - of seventh grade, my good friend E and I shared a mint chip IT'S-IT. As the end of the lunch period drew closer and closer, our strength against temptation grew weaker and weaker, and with 5 or 4 or 3 minutes left before the bell, I'd run to the cafeteria, grab an IT'S-IT, and devour my half as fast as I could. I still have a mad tolerance for brain freeze.

For my friend E and I - two of the neatest, nicest, shyest kids at school - the daily IT'S-IT was our chance to get messy, be spontaneous, and share a sneaky smile. Plus, seventh grade is traumatic. I think all seventh graders deserve daily ice cream.

Alas, IT'S-ITs aren't sold on the east coast. Oh, the agony! So to celebrate National Ice Cream Sandwich Day on Monday, August 2, Katie and I decided to try our hand at creating a homemade IT'S-IT. None of the recipes we found on various blogs and food sites accurately replicated the original (you want me to dip only half the sandwich?!), so we pieced together our own.

What you'll need:
(These ingredients can be homemade or store-bought. Homemade recipes below.)
- plain oatmeal cookies
- ice cream, slightly softened
- "Magic Shell" chocolate for dipping

To assemble:

Line a baking dish with plastic wrap. Spread ice cream in the pan and let harden in the freezer. We used a 9-inch cake pan and about 1 quart of vanilla ice cream to get the desired thickness.

Get your cookies ready - match them up in pairs by size, or if you want to be really precise, use a cookie cutter to trim them into circles. We tried both and ended up liking the "rustic" look better, but if you're looking to replicate real IT'S-ITs, using a cookie cutter will produce a cleaner-looking sandwich.

When ice cream is hardened, use a cookie cutter to make circles of ice cream and place them between two cookies. Work quickly or you'll have a goopy mess!

Put the sandwiches in a baking dish and throw 'em back in the freezer to firm up.

Except maybe for this one.  This one you should eat.

When the sandwiches are firm and cold, dip them, roll them, do whatever you have to do to get them covered in chocolate.

Whatever you do, do it fast, or the ice cream will start to squish out the sides as it melts like it did in this one. Yes, that's my finger in the upper left - you try taking photos with hands covered in chocolate! Also, pay no attention to that mostly-dead basil plant in the background. I have a love-hate relationship with basil plants.

Place the sandwiches in the freezer so the chocolate hardens up completely. When you're ready to eat, make sure you have plenty of napkins! It's not a bad idea to have a bottle of stain remover handy, too.

-Becky

Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies
Adapted from Oprah.com
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

    •    2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
    •    1 cup packed dark brown sugar
    •    1/2 cup granulated sugar
    •    2 large eggs
    •    3/4 tsp fine salt
    •    1/2 tsp baking soda
    •    1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
    •    1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
    •    3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
    •    3/4 cup whole wheat flour
    •    2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the eggs and beat until incorporated, scraping the bowl as necessary.
3. Add the salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla and mix at medium speed until blended. Add the flours and mix at low speed until smooth.
4. With a strong rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the oats. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least one hour, or overnight.
5. Roll dough into golf-sized balls and place three inches apart on one of the prepared sheets. (We fit only four cookies on a standard size cookie sheet - they spread quite a bit.) Flatten balls to 1/2-inch discs using a flat-bottomed glass or the palm of your hand.
6. Bake for 14-15 minutes, rotating cookie sheet halfway through, until the cookies are nearly set and golden brown. Let cool on the sheet for one minute, and then use a metal spatula to transfer to a rack to cool completely. Keep dough in the refrigerator between batches. The more chilled it is, the easier it is to roll.

Vanilla Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop
Makes about one quart

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
Pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Pour one cup of the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. In a large bowl, prepare an ice bath.
3. Warm the milk, sugar, one cup of the cream, and salt in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When warm, slowly pour about one third of the milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly (this tempers - i.e. slowly warms the eggs so they don't cook too quickly). Pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk mixture.
4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula , scraping at the bottom and sides, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula.
5. Pour the custard through the strainer into the cream. Add vanilla extract, place bowl in ice bath, and stir until mixture is cool. Chill in refrigerator at least three hours or overnight.
6. Churn ice cream in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

For Mint Chip Ice Cream (Becky's fav), click here!


Homemade "Magic Shell" Chocolate Coating
From AlphaMom
Makes about 1 1/4 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut oil (measured when solid)
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Place ingredients in heatproof bowl (tupperware works well) and microwave for one minute.
2. Let sit for 2-3 minutes, allowing hot oil to melt chocolate chips.
3. Stir with heatproof spatula until smooth. It will be runny.

Store in refrigerator (will thicken), or in summertime, at room temperature (will remain liquid). To liquefy, heat in microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between.

Note: This chocolate coating is great for dipping IT'S-ITs because it is thin and hardens quickly. However, it does have a noticeable (and yummy) coconut flavor that the original IT'S-ITs do not. Next time, we'll try substituting butter or another type of oil for part of the coconut oil to achieve a more accurate version of the original!

National Ice Cream Day & Mint Chip Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

...ICE CREAM!

Today is National Ice Cream Day, and it's time to celebrate! I love ice cream. I mean I really, really love ice cream. Really, really, really, really, really, really absitively-posilutely love it. Here are a few examples to prove my point:

Example #1: Our crowded kitchen cabinets contain three types of bowls designed for one purpose only - eating ice cream.

Example #2: Freshman year of college, my favorite Friday night activity was chatting about life's mysteries over a bowl of pistachio Häagen Dazs with the Jesuit priest that lived across the hall. Now, the chats were awesome, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't stick around the dorm some Friday nights just for a taste of that contraband goodness from the Jesuits' well-stocked freezer. Weird, or wonderful? I'd say the latter.

Example #3: When it came time to choose a topic for my valedictorian speech at the end of high school, what did I pick? The lifelong friendships we'd made over the last four years? Nope. The great adventure of life upon which we were about to embark? Nah. Gratitude towards our parents and teachers? Academic and moral excellence?! World peace?!?! Cliché, my dear friends, all too cliché for my tastes. I chose something I could really talk about - ICE CREAM.

I'm serious.

I stood up in front of hundreds of people, not to mention my peers, and talked to them about ice cream.

Now THAT'S serious love, or at least a healthy obsession.

And no, you can't read the speech, because it's long been lost in the deep dark depths of hard drive disaster. Believe me - I've looked. What was my 18-year old mind thinking?!

Today, my love for ice cream is as strong as ever (hence the last two blog posts here and here). While my thighs keep reminding me I'd be better off spending Friday nights with a lower calorie friend, I still turn to ice cream when I feel lonely, nostalgic for simpler times, or spectacularly happy. For me, it's the best shoulder to cry on, the ultimate indulgence, and the greatest form of culinary celebration.

My favorite flavor? Mint Chocolate Chip, hands down. Always has been, always will be. Who's with me?

David Lebowitz's recipe uses mint leaves, not extract, to give this classic its intensely fresh flavor and barely-there green hue. I'm a big fan of the florescent ice cream shop stuff (ah, good ol' Baskin Robbins), but this all-natural taste and look could grow on me. My taste buds can be slow learners, though - I might have to eat a whole bunch of it to find out. Darn.

-Becky

Mint Chip Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebowitz's The Perfect Scoop, via his website
Makes about 1 quart (1l)

1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 cups packed (80 gr) fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks
5 ounces (140 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

1. Gently rinse mint leaves and pat dry with a clean tea towel.

2. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, salt, and mint over medium heat.

3. When the mixture begins to steam, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.

4. Set a large strainer (or colander) over a large bowl. Pour the mixture through the strainer, then firmly press down on mint with a spatula to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. (You can also use your hands to do this, making sure the mint isn't too hot to safely handle.) Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint. Transfer the mixture back into the saucepan. Rinse your large bowl and strainer if you don't have any more on hand.

5. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and set a strainer (not a colander) over the top. In a separate large bowl, prepare an ice bath.

6. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then reheat the infused milk mixture over medium heat until warm to the touch. Slowly pour about a cup of the warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly (this tempers the egg yolks so they don't curdle). Scrape the warmed yolks into the saucepan.

7. Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).

8. Immediately strain the custard into the cream, then stir the mixture over the ice bath until cool. Cover and thoroughly chill, preferably overnight.

9. When ready to churn the ice cream, place a storage container in the freezer. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

10. While the ice cream is churning, melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

11. When the ice cream in the machine is ready, scribble some of the chocolate into the container, then add a layer of the just-churned ice cream to the container. Scribble melted chocolate over the top of the ice cream, then quickly stir it in, breaking up the chocolate into irregular pieces. Continue layering the ice cream, scribbling more chocolate and stirring as you go. When finished, cover and freeze until firm (about 3 hours, or overnight).

Note: Using an exact quantity of mint leaves isn't imperative for this recipe, nor is the type of mint used. I ended up buying three small bunches of mint from two different markets, each with a slightly different color and scent. I pulled the best leaves from each bunch to measure approximately two packed cups (though I've never been sure of how packed "packed cups" are supposed to be.)