Summer is quickly fading away here in Maine, but I can’t say I’m sad to see it go.  It was pretty cold and rainy this year and not very conducive to enjoying ice cream outside very often.

Fall is probably one of my favorite seasons, though and I can’t wait for it to be here already.  The Fall Fever really started to hit for me when food establishments start bringing out the pumpkin flavored items.  I’ve already enjoyed a few pumpkin bagels (yummy!) which reminded me of my failed pumpkin pie ice cream experiment last October.  I think this year I might tweak the recipe or just let Kelly at Ice Cream Alchemy test it out for me.  Maybe she’ll also whip up a batch of Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes, too!

This recipe comes from  Janos Wilder, owner chef of four star Janos’ Restaurant in Tucson, AZ.

DARK CHOCOLATE—JALAPEÑO ICE CREAM SUNDAE

(found in Savor The Southwest by Barbara Pool (& Jane Horn) p. 173.)

Serves 10-12

“Chocolate truffle meets jalapeño chile” is an apt description of this addictive frozen confection, which delivers double the chocolate as the sauce is chocolate, too. Note that the eggs in this recipe do not get cooked, so if you are concerned about salmonella, be sure of your egg source—or substitute Caliente Chocolate Ice Cream (see page 169).

INGREDIENTS

Dark Chocolate—Jalapeño Ice Cream
3 cups half-and-half
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and julienned
10 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup pecans, toasted

White Chocolate Sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

Candied Pecans
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

Do Ahead: The white chocolate sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Rewarm the sauce in a double boiler before serving. The candied pecans can be made up to 1 week ahead.

For the ice cream: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half and jalapeño to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Let sit for 1 or 2 minutes and then stir until the chocolate is melted and incorporated into the half-and-half. Let cool and refrigerate overnight.

Strain the half-and-half mixture and discard the jalapeño. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Turn the mixer to low and mix in the chocolate mixture, cream, and pecans. Transfer to an ice cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.

For the white chocolate sauce: In a small pan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the white chocolate. Allow to sit 1 or 2 minutes and then stir until the chocolate is completely melted.

For the candied pecans: In a saucepan over high heat, combine the water and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the pecan pieces and boil for 2 minutes more. Drain the pecans well. Place the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a bowl and add the warm pecans. Toss well, coating evenly, and spread them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to dry about 2 hours; use immediately or store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Assembly: Place 2 scoops of ice cream in each bowl. Drizzle the white chocolate sauce and sprinkle candied pecans on top.

Thanks Culinary Scavanger for the great find!

Here’s another great creation featured on Martha Stewart.  This one combines peanut butter cookies and chocolate ice cream to make peanut butter and chocolate ice cream sandwiches.

The cookie recipe comes from Manhattan’s How Sweet It Is Bakery.

Check out Martha’s site for a great video demonstration on how to make these yummy treats!

Ingredients
Makes 12 ice cream sandwiches

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Chocolate ice cream (try the chocolate coconut recipe we found)

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add both sugars and continue to mix until smooth.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running, add flour mixture in two batches, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until a dough forms. Form dough into a ball and wrap with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Press down on each dough ball using the tines of a fork, once vertically and once horizontally, to make a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle with sugar and transfer to oven. Bake 14 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet once during baking. Let cool completely.
4. Place 1 scoop of ice cream on the bottom side of 12 cookies. Top with remaining cookies to form sandwiches. Serve immediately or wrap individually using plastic wrap. Keep frozen up to 1 month.

Here’s a great recipe for Chocolate Mint ice cream from The Happy Gelateria using peppermint tea & cashew nuts instead of dairy.

Ingredients:

* 1 cup of cashew nuts, soaked for 4 hours and then drained and rinsed .
* 1/2 – 1 cup of strong peppermint tea (brewed by steeping 2 teabags in 1 cup of fresh boiled water, and leaving until cold).
* 3 baby figs, or 2 standard figs pre-soaked for a few hours.
* 10 mint leaves.
* 2 teaspoons of cacao powder

How To:

* Blend the cashews with enough of the mint tea to form a smooth cream.
* Add the figs, and blend again until smooth.
* Add the mint leaves and cacao powder, and blend one last time until smooth and evenly mixed.
* Either transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions, or follow our steps for making gelato without an ice cream maker.
* Enjoy a blast of choco-minty freshness!

Curried Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

2 cans of coconut milk
2/3 cup cocoa powder
6 tbsp sugar (more if desired — taste it before putting it in the ice cream maker!)
2 tbsp hot yellow curry powder
toasted coconut (optional)

Mix all ingredients well and put in the ice cream maker.  Mmmmm.

So simple.  So yummy.  Let me know what you think.

Halloween Ice Cream Vampire Bats
Ingredients:

• 4 (3 1/2 inch) soft oatmeal cookies
• 4 large Scoops of chocolate ice cream (try our chocolate coconut ice cream recipe)
• Assorted candies for decoration, such as candy – candy corn, licorice whips, jellybeans, fruit rolls

Preparation:
For the wings, place cookies on a cutting board. Cut cookies into halves. Using a teaspoon, cut a slightly scalloped edge on the straight side of each cookie; set wings aside.

For the body of the bat, place a scoop of ice cream on each of four serving plates. Using a knife make a cut about 1/2-inch deep on each side of the scoops of ice cream.

To assemble the ice cream bats, insert the end of cookie wing into cuts on sides of ice cream scoops. Place so they look like wings. Decorate ice cream with candies to create the bat’s face. Use licorice pieces for the ears, jelly beans for the eyes, candy corn for the fangs, or use your own imagination. Serve immediately or freeze for up to two hours before serving.
Serves 4.

If you do end up making these, send us a picture!

After searching online, I found a great chocolate coconut ice cream recipe by The Nourishing Gourmet.

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

3 cups of coconut milk (about two cans)
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
6 tablespoons agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa powder in a small amount of coconut milk, until smooth. Then add the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined. Or dump all ingredients together and blend with a stick blender. Make according to your machines instructions.

Of course you’ll have to adjust the quantities to make it in your Play & Freeze.  And you can substitute sugar or another sweetener for the agave syrup.

This is same blogger also made a raspberry coconut ice cream!

Raspberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream

---

Feel free to play around with the recipe, by changing what sweetener you use, taking out the lemon zest, or adding in lemon juice instead (lemon juice won’t be quite as strong as the zest).

2 cans of coconut milk (full fat), whisked until smooth
zest from one lemon (make sure you don’t get any of the bitter pithy white part)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups of raspberries, fresh or frozen (defrosted slightly)
6 tablespoons of agave syrup

Directions: Blend the raspberries in a food processor or blender with a little bit of the coconut milk until completely pureed. Add to the rest of the ingredients and make according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Freeze to “ripen” the flavor for at least a few hours and serve.

Now all I need to do is pick up some tapioca pearls and I can have my own bubble tea milkshakes at home.

Man, now I’m hungry!  Where’s my Play & Freeze?

Fudgesicle Ice Cream
This vegan ice cream is fudgier and icier than real ice cream – very similar in taste and texture to a Fudgesicle. It gets very hard in the freezer so if you have leftovers, plan to leave them out up to 30 minutes (depending on how much you have) to soften before eating.

• 4 cups soy or rice milk
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup unrefined sugar
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (vegan)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine 1/4 cup soy or rice milk with arrowroot and set aside. Pour the remaining 3 3/4 cups milk into a medium pan. Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar. Warm over medium heat until milk begins to simmer. Whisk in the arrowroot mixture. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill in refrigerator at least three hours. Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions.

Makes 1 1/4 quarts

Stevia: Stevia is a very sweet herb from South America that’s available in powder and liquid form at health-food stores. It’s said to be 250x sweeter than sugar so you only need a little bit.

Single Blossom Honey (red clover or orange blossom) or Agave Nectar: both are low-glycemic but high caloric & carbohydrate.

Whey Low® for Ice Cream : This healthful, patented blend of fruit sugar, table sugar, and milk sugar offers an amazing 70 to 80% lower glycemic index, 75% lower caloric value, and 75% lower effective carbohydrate (or net impact carbohydrate) count than sugar when incorporated into sweet dairy products like ice cream.

Natural sugar substitutes should be used in moderation, just like you would regular sugar.

Here’s a great recipe for chocolate ice cream using agave nectar:

From David Lebovitz’s Living the Sweet Life in Paris

CHOCOLATE AGAVE ICE CREAM

10 tablespoons (155 ml) agave nectar
2 ounces (55 g) unsweetened chocolate, very finely chopped
1/3 cup (35 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
3 cups (750 ml) half-and-half, divided
5 large egg yolks
pinch of salt

1. In a small saucepan, warm the agave syrup with the unsweetened chocolate over the lowest heat possible, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and transfer mixtures to a large bowl. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, add 1½ cups (375 ml) of the half-and-half and whisk in the cocoa powder. Cook over moderate heat until the mixture begins to bubble, then simmer for 30 seconds, whisking frequently, making sure to break up any clumps of cocoa powder.

3. Remove from heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl with the chocolate-agave mixture. Stir them together, then set a mesh strainer over the top.

4. Add the remaining half-and-half to the saucepan with a pinch of salt, turn on the heat, and when warm, slowly pour the warm half-and-half into the yolks whisking constantly, then pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.

5. Cook, stirring constantly over moderate heat, until the mixture becomes steamy and thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read about 170-175F degrees. (76-79C).

6. Pour the mixture through the strainer into the chocolate mixture.

7. Stir, then let cool a few minutes until tepid. Once it’s not super hot, whiz the mixture in a blender for ten seconds until it’s smooth and velvety. (Never blend very hot liquids in a blender, since it creates a hot vortex and can cause the liquid to blast out of the top.)

8. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes 1 quart so it’s PERFECT for your PLAY & FREEZE!