Friday, June 29, 2018

Giant Chipwich Cake

Who doesn't like an ice cream sandwich? Creamy deliciousness between two cookies, what's not to like? 
But how can you make an ice cream sandwich even better? Make two different flavor cookies for the outside and then supersize it! 
I wanted to enjoy this epic summer dessert on Shabbat so I wanted to make this pareve, but I really don't enjoy the flavor of pareve whipped cream that most people usually use to make pareve ice cream and I also don't like that I don't recognize the ingredients in the pareve whipped cream. By using coconut milk you have a great flavor and no weird ingredients. 


This dessert has a few steps to it, but none of them are difficult and it doesn't take too long to put together. 
The cookie flavors I used are classic chocolate chip and peanut butter, but feel free to change it up and use your favorite cookies! 
I decorated the ice cream sandwich with rainbow sprinkles as this was for a friend's birthday and sprinkles always make birthdays more fun, but you can go classic chipwich and use mini chocolate chips or anything else your heart desires 
I left the ice cream flavor as plain vanilla, but you can make chocolate by adding some cocoa, mint chocolate chip by adding some mint extract and chocolate chunks. Fold in some tasty treats like cookie dough chunks, chocolate covered pretzels, roasted peanuts, and marshmallows. Basically, go crazy and have some fun with it! 



Chocolate Chip Cookie 

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil 
1 egg 
1 tsp vanilla 
1/2 tsp baking soda 
1 1/2 cup flour 
1/4 tsp salt 
1 cup chocolate chips (I like to use a mix of both white and dark) 

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C 
Line the bottom of a 9 inch round pan with parchment and grease well with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together all the ingredients until well combined. 
Press the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. The cookie might seem under baked but don't worry it's perfect. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then flip out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. 

The recipe for the chocolate chip cookie is from the Kosher Palette for chocolate chip cookie sticks which by the way is always a great recipe to have on hand as they come together in minutes and everyone likes them! Important note about the recipe: if you are making the chocolate chips sticks, form the dough into two logs on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 18 minutes not 20-25 as the original recipe states and only wait a couple of minutes to slice into sticks this will result in soft and chewy chocolate chip sticks and not crunchy brittle. 

Peanut Butter Cookie 

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg 
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla 

Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C 
Line the bottom of a 9-inch round pan with parchment and grease well with non-stick cooking spray.
Mix together all the ingredients until well combined. 
Press the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. The cookie might seem under baked but don't worry it's perfect. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then flip out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. 

Vegan Ice Cream 

2 cans coconut cream (not milk and definitely not water you need the higher fat content) 
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar 
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt 

Chill the coconut cream in the can in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight this will make sure the solids stay thick at the top and the coconut water settles on the bottom. While you're already chilling the cans you should also chill the bowl and beaters that you'll be whipping the cream in. 
When you're ready to make the ice cream, carefully open the cans and scoop out the thick solids into the chilled mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and whip until thick and creamy. 
Line a 9-inch baking pan with plastic wrap with a lot of overhanging plastic wrap and pour the whipped cream into the lined pan. Take the overhanging pieces of plastic wrap and cover the whipped cream making sure that the cream is pressed well into all the edges of the pan. Pop the pan in the freezer for about 2 hours until the ice cream has set. 

To assemble:
Place a giant cookie on a serving platter and top with the disc of ice cream once it's been removed from the plastic wrap. Top with the second cookie and then have fun decorating! Freeze until an hour before you are ready to eat. An hour before you are ready to enjoy put the giant ice cream cookie in the fridge so the cookies and ice cream can soften a bit and will be easier to serve. Make sure to use a very sharp knife to cut through the thick layers of yumminess! 








Monday, June 4, 2018

Spicy Watermelon Salad

Watermelon is the quintessential summer snack. It's sweet, hydrating, and oh so refreshing.
After consuming a great deal of watermelon one shabbos afternoon, I started thinking if it can be served as a side dish and be an actual part of the meal as opposed to just being a snack or dessert.

Watermelon can definitely be savory, it's delicious served with feta or Bulgarit cheese, but I wanted to have it in a pareve dish. So I turned to Asian flavors for some spice to balance out the watermelon's sweetness. When you mix the watermelon with soy sauce, sriracha, ginger, roasted peanuts and some fresh herbs you end up with the perfect summer salad.

Sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy you'll be munching on this all summer long.


Spicy Watermelon Salad

Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha
1/2 inch ginger peeled and minced
4 cups watermelon cut into bite-size cubes- about 1 quarter of a large watermelon
1/2 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped
2 green onions, sliced
Zest of 1 lime
2 Tbs toasted white sesame seeds
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped



In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, jalapeƱo, and ginger. In a large bowl toss the watermelon with the mint, green onion, lime zest, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Pour the dressing over the watermelon and toss to coat.