Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Ice Cream Sandwiches

Okay... let me go Racheal Ray on you for a minute and say YUM-O! These ice cream sandwiches are so delicious! I found the graham cookie recipe at Tender Crumb when Linda used the cookies to make sandwiches with the Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream from TWD. The pics looked so delicious that I bookmarked the site so that I would remember to make these soon!

Instead of the blueberry ice cream, I used Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Ice Cream from Salt and Chocolate. I figured cheesecake and graham crackers go great together. And let me tell you, this is no different! What an amazing ice cream sandwich!

Graham Cookies

3/4 C graham cracker crumbs
1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 C butter, softened
1/2 C shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Mix graham cracker crumbs, flour, and baking powder in bowl. Add milk and butter. Fold in coconut. Dough will be sticky. Press into parchment lined 8x8 pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Ice Cream

8 oz of cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of half and half
2/3 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste

Pinch of saltIn a blender or food processor add the sour cream, cream cheese, half and half, sugar, vanilla bean paste and salt. Blend until smooth and then chill in the refrigerator. Then freeze it your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

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To assemble cookies: Use round cookie cutter to cut cookies. Spread ice cream into baking pan; freeze solid. Use same cookie cutter to cut ice cream. Assemble cookies quickly and re-freeze. ENJOY!

My First Blog Award!!!

WOW! What a wonderful thing to wake up to! And, yes, I mean "wake up"to! Eric only woke up to eat once last night! WOO HOO! But... that is a different subject!

This morning I woke up to a comment to check out Sherry Trifle and was overjoyed to see that she has given me this award! I feel so loved and I am so happy to know that others are not only reading my blog but enjoying it as well!

Thank you so much, Heather!!!

And I will pass this on to others soon. Promise. But Eric is now done eating and Anya needs breakfast! Busy, busy, busy!!!

Herbed Artichoke Cheese Tortellini

Yes, yes... I know that isn't tortellini. I didn't realize until I was making dinner that I grabbed ravioli instead of tortellini. No big deal, though. Everything still worked out!

I found this recipe in the July/August issue of Taste of Home "Simple & Delicious". It was easy to put together and it didn't take much longer than 15-20 minutes. Was it good? Yes. Will I make it again? Probably not. The reason... It didn't knock my socks off. It was good, but there are so many recipes that I want to try so making a meal again that wasn't spectacular the first time isn't something I want to do!

I am posting the recipe because it tasted good and who knows... it may knock your socks off!

Herbed Artichoke Tortellini

2 cans (14.5 oz each) Italian diced tomatoes

2 jars (6.5 oz each) marinated artichoke hearts, quartered

2 packages (9 oz each) refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cups chopped onions

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

2-4 TBSP minced fresh basil OR 2-4 tsp dried basil

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup olive oil

1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives, drained

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Drain tomatoes, reserving 2/3 cup juice; set aside. Drain artichokes, reserving 3/4 cup liquid. Chop artichokes and set aside.

Cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onions, parsley, basil, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes in oil for 4-5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add the reserved tomatoes, tomato juice, and artichoke liquid.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes or until slightly thickened. Drain tortellini; add to tomato mixture. Stir in the olives, salt, and artichokes; heat through. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Serves 8.

TWD: Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

This weeks selection was chosen by Rachel of "Confessions of a Tangerine Tart" and the recipe can be found on page 85 of "Baking: From My Home To Yours" or at Rachel's blog.

I was really excited about this recipe because not only do I love Whoppers, I actually had them in the house! The dough was super easy to throw together and it was very fudgy. I found myself eating it straight out of the bowl, although that is true of most cookie dough so I can't honestly say it was because of the cookies! :)

Truth be told, I liked the dough better than the final product. Don't get me wrong, these cookies are incredibly delicious, especially for all you chocoholics! My problem came from the Whoppers. That's right... the candy that I enjoy so much turns hard when cooked and becomes almost toffee-like. I don't like toffee... not in the least! So, I still ate the cookies (let's not get crazy!), but next time I make them (and there will be a next time!), I will sub white chocolate chips or peanut butter chips for the Whoppers. Sure, that changes the cookie and I wouldn't be able to call it by the proper name, but at least I won't have crunchies in my cookies!

Thanks, Rachel, for a great choice! Don't forget to check out the TWD blogroll to find out how everyone else fared.

Orange Glazed Blueberry Scones

I know, I know.... Another scone. But when I get obsessed with something, I can't help myself! I just ordered a scone cookbook from Amazon, too, so here is your warning. Many a scones will be appearing here! :)

This recipe comes from Tyler Florence. They were so tasty! The orange glaze reminded me of Froot Loops. That isn't a negative thing, though! I make these orange mini muffins just because they taste like Froot Loops! I don't buy sugar cereal (nor do I really eat cereal period), so I like that I now have two recipes that remind me of it!

I'd say the only negative thing about this recipe is that you are supposed to wait for the scones to cool before glazing and then wait for the glaze to harden. Um.... do they not know me??? I have to eat these right out of the oven! And to be honest, I didn't notice much of a difference between the one I ate right out of the oven and the half of one I ate 15 minutes later! So, eat them whenever you choose!

*Note: I used buttermilk and frozen blueberries. I cut them into triangles (this recipe only makes 1 disc, so no need to halve!) as opposed to dropping them in mounds. Maybe I'll try that next time! Also, I cut the glaze recipe in half and it was PLENTY!*


Orange Glazed Blueberry Scones

2 cups unbleached flour, plus more for rolling berries
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut in chunks
3/4 cup buttermilk or cream
1 egg
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar; mix thoroughly. Cut in butter using 2 forks or a pastry blender. The butter pieces should be coated with flour and resemble crumbs.

In another bowl, mix buttermilk and egg together, and then add to the flour mixture. Mix just to incorporate, do no overwork the dough. Roll blueberries in flour to coat, this will help prevent the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the scone when baked. Fold the blueberries into batter, being careful not to bruise. Drop large tablespoons of batter on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until brown. Cool before applying orange glaze.

Orange Glaze:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 oranges, juiced and zested

To prepare Orange Glaze: combine butter, sugar, orange zest, and juice over a double boiler. Cook until butter and sugar are melted and mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and beat until smooth and slightly cool. Drizzle or brush on top of scones and let glaze get hazy and hardened.