Orange Sherbet with Sugar Cookie Spoons

You know that refreshing, tart-sweet flavor of store bought orange sherbet?

Mmmmm...sherbet.

Make it yourself and you get refreshing and tart-sweet times ten plus an incredibly fresh flavor.

I found the little cookie spoons in Martha Stewart Living. They are so cute. The kids will love them (as will the adults). Make a few per person. You will probably break one or two.

After all, you'll be eating this sherbet with gusto.

Sally's Orange Sherbet
6 cups FRESH SQUEEZED* orange juice, strained (I bought a box of oranges from Costco and used about 3/4 of the box...sorry, I should have counted the oranges)
1 1/2 cups FRESH SQUEEZED* lemon juice, strained
4 to 4 1/2 cups sugar (depending on the sweetness of your oranges)
3 cups whipping cream
6 cups whole milk

Mix all together and freeze in a six quart ice cream freezer. (I have a four quart maker, so I split it into two batches.)

*Some of you may be asking "Can I use store bought orange juice if it's 'not from concentrate'?"

Sorry. No.

All I have is a little hand held juicer, but I juiced and I juiced (and I juiced). It probably took me thirty minutes or so. But believe me, the sacrifice is well worth it.
Sugar Cookie Spoons
adapted from Martha Stewart Living
Makes about 30 cookies
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 T cream or milk (my addition...see below)

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until dough comes together. (I made two batches. The first batch I made as written and my dough was quite dry and crumbly and rather difficult to work with. The second batch, I added a tablespoon of cream and it made a world of difference. The dough was soft and rolled out beautifully. You can play it by ear. The taste and texture of both batches was the same.) Shape dough into 2 disks, wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days).
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out 1 disk of dough to just less than an inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a paring knife, cut out spoon shapes, each about 3 inches long. (I looked around for a spoon shaped cookie cutter, but couldn't find one. Go to your baking supply store and see what they have. A tennis racket would work perfectly. I found a guitar shaped cutter and manipulated it into a spoon shape.)
Transfer to baking sheets. Roll out scraps, and repeat once. (I took a cookie baking class from an expert cookie baker once and she gave the same advice. Roll your dough out more than twice and your cookies will be tough.)
Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, about 12 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining dough.

Cinco de Mayo Ice Cream

The other day, the cyclist took our family on a bike ride around Antelope Island. How is it that I have lived in Utah all my life and never visited?
On the car ride back, we were listening to The Splendid Table. Man, that Lynne Rossetto Kasper makes everything sound delicious. She has such an enthusiasm for food. My mouth waters just listening to her.
She was talking about avocados. She mentioned that her favorite way to eat an avocado was mixed with lime, jalapenos, and vanilla ice cream.
The cyclist turned to me and said, "We have to make that."
It just sounded so interesting. And did I mention Lynne Rosetto Kasper has a gift for food speak? She may in fact be a hypnotist.

It was so different, and so good.
Try this the next time you have a few ripe avocados. The lime zest and juice give it a delicious tang. The avocado is creamy and rich. Jalapeno adds just enough kick. And who doesn't like vanilla ice cream? We will definitely make it again when the weather heats up. Perfect for a late, hot night dessert in the back yard.

Sweet Avocado-Green Chili Ice Cream
Adapted from The Splendid Table
Serves 6 to 8

1 to 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, minced (I saved the ribs and seeds and added them to taste...I actually added quite a bit)
Shredded zest of 1 large lime
Juice from 1 large lime
2 ripe, dark-skinned avocados, peeled and mashed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch salt
1 quart good-quality vanilla ice cream, softened

1. In a large bowl, combine the peppers, zest, lime juice, avocado, vanilla, sugar and salt. Work in the ice cream so mixture is well blended.

2. Freeze the ice cream, covered, up to one day.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Homemade Ice Cream is completely worth the effort. Trust me.

This is a variation of a basic vanilla ice cream recipe

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
7 whole cinnamon sticks
8 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine milk, cream, 1/4 cup of each sugar, and cinnamon in large heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and cover. Let stand for one hour to steep. Strain the mixture; discard the cinnamon sticks. Return the milk mixture to the saucepan.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat egg yolks and remaining sugar until well blended and thick. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer. With mixer on low speed, whisk 2 cups of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture; return to the saucepan. Stir the mixture over medium-low heat with a wooden spoon, until it thickens and becomes a custard that will leave a path on the back of the wooden spoon when a finger is drawn across it -- do not allow the mixture to boil! Pour through a strainer into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or waxed paper directly on the surface of the custard. Chill until very cold, at least 8 hours.

Stir the chilled custard mixture. Pour into container of ice cream maker and mix until thickened, about 25 - 30 minutes*. Turn the machine OFF. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in the freezer for about 2 hours (or longer) until firm. If made ahead, take ice cream out of freezer 10- 15 minutes before serving.

*I use a Cuisinart counter-top ice cream maker. I don't know how long it would take to freeze in a back porch freezer with the ice and rock salt. Check after about 30.