Friday, June 8, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Olive Oil Ice Cream


Today's recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group is Olive Oil Ice Cream. At first, that might sound a little bit strange but then again, it does not, because olive oil has become a rather prominent ingredient in a lot of different dessert recipes.




Once you have read through Dorie's recipe for the Olive Oil Ice Cream, you realize that it is a clear and easy recipe, much like preparing vanilla ice cream and since the ingredient list is rather short, the most important step is getting a good quality olive oil with a mild flavor, no peppery taste wanted in that ice cream. I went with my tried and true organic cold pressed olive oil, although I think I drove the clerk to the brink of exasperation because I would not stop bugging him about finding an olive oil that would be even better suited to ice cream making.




To make the ice cream, you simply prepare a basic custard with milk, cream, eggs, sugar and a pinch of fleur de sel and only than do you add the well chosen olive oil and the vanilla (instead of the vanilla extract, I used the seeds from a vanilla pod). Cool the custard, then transfer to the fridge, then to the ice cream maker, than finally in the freezer overnight.

Dorie suggests a whole number of things that you can serve with the ice cream. Apparently, trendy chefs in Paris serve the olive oil ice cream with a drizzle of olive oil and a few flakes of fleur de sel. When I read this, I decided to serve a bit of olive oil and fleur de sel on the side - for those adventurous enough to try this combo.





And I decided to bake some Chocolate Olive Oil Cookies using the same olive oil as I used in the ice cream. I have baked my share of cakes and cookies with olive oil in lieu  of butter. Using olive oil is a familiar feature of Mediterranean baking. Using olive oil in baking has actually been done for centuries. Olive oil gives cakes and cookies a light texture and using a mild extra-virgin olive oil when baking gives the baked goods a subtle flavor.





Recipe for Chocolate Olive Oil Cookies
(adapted from "The Olive Harvest Cookbook: Olive Oil Lore and Recipes from McEvoy Ranch" by G. Gass and Jacqueline Mallorca, p. 153)

Ingredients for the Cookies

3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Lindt 70% Excellence)
1 2/3 cups AP flour
1 cup superfine sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
one pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon (from Ceylon, if possible)
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp cognac

Sanding sugar, for rolling


Preparation
1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  Set aside and let cool until lukewarm.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, vanilla and the Cognac.
4.  Add this to the dry mixture.  Add the melted chocolate and stir until the mixture comes together into a uniform mass.
5. Using your hands, roll the dough into ball about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. Roll and cover completely in sugar, and place them 2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheets.
6. Use your palm to very gently flatten the cookies a bit. Bake the cookies about 12 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely.





The Olive Oil Ice Cream was a huge success at our house. The kids were curious to get a taste of the ice cream and they loved the way it tasted but no additional olive oil or fleur de sel as a topping for them, just the ice cream and the cookies. The ice cream had a very pretty color (influenced, no doubt, by the kind of egg yolks and olive oil that you use) and it tasted wonderfully rich and creamy, with a hint of vanilla (may be a bit more so because I used vanilla seeds)  a bit of fruity taste from the olive oil, a little bit of saltiness.

I believe that I have found a new favorite ice cream. The only thing that I liked even more than the taste, is the fact of being able to replace some of the cream with olive oil – I just love that idea. With only a few ingredients, the ice cream will taste its best when it is made with a really good oil, one that you really like. And the cookies harmonized very well with the ice cream, they are not overly sweet with a crumbly texture, a bit like shortbread with the added crunch from the sanding sugar. A nice addition to the ice cream and I love the fact that I get to use the same wonderful olive oil for both these treats.

To see how the other adventurous Doristas prepared the Olive Oil Ice Cream, please click here.


34 comments:

  1. Great idea to make the cookies. I used a very peppery olive oil and adored it that way. It made it perfect for the lemony oil I served with it and the chopped strawberries I had on hand too. Great job and great photos.

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    1. Peppery oil in the ice cream and lemony oil for serving - that sounds very adventurous, great ideas!

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  2. What a great dessert, Andrea! Those cookies look scrumptious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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    1. Thanks, Adriana - your macaroons looked pretty delicious too!

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  3. Love the idea of the chocolate olive oil cookies with this delicious ice cream!

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    1. Thank you, Guyla - the recipe for the chocolate olive oil cookies sounded so intriguing, I just had to bake those cookies.

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  4. You're killing me with those adorable little bowls for the oil & salt! Love them! I also really loved this recipe and will definitely be making it again. Always a pleasure to see your beautiful photos!

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    1. Thank you, Maggie - I got the mini bowls at a French porcelain shop, I just love those "mini serving things".

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  5. I think your cookies are what really makes this dessert... thanks for sharing that recipe.

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    1. Diane, the cookies were nice with this ice cream, I am glad that I made them.

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  6. Chocolate cookies with olive oil, how interesting. I love olive oil so much, I didn´t care to use a strong one for the ice cream, and still liked it. Love the idea of the oil and the salt in little bowls! I should try the cookies. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thank you Paula - the chocolate fudge sauce that you served with the ice cream looked pretty delicious too.

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  7. I had a bunch of chocolate and peanut butter cookies I made the other day that I had wanted to sandwich the ice cream with, but in the rush to style and shoot the ice cream (not my favorite thing to do in our hot weather here!), I completely forgot about it! Saying that, I really like your pairing the ice cream with the olive oil cookies...so consistent and so delicious :)

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    1. Maya, your ice cream pie sure looked fantastic to me - what a creative idea you had there, again!

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  8. Such a great idea to make chocolate olive oil cookies with this, Andrea! Both your ice cream and cookies look wonderful!

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    1. Thank you, Elaine - your chocolate brownies looked wonderful with the ice cream too!

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  9. I used a vanilla bean, also. I love those little flecks. We thought this was really delicious and is a nice beginning to our ice cream making season. Those cookies look really yummy and would be just the right thing for the ice cream. You can't go wrong with chocolate and vanilla.

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    1. I agree, chocolate (in whatever shape or form: cookies, brownies, sauce, etc.) goes well with this olive oil ice cream.

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  10. Your cookies look like a perfect accompaniment to this ice cream! Love your presentation…lovely!! We really enjoyed this and I will definitely be making it again! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Kathy, it is so nice to see that so many Doristas and their families enjoyed this ice cream!

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  11. Your ice cream looks wonderfrul! So interesting the flavor. I never would have thought to make olive oil ice cream. The chocolate cookies sound amazing!! Putting them on my list of things to try!

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    1. Thank you, Beth. I can honestly say, that the cookies are certainly worth a try.

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  12. Gorgeous cookies. Bet they made a great accompaniment.

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    1. Rose, yes, the cookies were good - hope you are feeling a bit better this week!

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  13. Your pictures are beautiful! I love the idea of the chocolate olive oil cookies to go with this yummy ice cream, I will definitely have to make the cookies!

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    1. Thanks, Erin - you certainly did a wonderful job without an ice cream maker!

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  14. Love love loved this post of yours. Your photos are great and I have those cute little white bowls too but didn't think to use them (ok, hello Thurs night recipe making rush....) This was not an easy item to photograph and yours turned out lovely. Nana and I did not know what to expect and were pleasantly surprised. We clearly also need more homemade ice cream in our futures. And those cookies - off the charts !!! Thank you so much for including the recipe. A perfect combo and I may even try them this weekend :)

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    1. Tricia, I agree, there just has to be more homemade ice cream in our futures, the sooner the better!

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  15. Beautiful presentation! Those cookies look fantastic, too.

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    1. Teresa, thank you very much - the almond sole meunière that you prepared on Friday looked wonderful!

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    2. I finally made this ice cream last week and enjoyed it very much. I wish I'd stopped by this post first, though, because those cookies would have made it an even better experience, I think.

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  16. I've seen olive oil cakes, but never cookies (and definitely not chocolate ones). How interesting. Could you taste the olive oil in the cookies? They look excellent, as does your ice cream. I actually really liked the ice cream topped with salt and a drizzle of olive oil.

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    1. Yes, you could taste a hint of the olive oil, which is excactly why I liked the cookies so much - but the taste that they will end up having depends entirely on the kind of olive oil (and the chocolate, of course) that you use.

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  17. Absolutely, Andrea, bug the hell out of the clerks to find exactly what you want. I think they actually like a earnest and interested customer. I felt as you did regarding the ice cream - just delicious and creamy and better for us than totally "creamed". And, my granddaughters (who arrived from California just as I brought out my batch from the freezer) loved the taste. I was very surprised. And, thank you for the cookie recipe. I even think the cookies would be good, crumbled, and used as a "bed" for the scoop of ice cream. One of the other FFWD gals did that with brownies and it looked yummy. Nice for kids. Keep cooking and baking, my dear, and keep giving us recipes from your favorite cookbooks. I love that.

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