Oreo cookies may be 100 years old, but for folks who are kosher, this (probably most beloved) American packaged cookie is a mere sweet 15. It became kosher back in 1997.
That was a huge huge deal. Not just because now, at last, kosher-keepers could finally have a taste and share in the almost magical powers behind that thick disk of white icing sandwiched between two fudgy wafers. But also because koshering Oreos opened up avenues heretofore unexplored by Nabisco and hundreds of other food manufacturers.
Since that time there’s been a flood tide of products, thousands of them, with kosher certification. That’s good for business. And it also made it possible for people who like to branch out and cook creatively — and are also kosher — to do so.
I should also mention the benefit of that kosher label for those who are vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant or allergic. Because kosher canned, jarred and packaged good labels specify ingredients, and state whether they contain any meat or dairy ingredients.
Everyone wins.
There are all sorts of Oreo recipes of course and those are a good thing too. But last weekend when my family stayed over the one Oreo recipe my grandson Zev and his sister Nina wanted to make was Oreo Cookie Ice Cream. And so we did.
We also added chocolate chips because, the kids said, you can never have too much of a good thing.
Also, they wanted to include gummy bears, which we did, but discovered that those candies get too hard to eat when they’re frozen, so we know better for next time.
Here’s the recipe we used. I wanted to get a photo but it was all gone before I remembered the camera.
Oreo Cookie Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2-inch piece vanilla bean (or use 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
4 cups half and half cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
8 Oreo cookies, crushed
24 chocolate chips
Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, place it in a saucepan with the cream and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until hot (bubbles form around the sides of the pan). Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a bowl and hand mixer) combine sugar and egg yolks and beat at medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale in color. Gradually pour the hot cream into the egg-sugar mixture and stir (use a wooden spoon or other similar utensil, not a whisk or beater) until the mixture is well blended. Return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat. Let cool, remove the vanilla bean and chill the mixture in the refrigerator. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. When the mixture is thick and almost ice cream, add the crushed cookies and chips and continue to mix until very thick. Place in the freezer until firm. Makes about 1-1/2 quarts
Note: if you use vanilla extract, add it after the initial cooling, just before you refrigerate the mixture
