Cookie Butter White Chocolate Ice Cream

This homemade ice cream is chock-full of “airplane cookies,” AKA speculoos, and white chocolate fudge pieces. It’s a hit with family during the holidays!

With speculoos cookies and cubes of white chocolate fudge scattered throughout, everyone still somehow found room for cookie butter white chocolate ice cream after a heavy Thanksgiving meal.

With speculoos cookies and cubes of white chocolate fudge scattered throughout, everyone still somehow found room for cookie butter white chocolate ice cream after a heavy Thanksgiving meal.

For years, I’ve been hearing about the majesty of cookie butter: A paste of Belgian cinnamon spice cookies that takes on the texture of peanut butter but the flavor of those cookies that flight attendants hand out as snacks. With how delicious they are, though, the measly two never feel like enough for a whole flight.

This cookie butter white chocolate ice cream satisfies all of those cravings and then some. The rich flavors of spice cookies and white chocolate make this perfect for Thanksgiving, but it’s stick-to-your-bones enough for all of the winter holidays, too, especially Christmas. White chocolate fudge pieces add a little extra unctuousness to really take this over the top, just in case the magic of cookie butter wasn’t enough of a sell. The white chocolate-covered pieces of speculoos cookies also add a crunchy contrast to the rich smoothness of the white chocolate fudge. Really, this is decadence in a scoop. If you’re looking for something light and refreshing, check out my easy strawberry lemonade sorbet or creamy cranberry sorbet instead.

Besides for the taste and texture, the best part of this decadent ice cream is that it’s been formulated for transport! It’s still soft enough to scoop right out of the freezer with a bit of arm strength, but it’s also the perfect texture after it’s been in transit for up to an hour in a cooler with a big ice pack. Get it right into the freezer once you arrive at your destination, and you’re all set. If you can part with some ice cream, don’t forget to offer a little extra to your host as thanks for borrowing their freezer.

Cookie Butter White Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

For the white fudge pieces (adapted from Adrienne Borlongan’s Namelaka Cubes in The World of Ice Cream):

·       2 tablespoons (40 g) corn syrup

·       1 ½ teaspoons (about 1 g) agar flakes, or ½ tsp agar powder

·       ⅓ + 1 tablespoon (90 g) whole milk

·       ¾ cup + ½ tablespoon (180 g) heavy cream

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.54 g) salt

·       1 bar (125 g) white chocolate, chopped (not candy coating; it doesn’t taste as good)

For the cookie pieces:

·       90 g speculoos cookies (I used about ⅓ of the package of Biscoff cookies)

·       1 bar (125 g) white chocolate (not candy coating; it doesn’t taste as good)

For the ice cream base:

·       ⅓ cup (80 g) sugar

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.23 g) xanthan gum

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.54 g) salt

·       About 3 or 4 (50 g) egg yolks

·       1 ⅔ cups (410 g) whole milk

·       ⅔ cup (150 g) cookie butter (I used Biscoff crunchy, but creamy is better)

·       ¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (200 g) heavy cream

Directions

For the white fudge pieces:

1.       Whisk corn syrup, agar, milk, cream, and salt together in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook for at least ten seconds.

2.       Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk in white chocolate until melted.

3.       Line a pan with parchment paper with a bit of overhang to make it easier to lift out the fudge later.

4.       Strain the fudge (this is important!) through a sieve into the parchment-lined pan. Put the pan in the freezer for at least two hours.

5.       After two hours, take the pan out of the freezer and lift the fudge from the pan. If it isn’t solid, put it back into the freezer for another hour. If it is set, cut into ½ inch cubes with a sharp knife, working quickly, then freeze the fudge cubes until ready to use. Important note: I didn’t use all of the fudge pieces in the ice cream, but I did use most of them, at least ¾ of it.

For the cookie pieces:

1.       Crush speculoos cookies into small pieces, about ½ inch or 1 centimeter. It’s easiest to do this in a Ziploc bag.

2.       Put white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring each time, until melted.

3.       Mix crushed cookies into melted white chocolate until everything is coated.

4.       Line a tray with parchment paper. Spread chocolate-covered cookies in a single layer onto the tray. Put in freezer until cookies are set, then pack up in a container and store in the freezer until ready to use.

For the ice cream base:

1.       Mix sugar, xanthan gum, and salt together in a saucepan until everything is evenly distributed. Then, mix in egg yolks.

2.       Whisk in milk and put saucepan over medium heat, whisking until it starts to boil softly or reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

3.       Remove from heat. Stir in cookie butter while ice cream mixture is still warm. Then, gently stir in heavy cream.

4.       Wait for ice cream mixture to cool completely before straining into a container. Cover the container and put in the fridge overnight.

To put together the white chocolate cookie butter ice cream:

1.       Put an empty ice cream container into the freezer.

2.       Churn ice cream base in ice cream machine until it looks like soft serve and the surface of it isn’t shiny anymore.

3.       Take the cookie pieces and fudge pieces out of the freezer.

4.       Take churned ice cream out of machine using a silicone spatula. Put a layer of it into the ice cream container, then sprinkle white fudge and cookie pieces over it. Repeat the process until all of the ice cream and most of the fudge and cookies are used up.

5.       Using a big spoon, scoop from the bottom of the container to the top 3-4 times until mix ins are, well, mixed in.

6.       Sprinkle remaining fudge and cookies on top, then cover and freeze until ready to eat.

Notes

Agar comes from seaweed. I wanted to use agar powder, but I couldn’t get ahold of the agar powder company to ask if the seaweed was grown around fish or shellfish. As a result, I couldn’t confirm its safety for my family with seafood allergies. It probably would have been fine, but I wanted to be safe, so I used the agar flakes from Eden Foods instead. The representative from Eden Foods was very kind and answered my questions to the best of their ability. They couldn’t confirm it for 100% certain, but they said that to the best of their knowledge, there weren’t any fish where their seaweed was grown. My relatives who are allergic to seafood both ate this ice cream without issue. If you’re serving this ice cream to someone who is allergic to seafood, let them make an informed decision on whether or not they want to partake.

FAQ

Q: Can I use a different type of cookie instead of Biscoff?

A: Yes, definitely! Any crunchy speculoos cookie will work, but honestly, you could use any crunchy cookie for this. You would, however, need to look up a homemade cookie butter recipe to match your chosen cookie.

Q: Are there any dietary restrictions I should be aware of when making this ice cream?

A: See Notes for details about agar and how it might relate to seafood allergies. Besides for that, this recipe is obviously not suitable for vegans. It is, however, suitable for vegetarians.

Q: Can this recipe be made without an ice cream maker?

A: No. However, you might have some luck by mixing cookie butter with the condensed milk listed in a no-churn recipe.

Q: Can white chocolate chips be substituted for the white chocolate bars?

A: It is not recommended to use white chocolate chips, as they typically retain their shape instead of melting like white chocolate bars.

DISCLAIMER: This post has not been sponsored by Ziploc or Biscoff. Any opinions stated are my own.