7 June 2014

Peanut butter & ice cream sandwiches

So I said I'd be back to share what I did with all that yummy homemade ice cream from my last post.

I give you peanut butter & ice cream sandwiches!


It seems ice cream sandwiches are a big trend for this summer, it's essentially a scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two cookies, what could possibly be better than that?  Peanut butter is one of my all time favourite things, so I baked a batch of peanut butter cookies as the perfect compliment to my homemade vanilla ice cream.

For the cookies you'll need...

50g unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
50g soft brown sugar
50g peanut butter (Peanut Butter & Co is my favourite as it uses no added oil)
1 egg
100g self raising flour

1. Cream together the butter, sugars & peanut butter until smooth & fluffy, then beat in the egg.

2. Stir in the flour until you have a soft cookie dough

3. Roll into balls about 2cm wide, flatten slightly, then place on a lined baking sheet.

4. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for around 12-15 minutes.  Keep an eye on them so they don't over brown.

5.  Leave to cool thoroughly & crisp up before constructing your sandwich

When you're ready to use, simply sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies & serve immediately.  You can also add extra ingredients, what ever you fancy really?


I rolled the edge of one of the sandwiches in grated milk chocolate for an added indulgence!  I also added some strawberry jam at the request of hubby (he does have a good food idea every now & then!)  Just spread some jam on the insides of the cookies before sandwiching together.  I have to say that was my favourite combination, but then I'm a sucker for anything with peanut butter & jam.  I can definitely recommend my peanut butter & jam cupcakes if you haven't tried them?

You do get in a bit of a mess eating these, but then I guess that's half the fun!  Till next time, Rebecca x

1 June 2014

Having a go at homemade ice cream

A few months back I joined the marketing team for an ice cream brand, lucky girl I know!  It's been quite an education learning about what's in the tub & what real ice cream actually is?  What I've discovered is that it should be pretty pure & simple, just milk or cream, eggs & sugar.

But the reality is in fact quite different & there have been a few things that have genuinely surprised me about the ice cream industry.  Here are my top facts I've been boring everyone with!

  • Many ice CREAMS don't actually contain any real CREAM, some use vegetable fats, reconstituted skimmed milk & even water
  • The official regulation states ice cream must contain 5% dairy ingredients to be called dairy ice cream. So in a 100g tub, that's only 5g of dairy, makes you wonder what the other 95g are?
  • Soft scoop products are created by whipping in a huge amount of air, which last time I checked was a free ingredient!

So with all this in mind & fuelled by my usual curiosity, I thought I'd have a go at making my own. I chose Mary Berry's no churn recipe as it seemed straight forward & didn't need an ice cream maker.  You can find the original recipe here.  It was incredibly simple to follow, whisk egg whites, whisk cream, fold together, freeze!


The result was delicious & simple,  it had a lovely creamy taste & soft texture that melted slowly.  But I have to be honest it's not going to make me stop buying ice cream (especially when my brand tastes so good!) What it has done is demonstrated to me what ice cream should be & as many of us are now more mindful of what we eat, I encourage you all to take a look at your tub & consider the ingredients.  The choice is ours, but lets at least know what we're eating!

Next time find out what I did with my tub of homemade ice cream, trust me it's going to be delicious! Rebecca x



7 June 2014

Peanut butter & ice cream sandwiches

So I said I'd be back to share what I did with all that yummy homemade ice cream from my last post.

I give you peanut butter & ice cream sandwiches!


It seems ice cream sandwiches are a big trend for this summer, it's essentially a scoop of ice cream sandwiched between two cookies, what could possibly be better than that?  Peanut butter is one of my all time favourite things, so I baked a batch of peanut butter cookies as the perfect compliment to my homemade vanilla ice cream.

For the cookies you'll need...

50g unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
50g soft brown sugar
50g peanut butter (Peanut Butter & Co is my favourite as it uses no added oil)
1 egg
100g self raising flour

1. Cream together the butter, sugars & peanut butter until smooth & fluffy, then beat in the egg.

2. Stir in the flour until you have a soft cookie dough

3. Roll into balls about 2cm wide, flatten slightly, then place on a lined baking sheet.

4. Bake in the oven at 180c/GM4 for around 12-15 minutes.  Keep an eye on them so they don't over brown.

5.  Leave to cool thoroughly & crisp up before constructing your sandwich

When you're ready to use, simply sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two cookies & serve immediately.  You can also add extra ingredients, what ever you fancy really?


I rolled the edge of one of the sandwiches in grated milk chocolate for an added indulgence!  I also added some strawberry jam at the request of hubby (he does have a good food idea every now & then!)  Just spread some jam on the insides of the cookies before sandwiching together.  I have to say that was my favourite combination, but then I'm a sucker for anything with peanut butter & jam.  I can definitely recommend my peanut butter & jam cupcakes if you haven't tried them?

You do get in a bit of a mess eating these, but then I guess that's half the fun!  Till next time, Rebecca x

1 June 2014

Having a go at homemade ice cream

A few months back I joined the marketing team for an ice cream brand, lucky girl I know!  It's been quite an education learning about what's in the tub & what real ice cream actually is?  What I've discovered is that it should be pretty pure & simple, just milk or cream, eggs & sugar.

But the reality is in fact quite different & there have been a few things that have genuinely surprised me about the ice cream industry.  Here are my top facts I've been boring everyone with!

  • Many ice CREAMS don't actually contain any real CREAM, some use vegetable fats, reconstituted skimmed milk & even water
  • The official regulation states ice cream must contain 5% dairy ingredients to be called dairy ice cream. So in a 100g tub, that's only 5g of dairy, makes you wonder what the other 95g are?
  • Soft scoop products are created by whipping in a huge amount of air, which last time I checked was a free ingredient!

So with all this in mind & fuelled by my usual curiosity, I thought I'd have a go at making my own. I chose Mary Berry's no churn recipe as it seemed straight forward & didn't need an ice cream maker.  You can find the original recipe here.  It was incredibly simple to follow, whisk egg whites, whisk cream, fold together, freeze!


The result was delicious & simple,  it had a lovely creamy taste & soft texture that melted slowly.  But I have to be honest it's not going to make me stop buying ice cream (especially when my brand tastes so good!) What it has done is demonstrated to me what ice cream should be & as many of us are now more mindful of what we eat, I encourage you all to take a look at your tub & consider the ingredients.  The choice is ours, but lets at least know what we're eating!

Next time find out what I did with my tub of homemade ice cream, trust me it's going to be delicious! Rebecca x