With summer on the horizon, we are getting ready to make anything and everything herb infused, including ice cream sandwiches! This incredible recipe from Loria of Eat Your Flowers is a fun and delicious way to enjoy the nerve soothing, skin nourishing properties of Blue Butterfly Pea 🦋
Makes: 20 mini ice cream sandwiches
For the blue flower shortbread cookies:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks/339 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (8g)
- 3 large egg yolks (45g)
- 2 tablespoons (25 g) pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups (611 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon Butterfly Blue Pea Flower
- 2 cups mixed edible flower petals and tender herbs
- Line 2 flexible cutting mats with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and salt on medium speed until completely combined, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the yolks and mix until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until just combined. In a separate bowl, combine butterfly pea powder with the flour and sift until evenly mixed. Add the flour into the egg butter mixture and mix on low speed until the dough comes together in a ball, about 5 minutes.
- Place the dough on a large sheet of parchment paper. Place another piece of parchment on top and roll out the dough to 1/3” inch thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and stamp out the cookies with a 1 or 2-inch round cookie cutter, then artfully decorate each round with the edible flower petals and herbs. Replace the top sheet of parchment paper and gently roll over each cookie to fix the flowers in place. One by one, remove the flower-pressed cookies with an offset spatula and place them on a parchment-lined flexible cutting mat. Reroll and repeat with any remaining dough scraps.
- Put the flexible mats with the unbaked cookies in layers in the freezer for 4 hours.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack set in the middle position. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Arrange the cookies on the prepared sheet pan, leaving 1/4-inch space between them. Bake for 7 minutes; rotate the pan and bake for another 8 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
For the blue ice cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream (480g)
- 2/3 cup whole milk (160g)
- 2/3 cups sugar (133g_
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large whole eggs
- 1 tablespoon butterfly blue pea powder
- Bring cream, milk, salt, and sugar just to a boil, stirring occasionally, and remove pan from heat and then stir in butterfly pea powder and whisk until combined
- In a large bowl lightly beat eggs. Add hot cream mixture to eggs in a slow stream, whisking, and pour into the pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until a thermometer registers 170°F. (Do not let it boil.) Pour custard through a sieve into a clean bowl and cool. Chill custard, covering the surface with plastic or a beeswax wrap (only if the custard is at room temperature) for at least 3 hours, or until cold, and up to 1 day.
- Freeze custard in an ice-cream maker. Then, prep your flowers to add petals. It looks best if the florals are a variety of colors. Add 3 scoops of the frozen ice cream into your container, then a layer of the first flower petals and then repeat, 3 scoops of custard, flower petals, repeat, repeat. Make sure the sides of your container are clean so that the petals can be seen through the container. As for the flower petals— I like using scissors and cutting the petals directly on top of the cream, that way I can control how large the petals are-- the goal should be petals the size of a dime. You don’t have to use different flower petals, one variety of flower will work beautifully. Place a lid on your container and put in the freezer to harden overnight.
To assemble ice cream sandwiches:
Scoop ice cream with a tablespoon and nestle in between two shortbread cookies. Serve immediately or put back into the freezer as the ice cream will melt.
