Homemade Java Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches with Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans & Chocolate Macaron Cookies

Homemade Java Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches with Chocolate Covered 

Espresso Beans & Chocolate Macaron Cookies 

I'm finally done with Summer school, yayyyyyy :) I know I was supposed to post a recipe yesterday, but I had my final day of class and I was just super busy. And to top all of that, I have a really bad ear infection. So bad that it's causing me to have vertigo, meaning I can barely move without passing out or getting nauseated. Great way to celebrate being done, right? Nope. But, I have a recipe for y'all today and I'll post another one tomorrow... make sure to check back! 


Anyway, it's as hot as the dickens outside, which automatically causes me to crave ice cream. And I really love to make ice cream, it's just so much fun and the flavor combinations are endless. Lately though, I have been really wanting to make coffee ice cream. I would say that's one of my top three favorite flavors. Especially Starbucks' Java Chip. I crave that smooth coffee flavor with the bits of dark chocolate studded throughout the container. But, being a coffee fanatic, I knew that when I decided to make my own homemade version of Java Chip that I had to make it with a stronger coffee flavor...


By the way, have y'all ever been to a Starbucks and you just happen to be behind the really annoying person who has a million different requests for their coffee? 


That person you hate...
That person who takes 10 minutes to order...
That person who causes you to be late to work...


Yep, I'm that person. sorry, i'm not sorry.


The barista practically has to write a novel on the side of my cup. It's always a "grande skinny vanilla latte-in a venti-sized cup-with soy milk-split quad shots (or two shots of decaf, two shots of regular espresso)-extra hot-extra foam" for me. Wow, did that drink order even make sense? Probably not, yet they rarely ever mess it up. The one thing that I find hilarious about Starbucks is that they can never, ever get my name right. I mean, they almost always spell my name wrong. My name is not conventional by any means, I totally get that. I have lived with this name my whole life, so I'm used to it being butchered. It is spelled like Juliana, but pronounced like Julie-Anna. However, whenever I go to pick up my drink, I have something bizarre written on the cup... I've gotten Joanne, Judy Anne, Penelope, and even Napoleon. Really Starbucks barista? You think my name is honestly Napoleon? Do I really look like a boy and how does that sound remotely close to Juliana. I do not make this stuff up. Oh well, as long as I get my $10 drink, you can call me whatever you want, honey. Okay, so back to the recipe...


This homemade Java Chip ice cream is like a strong cup of coffee. The frozen custard base is infused with whole coffee beans, and then, for good measure, I added in crushed chocolate covered espresso beans. This just enhances the coffee flavor even more, while also giving it a much needed sweetness. I finely chopped some dark chocolate to throw in there too. After I made this ice cream, I instantly wanted to turn it into an ice cream sandwich. And I had been dying to make French Macarons, so I used those as the cookie sandwich component. I made them with the traditional, ground almond mixture, but made them chocolate. Because you always gotta have more chocolate, people. Mo'chocolate, Mo'problems. That was cheesy. Oh well, it doesn't make it any less delicious. The macarons are perfectly chewy, yet utterly crispy. The ice cream is creamy, bitter, and sweet. Just like a great cup of coffee should be. This is one perfect Summer treat, y'all!! Enjoy :)

For the Java Chip Ice Cream:

1 ½C Whole Milk

¾C Sugar

1 ½C Whole Coffee Beans

Pinch of Sea Salt

1 ½C Heavy Cream, Divided

5 Large Egg Yolks

¼t Vanilla

1T Coffee Liqueur

¼t Finely Ground Coffee (press grinds through a fine mesh sieve)

½C Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans, Whole & Crushed

4oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped

For the Chocolate Macaron Cookies:

1 ½C Whole Almonds

2 ½C Confectioners’ Sugar

3T Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

¾C Egg Whites, Room Temperature

¼t Fine Sea Salt

½C + 2T Sugar

For the Ice Cream Sandwiches:

1 Batch of Java Chip Ice Cream, Slightly Softened

12 Chocolate Macaron Cookies

Directions:

1. Heat the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and ½C of the cream in a medium saucepan until it is quite warm and steamy, but not boiling. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Pour the remaining 1C of cream into a medium size metal bowl, set on ice over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside.
3. Reheat the milk and coffee mixture, on medium heat, until again hot and steamy (not boiling!). In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the heated milk and coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm milk, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
4. Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof, flat-bottomed spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. This can take about 10 minutes.
5. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible. Then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla and finely ground coffee, and stir until cool.
6. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator and add in the crushed chocolate covered espresso beans and chocolate chunks, and then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
7. For the Macaron Sandwiches: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a 3-inch cookie cutter as a guide, trace 12 circles on the parchment paper. Turn the paper over. Grind the nuts with ¼C confectioners’ sugar in a food processor until a fine nut flour forms (do not let it become a paste). Add the remaining 2 ¼C confectioners’ sugar and pulse until incorporated. If necessary, strain the mixture through a sieve and discard any large pieces of nuts. Whip the egg whites and salt in a bowl of a standing mixer with the whisk attachment until frothy. While the mixer is still running, slowly add the sugar 1T at a time, and whip until the meringue is shiny and holds medium peaks, about 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the almond mixture one-third at a time until thoroughly combined. Add in your desired food coloring. Fit a pastry bag with a ¼-inch plain tip and fill the bag halfway with the batter. Holding the bag upright, pipe the macarons inside the traced circles in a spiral, beginning in the center of the circle and working your way outward. Let the cookies sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to dry. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and bake the cookies for 18-20 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through, until they have risen slightly and look crisp and set on top. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Slide the parchment sheet of macarons onto another cookie sheet and freeze. Once they have frozen transfer to a freezer bag.
8. To Assemble the Sandwiches: Using a 4inch round cookie cutter, scoop softened ice cream into the cookie cutter and using a spoon, press the ice cream into the mold and smooth off the top until it is an even layer. Push the ice cream patty out of the cookie cutter-mold and onto parchment paper. Place into the freezer to harden back up. Next, lie out 6 frozen macarons upside down on a work surface and top each macaron with an ice cream, and then top with another frozen macaron. Gently press the cookies together until the ice cream comes to the edges of the macarons. Wrap in wax paper and freeze. You should have 6 large ice cream sandwiches. You can also just use an ice cream scoop and scoop it onto the sandwiches and press them together. They will not look as pretty, but it will be a lot faster. 

source: coffee ice cream. jeni's splendid ice creams at home.