Jane’s Sweets & Baking Journal -- janessweets.blogspot.com -- April 2011

(This ice cream recipe below was adapted from David Lebovitz’s book, The Perfect Scoop; 10 Speed Press, 2007; see pages 64-65. The cookie recipe below was adapted from Nancy Baggett’s, The All American Cookie Book; Houghton Mifflin, 2001; see pages 173-174.)

Wildflower Honey Ice Cream

Yield: About one quart of ice cream, or slightly less.

1/2 cup wildflower honey

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk (I had no whole milk on hand so I used 1 and 1/4 cups 2 percent along with 1/4 cup of half-and-half.)

1/4 cup granulated sugar (I used pure cane sugar.)

One pinch of salt

1 and 1/2 cups heavy cream

Yolks from 5 large eggs

In a medium saucepan, stir together and warm up the milk, sugar, and salt.

In a medium size bowl, pour the heavy cream. Mix the honey into the cream, stirring until it's completely blended. (If the honey is cold or too thick, you can warm it slightly in your microwave.) Set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl.

In another medium size bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Pour the warmed milk from the pan very slowly into the yolks, whisking constantly. Then, pour this whole mixture back into the saucepan.

Keep the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly (and I mean constantly!), scraping the bottom and sides of the pan repeatedly. Cook only until the mixture starts to thicken. You'll know it's ready when you can dip a wooden spoon into the mixture and, when you pull it out, it's lightly coated. (If you cook too long, you'll end up with something as thick as pudding. Not good.)

Pour the mixture into the strainer that's sitting above the heavy cream. You can help push it through the strainer with your spoon. Stir together until completely blended.

Place the bowl over an ice bath (a larger bowl partially filled with ice and a little cold water) and let it cool, stirring periodically. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

Process it in your ice cream freezer according to the manufacturer's directions. (I use the KitchenAid ice cream attachment that goes on my mixer, and whatever I'm making--ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt-- usually takes about 20 minutes to thicken, using only the first speed.) Scrape the soft ice cream into a clean container, cover it securely, and freeze it for at least several hours or, better yet, at least one day.

Lemon Coriander Shortbread Cookies with Sunflower Seeds

Yield: About 2 to 3 dozen cookies, depending on size.

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached.)

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 tsp. ground coriander

½ cup powdered sugar

2 and 1/2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Grated zest of one large lemon

3/4 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened and cut into big chunks

1/4 tsp. salt (I used coarse kosher.)

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. lemon extract

3 Tbsp. salted, roasted sunflower seeds

Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Have another sheet of parchment of the same size ready.

In a medium size mixing bowl, lightly whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and coriander.

In the large bowl of your food processor, process the powdered sugar, granulated sugar, and lemon zest for approximately three minutes. Stop to scrape the bowl periodically. Add in the butter, salt, lemon juice, and lemon extract. Process until fluffy and fully blended. Add in the flour and pulse until smooth and well combined. Stop to scrape the bowl as needed.

Put the dough into the bowl that held the flour, and using a flexible spatula, mix in the sunflower seeds.

Place the dough on top of one of the parchment sheets. Pat it into a rough rectangle and then cover it with the other sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out between the sheets to a thickness of approximately 1/4". Slide the dough, still between the sheets, onto a cookie sheet and place it in your freezer for about twenty minutes.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

When the dough is very firm but not rock hard, take it out of the freezer and take it off the cookie sheet. Peel off the top sheet of parchment and place that sheet on the cookie sheet. Leave the bottom sheet beneath the dough, and cut the dough into the desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cut-outs on to the parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes, until just slightly golden brown. Cool the cookies on a rack.