One current dessert trend involves mixing sweet and savory, for example, caramel and sea salt. After a recent trip to Gilligan’s, my friends and I were inspired to create our own version of a sweet and savory dessert based on their Nutter Butter ice cream. After a lot of recipe searching, we decided to make sea salt peanut cookies and mix them into homemade vanilla ice cream. I certainly don’t ex­pect most people to have ice cream makers, how­ever I have included a standard recipe for vanilla ice cream. So, file it away for a day when you have access to an ice cream maker and, for now, enjoy the cookies on their own or mix them into some store-bought vanilla ice cream.

SEA SALT PEANUT COOKIES

1/2 cup of coarsely chopped unsalted,

dry-roasted peanuts

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

3/4 tsp of coarse sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Place nuts in a small baking pan. Bake at 350° for 5-7 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool while you complete the other steps. You will want to toast more than 1/2 cup so that if some are a little burnt you have plenty of others to choose from.

3. Put the flour and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl and stir until combined. Set the bowl aside.

4. Put the butter, brown sugar and granu­lated sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer set on medium-high, cream the ingredients until well blended. Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat until smooth and creamy. Periodically turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides.

5. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture and continue to beat until well mixed. Using a spoon (NOT the mixer), stir in the peanuts and sea salt.

6. Form small round balls of dough and place them a couple of inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or greased with butter or cooking spray. The balls will flatten out as they bake. You can make the cookies whatever size you like, although you should keep them relatively uniform so that they bake evenly.

7. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack or else they may fall apart.

8. If you plan on using the cookies in ice cream, let them cool completely.

VANILLA ICE CREAM,

PHILADELPHIA STYLE

From The Ultimate Ice Cream Book

Makes about 1 quart

In my experience, homemade ice cream does not last in the freezer as long as store-bought ice cream. So, I suggest making the ice cream close to when you want to serve it, rather than expecting it to keep its texture for weeks.

3 cups of heavy cream

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of granulated sugar

2 tsp of vanilla extract

1. Heat the cream in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge. Do not let the cream boil. Re­move from the heat and add the sugar, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the cream to cool slightly, then stir in the vanilla. Cov­er and refrigerate until cold or overnight. (Using the mixture before it has cooled will prevent the ice cream from reaching its desired texture.)

2. Freeze in one or two batches in your ice cream machine according to the manu­facturer’s instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

3. To make the “Nutter Butter” ice cream, mix in 1/2 to 1 cup of bite-sized cookie pieces when the ice cream is semi-frozen. Allow the cookies to mix in and proceed with the recipe as directed.

Contact Emily Suskin at [email protected].