Minty Fresh

                                                                                                                                                                               Outfit photo by Joanne Garcia
           Top: American Rag | Pants: Express (similar here, here, and here) | Heels: Valentino | Bracelet: BCBG Generation

          I like cookies. I like ice cream. It only seems logical to combine the two as often as possible.

          I got my first ice cream maker the year I started law school. Looking back, it may very well have been the reason my grades weren’t refrigerator door material my first semester. The endless ice cream flavor combinations intrigued me, but the fact that there was essentially an ice cream fairy in the form of a red Cuisinart ice cream maker sitting in my kitchen truly blew my mind. I spent hours each week researching, grocery shopping, and making ice cream. My freezer was packed tightly with Tupperware full of various ice cream flavors including coffee brownie, earl grey, black forest, strawberry, Thai tea, and mint chip.

          When I saw these mint green pants at Express, my thoughts went straight back to my ice cream making days. I never thought a pair of really tight mint green pants could inspire me to want to make and eat ice cream. Usually tight pants cause me to rethink that second helping of ice cream. Not this time. I purchased the pants (side note: mint jeans are sold out at most retailers this season, but check out the links above for similar styles) and went straight home to get my ice cream machine back into action.

          I paired the pants with an American Rag Ruffled Sleeve Floral Print top, which reminded me of funfetti. The cookies I used to sandwich the homemade mint chip ice cream are made with part flour and part funfetti cake mix. I slightly modified this recipe from Lovin’ from the Oven. For the cookies I used:

3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup funfetti cake mix
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup melted butter
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup agave
1/2 cup brown sugar

          Mix all the wet ingredients, sprinkle in the dry ingredients, mix well, let the dough rest for at least an hour in the refrigerator, spoon the dough out onto a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  These cookies are less dense and more cakey than a normal cookie. It goes perfectly with mint chip ice cream.

          Before starting to make the ice cream, don’t forget to make sure the ice cream machine’s freezer bowl is frozen. I cannot tell you how many times I have had my ice cream ingredients all ready to go and then realize, to my dismay, that I forgot to freeze the freezer bowl before churning. After too many of these accidents, I ended up “borrowing” an extra freezer bowl from my parents’ ice cream machine so I always had at least one in the freezer. Luckily, they still haven’t asked for it back. For the ice cream, you will need only 6 ingredients:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 (14 oz) can condensed milk
1 cup milk (I like skim)
1 teaspoon mint extract
5 drops green food coloring
12 ounces of chocolate (I buy a block and cut it myself)

          Stir all the ingredients (except for the chocolate chunks) together until evenly mixed. Turn the ice cream machine on, then pour the mixture through the spout. After 20 minutes, add the chocolate chunks. Give the chocolate about 5 minutes to mix evenly throughout. Then like magic, you will have delicious, creamy ice cream!

          Sandwich a scoop of the mint chip ice cream between two funfetti cookies and while enjoying your creation, you can brainstorm what your next ice cream flavor creation will be or your own ice cream inspired outfit. And of course, if you don’t have an ice cream machine or don’t feel like using it, there’s always ice cream by the pint…or gallon. You can make a bunch of ice cream sandwiches ahead of time and put them all in the freezer to enjoy whenever you want.

         My entire outfit melts together just like the ice cream sandwich does. The splash of colors on the top parallels the sprinkle of color from the funfetti which compliments the pale minty green of my pants and the ice cream. My Valentino Rockstuds in ivory emphasizes the creaminess of the ice cream and the studs resemble the melting ice cream droplets.

        Please contact me or comment below with any ideas on other minty fresh dishes or outfit ideas.