Here in Minnesota, the summer is already slipping away; school started and the weather turned cold almost immediately. We’ve been warned of early snow and another hard winter, but I’ve got my fingers crossed for a long, warm fall with lots of sun. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m making ice cream and pretending summer vacation is still going strong. This no-churn cookie dough ice version is quite the treat. Rich and indulgent, it’s the perfect comfort food.

No-Churn Cookie Dough Ice Cream with Bittersweet Chocolate

Your favorite chocolate chip cookie dough recipe will work here. I used this one, and omitted the chocolate chips. If you are nervous about using raw eggs, you can use a vegan chocolate chip recipe, like this one, and omit the chocolate chips. You will only need 1 cup of dough, so you can half the recipe, or bake the rest into cookies. This ice cream is very rich, but delicious. If you own a Pullman pan, this works nicely to freeze the ice cream in (plus it has a lid!) but otherwise a 9 x 5 loaf pan works great.

• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups heavy cream, cold
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• a good pinch of salt
1 cup cookie dough, chilled and cut into small squares (see note)
• bittersweet chocolate chunks (recipe follows)

In a medium bowl, stir together the condensed milk, vanilla, and salt. In a large bowl of a standing mixer, beat the heavy cream on high until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture. Pour half the mixture into a regular sized loaf pan (see note) and top with half of the cookie dough chunks, and half of the bittersweet chocolate chunks. Using a knife, swirl the chunks into the ice cream making a figure eight motion. Top with the remaining ice cream mixture, and repeat with the remaining cookie dough and chocolate chunks. Freeze until firm, 6 hours (or, covered, up to 1 week).

Bittersweet Chocolate Chunks

Adapted from Alice Medrich

Melting the chocolate ruins the chocolate’s temper, and will keep the chocolate cold when frozen, but will then melt smooth and soft in your mouth.

• 1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Melt the chocolate (in the microwave or on the stovetop), stirring frequently until smooth.

Remove the chocolate from the heat and pour the mixture on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Freeze until firm.

Once firm, chop the chocolate into whatever size chunks you desire (I liked mine pretty small, and actually just crumpled up the parchment paper with the chocolate inside, and got lots of nice small shards).

Enjoy!