Lacy walnut cookie cup with homemade vanilla ice cream and strawberry-rhubarb sauce
Instructions:
- Ingredients for Cookies
- 1 c (225 ml) finely ground walnuts;
- 3⁄4 c (170 ml) sugar;
- 3 oz (85 g) unsalted butter, softened;
- 4 tsp (18 ml) all-purpose flour;
- 2 tbsp (28 ml) milk.
- Ingredients for Ice Cream
- 11⁄2 c (340 ml) whole milk;
- 11⁄2 c (340 ml) heavy or whipping cream;
- 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla;
- 2 eggs;
- 1⁄2 c (115 ml) sugar.
- Ingredients for Strawberry-Rhubarb Sauce
- 2 c (450 ml) diced fresh rhubarb;
- Juice of 1 lemon;
- 1 c (225 ml) sugar;
- 1⁄2 c (110 ml) water;
- 1 pint (450 ml) fresh strawberries, washed, stemmed, and sliced.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Place all of the ingredients in a bowl and combine into a smooth paste. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet or use silicone baking mats. Use a heaping tablespoon of the dough for each cookie, allowing 4 to 6 inches on each side for the cookie dough to spread out (you should be able to get about 6 cookies on each large commercial sheet pan, 3 or 4 on a smaller baking sheet). Wet your fingers in a little cold water and gently flatten each spoonful of dough into rounds about 3 inches in diameter. Bake the cookies for 12–13 minutes until they are golden brown and about 6 inches in diameter. Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to rest at room temperature for 1 minute. Lift each cookie from the parchment paper and drape it over a small glass bowl. Press the cookie over the bowl to mold the cookie in the shape of the bowl. You will need to work fast, as the cookies become brittle as they cool off. If they get a little too brittle, put them briefly back in the oven to soften. Remove the molded cookie from the bowl once it is hardened.
- Combine the milk, cream, and vanilla in a saucepan and scald over medium-high heat (about 190 F or 88 C); do not boil. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until blended. Slowly add the heated milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until thoroughly blended. Return the ice cream mixture back to the saucepan and return to the heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until it returns to about 190 F (88 C); again, be careful not to boil. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and refrigerate until fully chilled. Freeze the mixture in an ice cream freezer.
- Combine the rhubarb, lemon juice, sugar, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer until the rhubarb is tender. Allow to cool. This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for several days. Just prior to service, combine the sliced strawberries with the rhubarb sauce.
- Place a lacy cookie cup in the center of each plate. Put a scoop of ice cream in the center of each cookie cup. Top with the strawberry-rhubarb sauce. Garnish as desired with additional berries, mint, whipped cream, or nuts. Serve immediately.