Baked Apple Ice Cream & Honey Granola

I have a shameful amount of apples withering away in my produce crisper. It's really their own fault that they're not getting eaten--the crisper is not fulfilling its stated purpose, and it's hard to get excited about eating mealy, soft apples when there are so many delicious summer berries and melons to be eating instead. But since I cannot, in all good conscience, throw out any passably good food, I have to find something to do with all these mediocre apples. Applesauce is the natural thought, and I will indeed make some applesauce soon...but in the meantime, can I interest you in some ice cream?

I clipped an LA Times recipe for Baked Apple Ice Cream some months ago, but haven't gotten around to make it until this week. The recipe requires a little advanced planning (in the form of baked apples, natch) but isn't custard-based, so it's a good choice for anyone worried about undercooked eggs in some custard recipes. I topped it with my favorite Honey Granola recipe for an added crunch and flavor boost.


Truthfully, I didn't love the ice cream. The baked apple flavor was great, but the ice cream base wasn't interesting at all. It wasn't creamy enough, and didn't have a defined flavor of its own, despite the fact that I added extra cinnamon and ginger not called for in the recipe. So I would definitely make the baked apple portion again, but would probably add it to the honey-vanilla ice cream recipe that I loooove. THAT would be a match made in heaven.

Baked Apple Ice Cream
3 apples, peeled and cored
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut each apple into eight lengthwise wedges and then cut each wedge in half crosswise. Put the apples in a baking dish just big enough to hold them in a single layer. Add the cinnamon stick, sprinkle over the brown sugar and dot with the butter. Bake until the apples are golden brown and soft, about 50 minutes. From time to time, spoon the melted butter and cooking juices over the apples and give them a gentle stir. When the apples are done, set them aside to cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, half-and-half, cream, sour cream, ground cinnamon and sugar and whisk until smooth and well combined. Pour through a fine strainer into the ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

3. When the ice cream is firm and almost done, add the apples to the ice cream freezer, discarding the cinnamon stick but spooning in all of the cooking juices. Continue freezing until the ice cream is firm. Spoon into a chilled container, cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Leave at room temperature for about 5 minutes to soften slightly before serving.
[Recipe Source]

Honey Granola
Adapted from The Healthy Kitchen by Andrew Weil and Rosie Daley
2 tbps canola oil
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)--can substitute sesame seeds
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats--I used mixed whole grains
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds
1 tbsp orange zest
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir everything together until thoroughly coated. Turn out onto a greased baking sheet with a rim, and spread out the ingredients in a thin layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, stirring everything around about every 5 minutes until all the oats are evenly browned. Let sit out until completely cool. Store in an airtight container or zip-loc bag in the freezer.

Thanks to Bookmarked Recipes for giving me the little push I needed to start thumbing through my "Recipes to Make" file...