GREEK YOGURT ICE CREAM
Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 10:47AM 
The season does not matter, it is ALWAYS an appropriate time for ice cream. I know there are a few wackies out there who are ‘not dessert people’, but ice cream… greek yogurt… cookie chunks and cinnamon? Come on. I will MAKE you a dessert person.
The original thought was to do a light, refreshing frozen yogurt. But somehow, seeing as it was Hugh’s birthday and all, we ended up with rich, creamy goodness with big chunks of fresh cookie strewn throughout. It seemed the best option, since I normally get scolded for digging out the cookies from our store bought cookies n’ cream. This was my turn to give back after all the caverns I’ve carved through many ice cream cartons past. 
GREEK YOGURT ICE CREAM WITH GOODIES // Makes a rough half gallon // Ice cream maker necessary, organic dairy products preferable
2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Cups Whole Milk
2 Cups Greek Yogurt
6 Extra Large Organic Egg Yolks
1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar, Divided
1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
2 Cups Fresh Chocolate Chip Cookies, Roughly Chopped*
Pinch of Salt
*Make your own chocolate chip cookies if you have time to spare. If you use store bought, Immaculate Baking Co. makes a natural product , as does Pillsbury with their new ‘Simply’ branding.
1. In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream, milk and one cup of sugar to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar and scald the cream. Turn off the heat and let it sit a moment. Stirring to cool off.
2. In a large heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolk with remaining half cup sugar. Add a half cup of the warm cream mix to the egg yolks and whisk to bring the temperature up as to not scramble the eggs. Add remaining cream mix to the yolks and incorporate.
3. Pour the mix back into the saucepan, and simmer on medium low and whisk periodically. The mixture should thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. About 10 minutes. Turn off heat.
4. In a larger bowl, make an ice water bath. Put the saucepan in the ice bath to cool to room temperature. Stir every once in awhile. This will take about ten minutes.
5. Add the cinnamon and greek yogurt and whisk well to combine. Put in the fridge to cool for a half hour.
6. While this is cooling, bake your cookies. Bake them a good two minutes less than normal so you get a very soft, delicate, almost raw cookie.
7. Pour the cold cream mixture in the ice cream maker, and turn it on. All makers are different, it will probably take about a half hour for it to firm up. Add in the cookies when it is the consistency of soft serve. Transfer to a container and freeze for a few hours to harden, or overnight. Stays fresh about 4 days. 
Reader Comments (44)
Mercy! Sounds divine!
Do you think my homemade thick, rich, creamy, dreamy whole milk yogurt would work in place of the greek yogurt? Or would I be missing out on a certain flavor?
Thanks for the recipe. I will try this. It'll be my first ice cream using eggs. Yum!
If you use regular yogurt, i suggest you drain it through cheesecloth or even dish towel over a colander first. Otherwise, you would end up with pretty icy ice cream. Shouldn't take too long, and worth the effort!
Holy Moses! What a brilliant combination! I can't believe how good this looks. I love the idea of sweet cookie and a more tart base. I'm bookmarking this.
Well Happy Birthday to Hugh! I see you made him work for his birthday ice cream. ;)
This is such an off-the-beaten-ice-cream -path recipe. No vanilla, huh? And Greek Yogurt of all things. It looks so cold and crunchy and cinnamon-y You are a crafty one.
Thanks for not making me choose between cookies or ice cream.
That looks amazing! I love greek yogurt, and it would make such a good ice cream. Too bad I don't have an ice cream maker :(
Cool! Greek yogurt is one of my favourite foods - love the idea of adding it to ice cream to give a bit of tartness.
The pictures are heavenly, as usual. I especially love the egg yolks in the bowl. They look kind of geometric, plus the swirl of the broken one. And this ice cream sounds and looks amazing. I haven't tried custard-based ice cream yet, partly because our ice cream maker never seems to freeze entirely in our small, apartment-size freezer. Any suggestions?
OMG how srumptious how come you didn't make this for me???
That must be good with the Greek Yogurt. Love all the pictures.
Delicious! I love anything with Greek yogurt:)
that's it...i HAVE to purchase an ice cream maker!!!
*delicious photos as always!
Mmmmm...this sound so delicious, and I love all the gorgeous photographs. I also love the fact that it does not sound super sweet. My ice cream maker will be put to work soon :)
mmmmmmm, yum. do the cookies freeze, though? i've been having a hard time adding chunky things to my ice cream and just having them be ice balls.
I want those chocolate chip cookies! Yum ;)
Sara, I think your blog is one of my FAVORITES. This recipe is bookmarked for SURE. I can't WAIT to make it!!!
-Jane @ brunchatthebeach.blogspot.com
@ Anna - because the cookies were very undercooked, and they were put in when the ice cream was pretty soft, they weren't crunchy. They soak up some of the soft cream and stay pretty moist. Just make sure you dont put in a crunchy cookie! @Jane - thank you! glad to have you reading!
That looks really heavenly with extra indulgence of chocolate chips cookies.
funny - of course whenever i'm in the mood for something like this... i'm not in the mood to MAKE something like this. this sounds amazing right now! can someone make it for me???
Oh man, this sounds so amazing... I need it!
This looks so good, I am tempted to do it but wouldn't it be too sinful to know how to make this at home on demand??
I am also guilty of digging out the cookie pieces in ice cream. I have had the ice cream attachment for my KA mixer on my wish list for years. I guess I should just break down and buy it already!
Oh wow, that looks so good! I always drool when I come to your blog.
Pleeeeeease tell me you have left overs for tonight!! TO. DIE. FOR.
this sounds delicious, and I have been rocking the ice cream all darn summer. making my own, I mean. and pssst! I bet you anything that oatmeal cookie chunks might be even better in this. Or oatmeal cookie DOUGH chunks (in the cinnamon ice cream, of course), which is my next ice cream adventure.
Hmmm...greek yogurt is my go-to breakfast. Do you think I can swap this in instead? Ha. Looks delicious!
Gorgeous! What a great idea! I'm not one for "things" in my ice cream. I guess I'm a purest when it comes to that, but chocolate chip cookies....now that I think I could handle!
Mmm, you had me at greek yogurt ice cream, and then you threw in the chocolate chip cookies! I'll have to try this!
Brillant! Can't wait to try (and also guilty of mining the ice cream for goodies - nice to know there's anouther villian)
oh my. I think I need to get myself an icecream maker asap.
Now this is cookies and cream done right! (Oh, and by the way, those must be the prettiest yolks I have ever seen.)
I never make ice cream and probably won't anytime soon, but your description and photos are almost as good as the real thing.
If you want dried beans, however, I'm your gal. Sigh.
might have to fire up the mickey mouse ice cream maker for this one.
yes, yes, and yes again! fantastic. and, happy birthday to h!
Wow, greek yogurt ice cream sounds really delicious even without the "goodies", and I definitely agree with you about having ice cream in any weather. Keep the ice cream recipes coming!
I just can't eat storebought baked goods, and I like that you feel the same. I am intrigued by the use of yogurt and will be doing this with my next vanilla ice cream.
I love your blog.
Great job, Sara! It even sound good to me and I am an ice cream officianado (sp?)
OK, Hugh - the empty scoop on the right??. C'mon now.. I know you ate it! Happy Belated Birthday!
Did I read correctly? There are people out there that arent dessert people? Hmmm ..never imagined that!
Looking forward to more fun recipes...keep up the good work :)
xo kp
Greek yogurt ice cream, interesting concept... will have to try it!
What a great idea to make ice cream using greek yogurt! Can't wait to try it! And yes, I agree, it is ALWAYS an appropriate time for ice cream (EVERYDAY)!
I made this! It's so good.... eating it right now. Mine came out really cinnamon-y, though--Do you think it would be just as good with less cinnamon?
Love the tones chosen for the photos!
ohhhhh!!!
Hi
I don't like sugar, yes, I know I'm mad, but there you go! So, can I make a natural Greek Yoghurt Ice-Cream without sugar? (No, I don't like sugar substitutes either, it is the sweet taste that I don't like.)
Thanks.
Glynn
Hello Sara! Your blog is such an inspiration, so beautiful! I came across it a few month ago (because of the oh so beautiful wedding pics) and can`t get enough :) After sugar-free-lent this is meant to be the first sweet recipe I want to try out.. in between studying for university.. I`m just wondering what cookie recipe you used? Best wishes from Switzerland! :)