Banana Cookie Butter Ice Cream

Yes, it's just what it sounds like.
Banana.
Cookie Butter.
ICE CREAM.

What's better than that during the summer?
No, no THAT!!  It's too hot and sweaty.
Think ice cream.
Think refreshing.
Think fat free.
Ok, no.
This is definitely NOT fat free, but we can think that.
And that means we'll enjoy it all the more.
Because if you think something very strongly in your mind, your body will believe it!
Right?
So, we've got ALL the delicious taste without the calories.
Shhh...remember we're imagining here.  I don't want anyone to start Pinning that this ice cream is fat-free 'cause then people will get upset with me for FALSE advertising.  ;-)
Got it?
I knew you would.
It's always good to pretend.  It's something we never outgrow.
I know you still talk to your imaginary friend.  It's ok.
I won't tell.

I was SSSSSSOOOOOOO completely blessed to receive an absolutely, incredibly, STUPENDOUS gift in the mail a few weeks ago (for which I still have yet to send out a thank you note :-/   I never have been on top of that, but you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!!).
This gift came from a very good blogger friend.  I say "very good", but I have yet to meet Kathi.  I just know her from comments we've passed back and forth on our blogs, through Facebook, and e-mails.
Her blog is The Full Fridge and I LOVE her profile pic. on her page.
NOT!
And she knows it.  I joke with her all the time.
It's not that I'm jealous that she's relaxing on the beach watching her family frolic at the water's edge or that she has a beautiful pedicure highlighting the seriously sexy legs she's got going on, but the fact that her foot has SAND on it makes me shudder in disgust EVERY SINGLE TIME I see it.
If you know me, you know I have this "thing" about sand.
I. CAN"T. STAND. IT!
Which is one reason why I wasn't too upset to move away from the shores of Rhode Island and head to the desert of Arizona.
DUH!  What was I thinking??!!
There's even more SAND here!!!
ICK!
I must have been traumatized as a child, buried in it up to my neck or had a serious amount in my bathing suit bottom that left me disgusted with it for the rest of my life.
Yeah, me and the beach, not a match.
Give me a boat to swim off of in the ocean or bay and I'm golden.
DON'T make me clean that sand off your body so then i end up walking in it all over my floor!!
OMG!!!
And then if it gets in my BED???!!!!


Ok, wow.  Here we go again.  Off on a tangent, forgetting where I was headed with this one-sided conversation...
Oh, yes, my dear friend, Kathi.
I like her, no, I LOVE her.
One, because she lives in New England *sigh*.  I DO miss it.
Two, because she's a RED SOX fan and even though they really stink right now, I'll ALWAYS love my Red Sox.
And three, because she's got such a WONDERFUL heart to send me such an incredible gift when I mentioned to her that I had never tried THIS STUFF.

Cookie Butter!!!!

(Not that I couldn't find my own way to the store to get it ~ she pays to have it shipped 2000 miles, so I don't have to drive 40 minutes to the nearest Trader Joe's.)
If that isn't a TRUE friend, I don't know WHAT is!
Kathi, I LOVE you!!!
So, I dedicate this recipe and post to you, my dear friend, and I can never thank you enough for your generosity!

What's Cookie Butter, you ask?
Have you heard of this stuff??
There's the Biscoff spread or the Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter that Kathi sent me.
You can buy both of them here at Amazon.com!!
If you haven't had either yet, I STRONGLY encourage you to go buy some OR find a good friend off the internet who will send you some.  ;-)
And have you purchased that ice cream maker yet?  Remember, when I made the Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream or the Cake Batter Ice Cream and told you you seriously NEEDED to get one of those things???!!!
I'm not lying.  It will be one of the BEST investments you make.
Trust me on this.

Buckle your seatbelts, people.  We're going for a RIDE!!!

Banana Cookie Butter Ice Cream - makes 1 quart

1/2 cup milk
7 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup half & half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup pureed banana (I used 3 medium)
2/3 cup Cookie Butter

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, scald milk until bubbles form around the edges, but don't boil.
Remove from heat, and stir in sugar and salt until dissolved.

Mix in vanilla, half & half, and whipping cream.

Whisk in pureed banana.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Place in ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions.
Before placing in freezer, pour contents into a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Drizzle the cookie butter into the mixture while gently folding it in.

You don't want to completely mix it, you want ribbons of it throughout.
Place sealed container in freezer until ice cream hardens.

I rate everything I make on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Banana Cookie Butter Ice Cream earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
I thought this was SO yummy!!
This cookie butter tastes sort of like melted Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Men, but not as gingery.
It is just beyond delicious!
I LOVED the cookie butter swirled throughout, but I think using a 1/2 cup would have been sufficient because it is quite rich.  I had originally intended to use a WHOLE cup of the cookie butter, but I someone was eating it out of the jar by the spoonful and about 2/3's of a cup was all that was left.   whoops hee hee
Um, yeah.

If I could and had a tongue like Gene Simmons, you bet I'd be licking the bottom of this jar!!

This recipe has been added to Whatcha Whipped Up at DJ's Sugar Shack.

I've also shared it at Lady Behind the Curtain's Cast Party Wednesday.

And at Tidy Mom Lovin' It Fridays!

Check out all of these blog parties out and see what other wonderful things my fellow blogger friends have made!!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!