Irish [Ice] Cream

In her last post, Tina worried that the Bailey's Coffee Creamer in ice cream might have issues freezing. Since the creamer is alcohol-free though, I thought it actually might be a good answer to "adult" flavored ice cream because sometimes it's hard to freeze ice cream with too much alcohol content.

It froze ok (as opposed to not at all with some alcohol based ice creams) but my ice cream was kind of icy rather than super creamy. I figured I'd write about it even though I don't have time to make edits to my recipe and retry it before St. Patrick's Day, so what I'll do is share the recipe with a follow up of what I would try if I make it again.

I used the fat-free Original Irish Cream (which I think may have contributed to the iciness -- it was more like "ice milk"...remember that stuff?!) but I thought I would try that since the press release we were emailed announcing it and offering us free samples said "BAILEYS® Coffee Creamers is excited to announce the launch of new fat free versions of two of their most popular flavors, The Original Irish Cream and French Vanilla." I'd never tried the "fat" versions, but what the heck...they were excited about the new fat-free ones so I'd give them a whirl.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
2 cups Bailey's Original Irish Cream Fat Free Coffee Creamer
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Whisk the three eggs in a bowl until pale yellow. Bring the Bailey's Coffee Creamer to a simmer on the stove. Once simmering, remove from stove and pour the hot cream into the into the whisked egg. Whisk until well mixed. Pour the entire mixture back into the sauce pan, and cook over low heat while mixing constantly until the mixture thickens. Once thickened, move the mixture from the stove, then pour through a strainer into a clean bowl. Allow the mixture to cool for a bit and add the heavy cream.

Cover and refrigerate until cool.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.

So here are my thoughts. If I made this again, I'd have to color it green. White for St. Patty's?! What was I thinking? I'd also try the "fat" version for a little more creaminess and less iciness.

Here's what my friend and I thought. Neither of thought it tasted very much like Irish Cream. The flavor just got too diluted out with the extra ingredients and I think it was lost in the freezing -- freezing always mellows flavor. My friend thought it tasted "nutty," almost hinting at "pistachio." I kept thinking it reminded me of cake cones. You know, the flat bottomed ones they serve soft serve in? I don't know if that's the right name but that's what I found to call them when I looked them up. Anyway, I don't really find those cones have much flavor, so the ice cream was almost like a sweet cream ice cream with no particular flavor of its own. As for the iciness, my friend said "I know what you mean about it being icy but it's really not that bad." Very diplomatic friend! She's a good one!

Shamrock Shake and Irish [Ice] Cream

Truthfully though, I'm saving my creamer for Tina's shakes! Last night, my friend and I tried making Tina's Shamrock Shake with the Fat-Free Original Irish Cream Creamer (since I didn't have Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream in the house we couldn't make the Muddy Leprechaun -- and yes, T, I LOVE the name!) and we loved it! Who would have thought that coffee creamers make the perfect shake!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'll take a Muddy Leprechaun please ~ Happy St Patty's Day

It's all about being green in 3 days. And we're celebrating a little early! Check out what we made this week in honor of St Patty's Day. Our own homemade Shamrock Shakes with a little kick, inspiration and thanks from Baileys Creamers.

Muddy Leprechaun (yes I made that up!)

4 oz Baileys Coffee Creamer - The Original Irish Cream

2 cups Edys Thin Mint Ice Cream

Milk (add to get shake consistency)

Drops of green food coloring

Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie

-Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until shake consistency. Top with whipped cream and a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie and enjoy!

Awesome minty flavoring and the Baileys Creamers makes it smooth and creamy with a kick of Irish Cream flavor that really makes this mint shake just a little more special.

Scoopalicious' Signature Baileys Shamrock Shake 

4 oz Baileys Coffee Creamer - The Original Irish Cream

2 cups Breyers French Vanilla Ice Cream

Milk (add to get shake consistency)

Drop of green food coloring

-Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until shake consistency. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

It was a battle of the shakes and I really do think both were great. If I had to choose I would choose the Shamrock Shake. Although we opted to keep it straight up Irish Cream (no mint flavor) that is what I liked. It was pure, simple and the creamer made it very very creamy. My daughter on the other hand couldn't get enough of the Muddy Leprechaun. And the name made her giggle!



I never thought to use flavored creamer to add flavor to ice cream or shakes but this is a great idea and there are so many flavors to choose from. Our only concern with making ice cream with it though is how well it would freeze but that's for another post ;)

Oh and if you are feeling the luck of the Irish this week enter to win the Baileys Creamers Irish Getaway....I did and am keeping my fingers crossed!

Click here for a Baileys Creamers coupon to make your own frozen drinks this St Patty's Day. Enjoy!!!

Happy National Irish Cream Day!

Sorry I happened to stumble across a National Food and Drink Day calendar and it inspired me for posts! So today happens to be National Irish Cream day...hmmm...gotta say I love it with coffee but that has nothing to do with ice cream. Recently Baileys Coffee Creamers contacted us to see if we wanted to promote their Coffee creamers and the both of us scratched our head thinking but how do we incorporate it into ice cream. We all love free samples but really it has to be relevant, right?! My first thought was a mocha milk shake with irish cream creamer mixed in YUM! Hopefully you'll see  a future post on that but in the mean time we've also found some great recipes using the true thing. Here's a recipe straight from Ice Cream Ireland for some great Irish Cream Liqueur Ice Cream...enjoy!