Blueberry Buckle Ice Cream

This was an experiment that had excellent results. I made a really delicious blueberry syrup-and then went looking for things to do with it. Ice cream is always appreciated around here. The "buckle" part is actually chopped-up butter cookies I had leftover from making the tall ships cookies. I suspect vanilla wafers would be a nice substitute, if you didn't feel like baking-or skip it altogether.

Make the syrup ahead, and save some to pour into a pitcher of lemonade.

For the syrup:

1 pint blueberries, washed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Toss it in a pot, bring it to a boil, then reduce heat-cook, mashing occasionally with a potato masher, or wooden spoon for about five minutes. Strain and force through a very fine sieve into a bowl. You don't want to use the food mill for this job as it will not catch the tiny seeds. Be patient, and use the sieve-the results are worth the effort.

Chop up some cookies and place them in the freezer to be added later-this helps keep the ice cream from melting.

For the custard:

3 egg yolks
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Half the blueberry syrup from above

In a saucepan, heat the cream and milk until it is steaming but not boiling. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. In a large heat-proof bowl with a strainer set over it, pour half the blueberry syrup in.

Whisk the hot milk into the egg yolks slowly, tempering it a few drops at a time initially. Return to pan and cook until it reaches 170 degrees F. (use a thermometer. The old, "When it coats a spoon" isn't really a good way to ensure food safety). Strain it into the bowl with the blueberry syrup, and discard any solid bits in the sieve.

Place in an an ice bath, and whisk in the vanilla extract. When cool, transfer to a freezer tray and whisk every twenty minutes until it is too thick, then break-up with a fork. When it is frozen to your tastes, fold in the cookies, and if you like (I did this, and the look was lovely) swirl-in a bit more of the reserved syrup. Transfer to a container, and freeze several hours until set. Makes about 1 pint.