I love the purplish-blue color and sweet-tart flavor of this Philadelphia-style ice cream, which is enhanced by lemon juice and a touch of cardamom.  It’s a great way to use a surfeit of blueberries, but the recipe is certainly worthy of a special trip to the farmers’ market or supermarket.  If you’re looking for a red-white-and blue dessert for the 4^th of July, serve a scoop of this ice cream with some whipped cream (or vanilla ice cream), sliced strawberries and a star cookie. Happy Independence Day!

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients

Blueberry Ice Cream:

• 2 1/3 cups (340 grams) fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cups (406 grams) heavy cream
• 3/4 cups (181 grams) whole milk
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

Sugar Cookie Stars:

• 1 2/3 cups (216 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 10 tablespoons (141 grams) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 large (50 grams) egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

Make the Blueberry Ice Cream:

1. In a medium saucepan, toss together the blueberries and sugar together. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved, the blueberries have given off their liquid, and the mixture is bubbling. Reduce the heat so that the mixture is simmering, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another 10 minutes, to allow some of the water to evaporate and to concentrate the flavor. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Put the blueberry puree in a blender and process until smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Whisk in the heavy cream, milk, lemon juice, vanilla paste, salt and cardamom. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the ice cream base for at least 6 hours or overnight. Pre-chill your ice cream container in the freezer (if necessary), as well as a covered storage container.

3. Process the ice cream base in an ice cream maker. Transfer to the chilled container, cover with plastic wrap and the lid, and freeze for at least 3 hours, or until ready to serve.

Make the cookies:

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt; set aside.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix until well blended. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, one-third at a time, mixing just until combined. Divide the dough into 2 pieces. Shape each piece into a disc, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).

6. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350˚ Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 of the dough discs out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Using a 2-inch star-shaped cookie cutter, cut the dough into star shapes (save the scraps for re-rolling). Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle each with some coarse sugar. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, for 10 to 15 minutes, until pale golden brown around the edges. Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Recommended Equipment:

Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker

COOKIEQUE 5-Piece Star Cookie Cutters

SUMO Jumbo Homemade Ice Cream Containers