Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich

 Milk is one of my favorite dessert spots in LA, and definitely one of the best (if not THE best) for real ice cream.  I've been a few too many times, and every time I have to make by own ice cream sandwich because their cookies are insanely good. 

This one was made of two walnut chocolate chip cookies and Nutella flavored ice cream.  I'm not exaggerating when I say this was hands down the creamiest ice cream I've ever had.  Theres no way to describe it other than perfection.

I also had to try this Ooey Gooey cookie because, well, look at it.

This might be in the lead for my favorite LA cookie.  It tasted like a dark brownie batter with a hint of cinnamon.  I could have eaten twelve. 

Grasshopper Bar

I always love anything mint chocolate so when I saw this Grasshopper bar at Tender Greens I had to try it.  

I was seriously amazing! The top layer was like a dark chocolate ganache shell, the middle mint cream was sweet and silky and the bottom layer was straight up brownie.  Delicious. 

My Homemade Circus Animal Cookie Balls

I made these for a friend's birthday this weekend since she has a history of loving Circus Animal Cookies. They were super easy to make, very similar to the Oreo Balls or Cake Pops. 

First I threw 3/4 of the cookies into a food processor until they were very finely chopped.  I added about half a brick of cream cheese and mixed that until it was dough-like.  Then I rolled them into evenly sized balls and stuck them in the fridge for about an hour.

Using pink candy melts, I fully covered each ball and topped them with matching nonpareils. 

I used the remaining cookies as a garnish.

I put everything in this cute jar which gave it a very rustic homemade look. 

Deluca's Coppa Stracciatella

I recently stopped in to Deluca's in Glendale and was instantly mesmerized by their desserts. I had never had a Coppa Stracciatella before so I wasn't sure what to expect - I was greatly surprised. 

This frozen dessert was like a fancy ice cream sundae.  The vanilla cream was cold but not solid like ice cream, it was an amazing consistency.  The bottom layer was a thick chocolate sauce, and the top layer was coco powder and praline hazelnuts.  Overall it was incredible, smooth and crunch always wins!

Via Quadronno's Tiramisu

This Tiramisu needs no introduction as it is the signature dessert at Via Quadronno in New York.  I love all the food here from the panini's to the pasta, but without fail, lunch or dinner, the Tiramisu calls.  It's perfectly fluffy, creamy and sweet.  There's no real way to describe it other than amazing. 

The Hurricane Club

The Chocolate Kill - Devil's Food Cake is the signature dessert at The Hurricane Club in New York.  It was so delicious!  It reminded me of a Hostess pastry, the chocolate cake was light and fluffy centered with sweet cream filling.  The ganache outer layer was dark and thick.  The best part was the flambé ed banana on the side, I wish there was more than one on the plate!

Little Buddha

The desserts at Little Buddah in Las Vegas were all amazing! This chocolate lava cake was perfect, warm, dark and oozing with filling.

This was their twist on bananas foster, which was incredible.  Anything deep fried is always that much better.  The spring roll design was a great touch.

Apple Bacon Caramel Pie

Some friends hosted a Pie Contest so I frantically tried to think of something fun to make that could maybe stand out.  I have only made a few pies in my life so I am not that well versed in the field.  This "ABC Pie" is not the one I submitted, but should have.  There were NO Apple Pies in the running!  I went with a Triple Cookie Pie, which was good, but this was better.

This was the first time I've ever candied Bacon, I'll never go back.

Bourbon Soaked Apples, Bacon, Caramel Sauce and Cinnamon.

It turned out really well, a great twist to a classic Apple Pie.

I used my extra Pillsbury Pie Crust to make Pie Pops.  They looked cute but it's hard to get the filling to crust ratio even.

Highlights from the Pie Contest.

There were so many various types of pies: fruits, meats, vegetables, creams and even a cow pie.

Tate's Ice Cream Sandwich

While in Southampton I had to stop in Tate's bakery and grab a fresh bag of my all time favorite cookies.

While there I discovered some new treats - ice cream and ice cream sandwiches!

The sandwich was amazing! The cookies were super fresh and a little gooey, which is unusual since the cookies are usually crisp.  It was so flavorful and super refreshing on this 90 degree day.

While I was roaming around the bakery I caught a glimpse of Kathleen King, the creator of Tate's.  I panicked and instantly chased her around the cookie table to introduce myself.  She was so sweet, exactly how I imagined her to be.  My hero.

Big Gay Ice Cream

I have been following the Big Gay Ice Cream truck on Twitter for a while so I was super excited when I actually made it down to their store.

Everyone who knows me knows that Mister Softee is my absolute favorite soft serve of all time.  BREAKING NEWS: This might have replaced it. 

I ordered a Salty Pimp which was freshly made in front of me with vanilla soft serve, dulce de leche sauce, sea salt, chocolate shell... AND...

... a NUTELLA filled cone.  Perfectly perfect in every way.

Ladurée Sorbet & Macarons

I can't stay away.  I can't help but LOVE Ladurée and everything inside.

Since New York was sweltering hot, I decided to try their strawberry sorbet topped with a strawberry macaron.  It was very good, but not sure it's worth $9.  Fruity and refreshing but not much different than any other Madison Ave sorbet.

Of course I had to get a box of 6 in the special 150th anniversary rounded package.  Coconut, pistachio, salted caramel, vanilla, chocolate and raspberry.  

Beverly Hills Brownie Company

 

After passing the new Beverly Hills Brownie Company several times, I finally stopped in to see if it was as good as it sounded. The store itself felt empty, a little cold and sterile. The brownies themselves looked like they were on display at a bake sale, which was cute but didn't match the modern decor of the space.

 

The selection wasn't too large, but enough. They had red velvet, gingerbread, mint chip, caramel blondie, walnut and cream cheese chocolate chip.

   

 They also had mini bite size brownies which were cute.

   

 I went with the simple classic, a good start to test the quality of the place. It was really good!

   

 It definitely had a strong coco and cinnamon flavor which I liked a lot.  Even though I enjoyed it, if I'm going to get a brownie in Beverly Hills, it's going to be from The Farm.

Sprinkles Ice Cream

The famous Sprinkles Cupcakes opened their new Ice Cream parlor this week, and obviously it has been packed everyday. Unfortunately I allowed myself to wait in the TWO HOUR line to see what all the fuss was about. Sadly, I was not impressed.

 

The store itself is very minimalist, but the flavors and sundaes seemed to be exciting and unique.

However, the exciting flavors like Peanut Butter Cup, or Capt'n Crunch were not offered at this time. Not only was that disappointing but the actual menu was physically in a place that was blocked by the masses of customers so everyone ordering had to have the servers recite all the options. Incase the wait wasn't long enough..

The TWO girls scooping the ice cream had very interesting methods of building the sundaes and sandwiches. Unfortunately I saw them throw out the cupcake bottoms once the tops were pulled off. It was like Seinfeld all over again.

A Red Velvet ice cream sandwich, with two cupcake tops and their Red Velvet ice cream.

A rather flavorless Red Velvet cone with Red Velvet ice cream and Rocky Road.

This mini cone might have been the savior. At just $1 this cone held more flavor than the other, and this portion of Rocky Road was perfect. The flavor was good, but not any better than Ben & Jerry's.

The Sprinkles Sundae

A double chocolate Sprinkles cupcake cut in half with a scoop of Red Velvet ice cream in the middle. This flavor cupcake is usually my favorite, but for some reason it tasted old. The ice cream was fine, but just tasted like vanilla, and not a special vanilla.

I didn't try these other goodies but they looked good. Overall I was completely underwhelmed, and honestly pissed. I expected so much more from Sprinkles! If you're going to eat real ice cream go to Milk or Sweet Rose. Maybe when Sprinkles has all their kinks worked out, like having a visible descriptive menu, serving the unique flavors promised on their website and staffing more than two people on a weekend night, I might give them a second chance.