Brandy Alexander Ice Cream

When I was a teenager my family went on vacation to one of those all-inclusive caribbean resorts. Knowing perfectly well that I wasn't about to drink away my winter break my parents let me have the "adult wristband," which gave me 24/7 access to all the alcohol I could desire. I used this period of exploration to try a number of ridiculous cocktails, coming to the dinner table each night with a variety of rainbow-colored drinks, only to take a sip and pronounce it disgusting. The one exception to this was the Brandy Alexander, which a fellow wristbanded teenager described to me as "an alcoholic Frappuccino." It does taste remarkably similar to Starbucks' signature drink, and what a better way to honor it than to turn it into ice cream? Yes, there is brandy in this, but no, it won't get you drunk. Not even buzzed. Sorry.

Brandy Alexander Ice Cream

1/2 cup + 2 tbls. water
2 Tbls. ground decaf coffee
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brandy
2 cups (1 pint) soy creamer
2 Tbls. cocoa powder
2 Tbls. chocolate chips
1 cup soy milk
2 Tbls. arrowroot powder
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. coffee extract

Make a cup of coffee using the water and coffee grinds. Keeping the grinds in the machine, pour the coffee back into the machine and run it again to make a cup of super-de-duper strong coffee. Combine your He-Man coffee with the white sugar and brandy in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until the mixture is syrupy and sticks to a back of a spoon. The alcohol is leaving during this time, just fyi. Also turn on the stovetop vent, unless you like being inundated with alcohol fumes.

Add in the soy cream, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, and whisk it all together. Bring to a boil, occasionally whisking to ensure the chocolate chips melt and the powder is well combined.

While the batter is cooking, in a separate small bowl combine the soy milk and arrowroot powder.

Once the batter has boiled (watch it so it doesn't boil over!) whisk in the arrowroot and soy milk mixture until the batter has thickened. Remove from heat, let cool a bit, and whisk in the brown sugar and coffee extract.

Refrigerate until cool, then make according to your ice cream maker's directions.