Public Lives: Coolhaus | Secret Recipes: Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwich

Editor’s Notes: I first discovered Coolhaus summer 2012 while living in NYC for a summer internship. Specifically, I was living in a dorm in Union Square that conveniently had an ice cream truck parked outside of it my first day after work. Deciding to treat myself for conquering my first day, I ordered some ice cream from this Coolhaus truck & instantly knew I was in trouble. It was unlike any ice cream I’d ever tried & well, it just wasn’t my fault, the truck happened to park outside my building everyday so, like clockwork, after work I’d come home, grab some ice cream & go up to my room to enjoy it. Easily the biggest blessing & curse of my summer. After telling Natasha about this experience, she shared a fun little story with me relating that, “I hear that, I actually have an email from Kim Kardashian from when we delivered the Chocolate Vanilla Salted Caramel Sandwiches to their house & she wrote, ‘I love you, but I hate you’ & I could totally hear her voice in that email, so ya, you & Kim both.” You heard it from Natasha, folks. Me & Kim K. are basically twins.

Let me preface this interview by letting you guys know you’re in for a real treat today. Puns aside, this recipe is not only beyond delicious but it’s SUPER exclusive. Natasha, founder & CEO of Los Angeles based, nationally sold ice cream brand, Coolhaus, shared her recipe for their cookie dough ice cream sandwich which has yet to hit shelves! Known for their unique twists on ice cream flavors, Natasha adds that this flavor would be great with some bourbon in it. Other flavors they have on horizon are a birthday cake sandwich, a double s’mores sandwich, & 7 new pints which flavors include everything from a classic vanilla to Milkshake & Fries (fun fact: Milkshake & Fries was initially a PR stunt!). One flavor that Natasha is extremely excited to release in a pint is their Strawberry Cheesecake Mascarpone which was first unveiled during their collaboration with AMEX. Pulling at an Italian influence from Natasha’s time studying abroad in Italy, this flavor will soon be hitting shelves thanks to Coolhaus’ fans. Their response to it was overwhelmingly positive during the AMEX tour so Coolhaus listened & gave the people what they wanted! How else do they think of their unique flavors? Aside from an ongoing list that Natasha has secretly stashed away, Coolhaus looks to viral food trends, dishes Coolhaus employees have a restaurants, & testing flavors at their store in Culver City, Los Angeles. Unfortunately for y’all that don’t live in LA, Coolhaus doesn’t have any plans to open new storefronts in other cities anytime soon. Good news is they do plan on keeping their multiple food trucks moving so they can reach as many people as possible! Plus, they’re ice cream is distributed in every. single. state.

So just how did Coolhaus grow so big over the past decade? With no background in food, besides being a self-described “passionate eater”, Natasha wanted to find a way to make her passion, architecture, more accessible & fun. What better way to do so than with food—something that creates comfort, instant memories, & in Natasha’s case, she can never get bored of. Being her own target demographic to this day has helped Coolhaus soar as they know what they personally want to eat & work hard to make just that. Coming full circle, Natasha notes “Something my architecture background taught me was our visual branding” something that’s wildly important when selling a product in this Instagram-day-in-age. “You really have to use packaging & branding to tell the story, it can always be evolving.” Clearly Natasha has mastered the art of ice cream & branding that goes along with it, but what about her personal life? Check out Natasha’s Q&A below for some of her favorite products, restaurants, ice cream maker (it’s only $50!!) & more!

Favorite Restaurants in Los Angeles:

“Pita Kitchen in Sherman Oaks, Hummus Bar in Encino, Mexican–I can eat it all the time, a great spicy marg with chips & guac & there’s no shortage of that in LA, Shunji for a special occasion—there was something moving when it came to the table it was so fresh, Cosa Buona in Silverlake, South End in Venice, & I’m excited to check out Rossoblu.”

Natasha’s Kitchen Essentials:

“This ice cream maker–I tell people they have no excuse, they work great & make ice cream in about 20 minutes. A cast iron skillet, these plates we got in the Amalfi Coast—we’re always entertaining with those, & a cocktail shaker.”

Where Natasha Gets Her Groceries:

Lassens, Instacart, Yummy.com, Imperfect Produce, & BlueApron

Natasha’s Pantry Essentials:

nut butters, tahini, fruits & veggies, Coolhaus sandwiches & pints (duh!), yogurts

Coolhaus Dream Collaboration:

“Definitely a huge sports fan so it would be amazing, as a hometown woman, ya know the Dodger, Lakers–it’d be so, so cool. It’d [also] be cool to work with a well-known, prominent architect, especially a woman, to come up with a cobranded design & use that to raise awareness about architecture. I could see doing a really cool one [collaboration] with Tesla, Glow the TV show—how awesome would that be if it was a glowing sandwich!” Previous Coolhaus collaborations have included Dexter, AmericanExpress, JetBlue, & more.

What’s Next!

Aside from launching 7 new pints & 2 new ice cream sandwiches this year, Natasha let us in on a little secret for all you lactose-intolerant folks out there… They’re working on launching non-dairy flavors as well!

Public Lives: Coolhaus | Secret Recipes: Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwich

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Author: Public Lives, Secret Recipes

Recipe type: Dessert

Ingredients

for the base:
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1¼ cups brown sugar
8 large egg yolks
when churning:
1 tsp molasses
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup edible cookie dough, frozen into small balls

Instructions

In a 4-quart saucepan, combine milk, cream, and half of sugar. Set over high heat, and cook stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk yolks and remaining sugar until smooth, heavy, and pale yellow, about 30 seconds.
When cream mixture just comes to a boil, whisk, remove from heat, and, in a slow stream, pour half of cream mixture over yolk-sugar mixture, whisking constantly until blended.
Return pan to stovetop over low heat. Whisking constantly, stream yolk-cream mixture back into the pan.
With a wooden spoon, continue stirring until mixture registers 165 to 180 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes. Do not heat above 180 degrees, or eggs in base will scramble. Mixture should be slightly thickened and coat back of spoon, with steam rising, but not boiling. (If you blow on the back of the spoon and the mixture ripples, you've got the right consistency.)
Pour base into a clean airtight container and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours before using. (You can use base within 3 to 5 days of making).
When ready to make ice cream, follow the instructions on your ice cream maker, adding all other ingredients EXCEPT the cookie dough. Once base has reached soft serve consistency, mix in the cookie dough, transfer the ice cream to a clean airtight container & freezer overnight before serving. Enjoy!

Supplies

4 qt saucepan
measuring cup
whisk
medium mixing bowl
ice cream maker
wooden spoon
instant-read thermometer