INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces WOW Baking Company Strawberries & Cream Cookies, crumbled
1-2 drops red food coloring (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Makes Over 1 Cup of Cookie Butter
1. Have a bowl ready for cooling the pastry cream with a fine-mesh sieve placed on top.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
3. Pour milk and vanilla into a heavy saucepan. Add the salt and place the saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally and making sure that the milk solids are not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
4. When the milk is ready, slowly ladle about one-third of the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the egg-milk mixture back into the hot milk and and continue to whisk over medium heat until the mixture is as thick as lightly whipped cream. It must come just to a boil -- there is a fine line between thickened and curdled cream. Remove from the heat and immediately pour through the sieve into the bowl. (If left in the pan too long, the pastry cream will continue to cook.) Let cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to release heat.
5. When the pastry cream has cooled (about 140˚F), stir in the butter one piece at a time, whisking until smooth before adding the next piece. When well blended, mix in the crumbled cookies and optional food coloring if wanting to make a striking pink.
6. To cool, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and press the plastic on top or spoon into jars and cover with lid for storage. This will keep the "cookie butter" from developing a skin. Place in refrigerator to chill prior to serving.
7. Enjoy!
