Jeni Britton Bauer steps out of tasting central at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, Ohio, to spread the gospel during a phone interview. Since I’m sitting in Kansas City, without the advantage of being in the hustle-bustle world of making some of the country’s best-darned ice cream (and let’s face it, the missed opportunity to lick a spoon from a test batch), I put on my best imagination.

My vision of Jeni? A creative sprite-meets-mad-scientist dressed in a white lab coat splattered with drizzles from flavorful experiments, blonde hair swept up in a colorful scarf, glasses perched atop her head, brow furrowed from a morning of scrutinizing a batch of cantaloupe ice cream. She oozes the spirit of American handmade goodness.

Although my point of reference isn’t Jeni’s central in Ohio, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing the ice cream worth screaming for. I’m amazed when Jeni—who started her business 16 years ago—says nearly 300 employees are involved in making the artisan ice creams. Her army of ice cream fanatics includes farmers who grow proprietary produce and dairy products; folks who research, develop and produce the collections of flavors; office administrators; people who write copy and design labels; and those who ship and distribute the frozen pints of joy to Scoop Shops throughout Ohio and Tennessee and stores like Dean & DeLuca. Jeni’s is one big happy family, united by the pint o’ ice cream at the end of the rainbow.

Luckily Jeni dips in and provides plenty of the stuff my aching 11 a.m. sweet tooth craves: the scoop on what makes her frozen confection one of the best in the country. As if to prove the point, we chat about the sofi™ Gold statue—the food world’s Oscar equivalent that stands for “specialty outstanding food innovation”—Jeni recently trotted back to the Buckeye State from the Summer Fancy Food Show in Washington, D.C. Jeni’s crazy-good Lemon Frozen Yogurt won in the Dessert/Dessert Topping category.

“Our yogurts are some of my favorites,” Jeni says. “They have the humblest flavor.”

But that’s not to imply that Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams are undercover with their deliciousness. Each of the company’s flavors comes by its splendidness honestly. And in an industry that Jeni, once an arts history and fine arts major at Ohio State University, describes as over-processed, her ice creams are a breath of frosty air. Jeni’s pasteurizes its milk and creamonce, paying microscopic attention to texture—that’s huge on the company’s ice cream making radar—and meeting every challenge head on.

“I went from an aspiring artist to a dairy technician,” laughs the sprite, who has built a well-deserved reputation for producing the good stuff—admittedly by her own rules. “I really started this journey not knowing anything, except whatever I did it had to be top-quality.”

It’s nearly noon EDT, and Jeni is off to another meeting, another tasting, another cool adventure—she’s developing syrup for a soda to be a perfect accompaniment to ice cream.

“It will mimic Champagne with its bubbliness,” says Jeni. “I think that’s about the best thing possible to sip when eating ice cream—it washes away the butterfat.”

Why yes, I think, more than perfect.

“Do you eat ice cream for breakfast?” I have to know if for Jeni, it’s a 24-hour-fest of ice creamy goodness.

“Occasionally,” Jeni says. “There’s a yeast-raised Fannie Farmer’s waffle that I make. Super good with ice cream and drizzled with maple syrup.”

And what’s Jeni’s favorite way to eat Jeni’s?

“In a bowl or in a small, homemade cone that isn’t sugary, but has almost the neutrality of rice paper,” she says. “And I love the sandwiches.”

My mind is packed like a pint of Jeni’s, dreaming of flavors like Lemon & Blueberry Yogurt, Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Cherries and Backyard Mint or
Salty Caramel, The Milkiest Chocolate in the World, Brambleberry Crisp. Reluctantly, I let Jeni get back to her day, where it’s round-the-clock ice cream, family, friends, employees and life’s good stuff.

She knows where to find it, and how to make it.

I envision the sofi Gold statue sitting beside Jeni, giving a thumbs-up to that truth.

-Kimberly Winter Stern

Cookies & Cream

Any devotee of sublime ice creams like Jeni’s Splendid likes a little nosh with each spoonful. Here’s a crunchy Hazelnut Biscotti with Currants from Dean & DeLuca’s Food and Wine Cookbook that’s a perfect accompaniment to that little bowl of icy pleasure.

HAZELNUT BISCOTTI
Makes about 25

INGREDIENTS
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons grappa or brandy
1 teaspoon aniseed
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 cup toasted hazelnuts, toasted, skinned, and coarsely chopped
¼ cup dried currants
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped and melted (optional)

METHOD
Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together into a medium bowl; set aside. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until lights and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the grappa or brandy, aniseed, and orange zest and incorporate well. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Mix the hazelnuts and currants into the dough until well distributed.

Transfer the dough to a large piece of plastic wrap set on a work surface. Form the dough into a log about 12 inches long, 3 inches wide at the center, and tapered to about 1 inch at both ends. Wrap the plastic around it and refrigerate on a baking sheet for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days.

To bake, preheat the oven to 325 F. Unwrap the dough and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until lightly browned on the surface and firm to the touch, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the pan, about 1½ hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 F. Cut the log into ½-inch-wide diagonal slices. Place the slices on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Bake until crunchy but not browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool on the rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

If you like, dip one end of each cookie into warm melted chocolate to coat one half. Place on a wire rack set on a baking sheet. Let the chocolate cool and harden. Store in an airtight container in layers separated by parchment paper.

Overland Park, Kan.-based freelance writer Kimberly Winter Stern writes travel, food, lifestyle and design. Also known as the gregarious and cuisine-informed Kim Dishes, listeners tune in weekly for her on-the-road segments on “LIVE! From Jasper’s Kitchen,” a popular Kansas City radio food show. Prolific in eating, writing and discovering, this foodie satisfies an innate desire to sample the world’s gastronomic rainbow by meeting food artisans and trendsetters, gaining insight into the culinary points-of-view of everyone from cheese makers, chocolatiers and chefs who set their city’s locavore pace to farmers who are passionate producers. Stern is a sought-after writer, with work appearing in Better Homes and Gardens, Unity, KANSAS! Magazine, 435 South magazine, KC Homes & Gardens, Generation Boom, Shawnee Magazine, KC Magazine, KC Home Design, KC Business and Midwest CEO. Stern is a national blogger for the Dean & DeLuca Gourmet Food Blog where she cooks, styles, shoots and writes about life and cooking … and loves to lick the bowl clean. This writer may have been given product and/or other compensation from Dean & DeLuca for this post.

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