Your recirculation technique will work better if you can get the ice out of the bottles and break it up into smaller chunks. This will provide greater surface area for heat exchange, and reduce the barrier effect of the cold, but no longer frozen, water in the bottles. I have a bunch of plastic containers with lids from shredded cheese and won ton soup. Some are 1/2-quart and some are 1-quart, and they can be stacked in the freezer. On brew day, I put some water in the cooler that I use for recirculation. Then, I give each ice container a brief dip in the water to help release the ice. Once the ice is out, I break it into smaller pieces with a hammer, and add it to the cooler.