If you don’t already own an ice cream maker…I think it is worth it to go out and buy one (could be a good father’s day gift!). The difference between store-bought and homemade ice cream is unbelievable. And with the machines for sale these days there is no ice, rock salt, or cranking necessary. You can spend between $30 and $40, push one button, and within 15 – 20 minutes enjoy the best ice cream you will ever have. Not to mention that when you make it yourself you can also control the ingredients.
image courtesy of amazon.com
I recently bought the pictured Cuisnart Automatic Ice Cream Maker for a little more than $40 on Amazon. The first batch I made (before our 100-day pledge) included only half as much sugar as they called for and it still tasted fabulous. While on our 100-day pledge I make this recipe below (which uses maple syrup instead of sugar) and we do not feel like we are missing a thing. Actually we are probably better off than those still eating ice cream out of a box – please trust me when I tell you this is SOOO good! 
- ¾ cup chopped pecan nuts
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Using a frying pan, melt the butter on medium-low heat and then add the chopped pecans. Add the honey and cook until the nuts are very slightly browned, 3 – 5 minutes. Be very careful not to overcook the nuts because they can go from perfect to burnt in less than a minute.
(Note: these nuts are also a delicious replacement for the plain pecans used in this chocolate Powerball recipe…just add two teaspoons of water instead of using the peanut butter.) - While the nuts are cooking stir together all three ingredients for the ice cream. Turn on your ice cream maker and then pour the milk mixture into the machine.
- When the ice cream is almost all the way thickened add the nuts…serve immediately and enjoy!
I am upset because our ice cream never gets frozen using this machine. I put the mix into it and it is soupy…so then I just freeze it in a pyrex container and it’s ready to eat. I thought this ice cream maker was supposed to have it ready-to-eat in 20min or so. I’ve tried reading the instruction manual, and reviews on amazon to see what I am doing wrong.
Hopefully you can help me because my husband misses ice cream and I refuse to buy it at the store!
Megan – did you freeze your ice cream container (not sure of the correct name) before you made the ice cream? If not, try putting it in the freezer for several hours before making ice cream. We just keep ours in the freezer.
[...] cake dessert. This dish can be served as small round tortes topped with whipped cream (or homemade ice cream) and chocolate sauce or you can simply turn the recipe into little individual chocolate truffles. I [...]
[...] okay to indulge in such treats in moderation! Just top a warm piece of the finished pie with some homemade vanilla ice cream and you’ll be in love with this super delicious and non-intimidating dessert as [...]