I’m not one for novelty appliances that only serve one function and take up valuable cabinet space, but when I was pregnant with my youngest, I decided that we NEEDED to have an ice cream maker. As I experimented and tried different recipes, I found it difficult to get the texture, or what we refer to as “scoopability” in our house, quite right.
It wasn’t until I tried a recipe online for a honey-based ice cream that turned out very soft - too soft actually - that I realized that including the right amount of an ingredient that doesn’t fully freeze helps create that scoopability I was after.
This recipe is born from those trials and we now refer to this ice cream as our ‘house ice cream.’ When I am feeling fancy, I'll include some bags of chamomile tea or culinary lavender in the warming step and then strain the base before chilling.
My kids love to help make ice cream and watching the ice cream machine churn. Ice cream is somewhat forgiving in that a little more or less of a single ingredient won’t be too noticeable - perfect for those who are just beginning to learn to measure.
K I D D U T I E S : (kids can do any or all)
Measure ingredients
Stir (stovetop and also to combine)
Start and stop the machine
Taste test
I N G R E D I E N T S :
4 ½ cups half & half (divided)
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup honey
1 ½ tbsp vanilla extract
I N S T R U C T I O N S :
Combine 1 ½ cups half & half with sugar and honey in a saucepan. Stir to combine. Heat on low until the sugar and honey have dissolved completely. Pour mixture in large bowl and add the remaining 3 cups of half & half and vanilla.
Cool mixture completely, either by putting the mixture in a large Ziploc bag and submerging it in ice water, placing the bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice water and stirring until ice cold, or cover bowl and place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. This is an important step, if the base is warm, even room temperature, I have found that it doesn’t turn out nearly as well as it does if it is ice cold when it is poured into the machine.
Pour into ice cream machine and follow manufacturer’s instructions – we churn it in our machine for 25 minutes. When done, transfer to freezer safe container. Freeze for at least two hours for best results.
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