It’s hot. We think that’s a good enough excuse for giving in to your sweet tooth and your kids’ pleas for ice cream. But turn treat time into a family thing by making a quart the old-fashioned way (and we don’t mean with an automatic churner). Don’t get us wrong – we love our Cuisinart ice cream makers, but whipping up a cold treat MacGyver-style is way more fun for the kids.
The basic recipe (Vanilla)
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Make it in coffee cans
Mix your ingredients and pour into a 1-pound coffee can. Close the lid and seal it with duct tape. Place inside a 3-pound coffee can and pack ice around it. Liberally sprinkle salt onto the ice. Close the lid of the large can and seal it with duct tape.
Now the fun part: Roll or kick the can for 10 minutes. You can even set up goal lines and make a game out of it. After 10 minutes, open the large can; if the ice has melted, replace it with fresh ice and more salt. Re-seal the can and continue to shake, rattle and roll for another 8–10 minutes or until the ice cream is thick and creamy.
Tip: Freeze the coffee cans overnight before you make the ice cream for a faster freeze.
Make it in freezer bags
Mix your ingredients and pour into a quart-sized freezer bag. Seal tightly, letting out as much air as possible. Place inside another quart-sized bag and seal tightly. Place the double-bag inside a gallon-sized freezer bag. Pack the bag with ice, and sprinkle salt liberally. Seal the gallon-sized bag, again letting out as much air as possible.
Using towels to keep your hands from freezing, toss and shake the bag around, making sure the ice always surrounds the inner quart-sized bags. This is a great time to revisit that childhood staple Hot Potato – but be gentle; you don’t want the bag to leak.
After 10 minutes, check on your mixture. If it’s not the right texture, re-seal the bags and keep shaking. Replace the ice and salt if necessary.
Tip: To make larger quantities, use half-gallon bags to hold the ice cream and 2-gallon bags to hold the ice and salt.
Make it gluten- and dairy-free
For a sweet treat that all your kids can handle, replace regular milk with coconut milk, rather than soy or almond. Here are two vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free ice cream recipes that use coconut milk and are still irresistible.
Mint Chocolate Chip
14 oz can full-fat coconut milk
14 oz can light coconut milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Dairy-free chocolate bar, grated
Note: This recipe may make more than one batch.
In a medium saucepan on low heat, stir together the full-fat coconut milk and the sugar. Let simmer until the sugar dissolves. Allow the mixture to cool. Add the light coconut milk, peppermint and vanilla before pouring mixture into the coffee can or freezer bag (Note: The mixture may make more than one batch).
When you first check on the mixture after 10 minutes of rolling or shaking, add the chocolate shavings.
Tip: To make the ice cream green naturally, blend 1/4 cup spinach leaves with the mixture before adding peppermint and vanilla. Just don’t tell the kids.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
For the ice cream
14 oz can coconut milk
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the cookie dough
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour (Trader’s Joes recently introduced a good rice-based mix)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Combine the cookie dough ingredients in a bowl. Form the dough into small chunks (however small you’d like them to be in your ice cream) and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze until firm.
Mix together the ice cream ingredients. Pour into your coffee can or freezer bag, seal it up and start shaking. When the ice cream is almost the right texture, add the cookie dough chunks.
Tip: If you have any leftover chocolate chips, add those to your ice cream when you add the cookie dough.
Published June 2013
