4 Easy Ice Cream Recipes – Happy National Ice Cream Month! And a Bonus recipe at the end…

      Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month?  Well I did – and I’m so glad there’s an entire month dedicated to one of my favorite treats.  As a native Texan, I take pride in consuming my fair share of our beloved Blue Bell ice cream AND making my own homemade version – a tried and true family tradition!  So, in honor of National Ice Cream Month and true to my roots, I’m sharing my top 4 favorite homemade ice cream recipes!  I’m not going to bore you with this long lead-up like a lot of food bloggers do, but I do want to add a little context that you need to consider if you make any of these recipes:

1.  I’ve made all of the recipes (below) myself, at home, with this ice cream freezer.  It makes about 2 quarts.  If you want to make more in one of the more traditional ice cream makers (with rock salt and ice), you can likely double these recipes….but I personally have not tried that.
2. Two of these recipes are from the old Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker recipe book (no longer downloadable online, unfortunately).  But I have tweaked them slightly.
3. The remaining two recipes are family recipes accessible only here and in my dad’s brain.

Simple Vanilla Ice cream

• 1 & 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup + 2 TBSP granulated sugar (combined)
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract

1. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla with a large spoon.
3. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for at least 2 hours (timing depends on how cold your freezer is – I leave mine in overnight). Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 255 (68% from fat) • carb. 19g • pro. 2g • fat 20g • sat. fat 12g • chol. 73mg • sod. 32mg • calc. 64mg • fiber 0g

Extra Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

*This recipe is “extra” because it involves several steps.  It’s not overly complicated but it’s definitely more time consuming than the other recipes in this blog post.  Also, the recipe book says you can substitute fresh peaches for strawberries if desired – I have NOT tried this but it sounds really good!

• 3 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemon halves squeezed)
• 1½ cups sugar, divided
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 2¾ cups heavy cream
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and ½ cup of the sugar.
2. Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.  I left mine in a covered glass bowl in the fridge while they macerated.
3. Strain the berries, reserving juices (set aside).
4. Mash or purée half the berries (set aside).
5. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes.
6. Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries, and vanilla with a large spoon.
7. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 275 (58% from fat) • carb. 28g • pro. 2g • fat 18g • sat. fat 11g • chol. 67mg • sod. 29mg • calc. 64mg • fiber 1g

Texas-Style Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

*Okay, a similar recipe has probably been made in other states but you know how we Texans like to claim everything!  Ha!  Also, this is a delicious recipe but it does not have the same level of “vanilla bean” taste as the above vanilla recipe.

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 qt whole milk

1. Mix everything in a container by spoon (make sure it’s mixed well or the Eagle Brand milk and sugar will settle at the bottom).
2. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.  The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Since this is homemade I don’t have nutritional information readily available and honestly…I don’t want to know lol!  Feel free to calculate yourself though :).

Texas-Style Homemade Butterfinger Ice Cream

*This is very similar to the above Texas-Style vanilla recipe, with some little tweaks.  You could probably substitute Butterfinger for your favorite candy bar (Heath definitely comes to mind) but I have NOT done this.

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 qt whole milk
• 1/4 cup crushed mini butterfinger candy bars

1. Mix everything EXCEPT the crushed butterfinger in a container by spoon (make sure it’s mixed well or the Eagle Brand milk and sugar will settle at the bottom).
2. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the crushed butterfinger and let mix in completely. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

No nutritional information for this one as well, with Butterfinger…I especially don’t want to know!

One last note – I had a lot of fun making these recipes!  And my boys had even more fun tasting them.  My middle kiddo L O V E D the strawberry version, the hubs says Simple Vanilla is his favorite, and my oldest and youngest voted for the “brown” ice cream (e.g. the Butterfinger variety).  Me?  What can I say…I’m an old-fashioned Texas girl down to even my preferred ice cream flavor – when given the choice, homemade Texas Style Vanilla is always my go-to.  Especially if my dad makes it.

**Update:  I tried a chocolate ice cream recipe recently that was a HUGE hit!  Like “tip the cup and drink whatever is left” hit!  It’s not as easy as the simple vanilla and homemade vanilla recipes above (there’s a couple of extra steps), but definitely not “extra” like the fresh strawberry recipe.  Again, this one comes straight out of the old Cuisinart ice cream recipe booklet!

Simple Chocolate Ice Cream

(Makes about fourteen ½-cup servings)

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (recipe says “Dutch process preferred” but I used Hershey’s cocoa powder)
• 2⁄3 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 3¼ cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the cocoa and sugars in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
2. Add the whole milk and use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.
4. Turn machine on; pour mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 25 to 35 minutes (*30 minutes was perfect IMO).
5. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours.
6. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving: Calories 286 (66% from fat) • carb. 23g • pro. 3g • fat 22g • sat. fat 14g • chol. 79mg • sod. 37mg • calc. 81mg • fiber 2g