Who doesn’t love a snickerdoodle? Or ice cream? Together they are other-worldly, especially on summer’s fruit crips and cobblers.
We try to limit our intake of sweets but I’ve got two young kids with sweet teeth so I try to beef up any desserts or treats we have. This ice cream is no exception. It’s extremely nutrient dense despite the addition of sugar, which means I let them eat ice cream more then most other treats. My ice cream is pretty much a sweetened omelet in ice cream clothing.
The ice cream base is my standard vanilla bean base which I adjust according to what is in season. I might fold in rhubarb compote, summer peaches or berries, jam, or steep a handful of chocolate mint leaves in the milk and sugar for half an hour to impart a mint flavor. You can add cocoa powder with some additional sugar to turn this into chocolate ice cream.
But right now we’re talking about snickerdoodle ice cream. The same great taste you loved as a kid but grown up.
Snickerdoodle Ice Cream
1 cup milk
1/3 cup evaporated cane sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg (optional but I’m a nutmeg fiend)
dash sea salt
5 egg yolks from pastured eggs, lightly beaten (you can use fewer but you won’t get the same richness or texture)
2 cups cream
In the top of a double boiler over simmering water combine the milk, sugars, vanilla bean, spices and salt.
When the milk mixture is almost to boiling pour a little of it into the egg yolks, stirring well. This step will warm your egg yolks which will help when you add them to the hot milk. If you add them cold they will turn into instant omelet.
Add the egg yolk mixture to the milk in the double boiler in a slow stream, whisking continuously. Cook, stirring constantly, over hot water until the mixture thickens. When it coats the back of a spoon it’s done. Let it come to room temperature. Remove the vanilla bean, scraping to remove the seeds inside. Add the seeds and the cream to the mix then refrigerate it for several hours. If you try to freeze it before it is thoroughly cooled your ice cream texture won’t be as nice.
When it’s thoroughly cooled, churn in your ice cream maker about 20 minutes until soft-serve texture and then freeze in your freezer. If you like you could even serve this with snickerdoodles.
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