Apple Crisp

A few weeks ago my sister and a good friend came to visit.  Sunday morning, we went apple picking!  I had never been apple picking before so I didn't know what to expect but it was a lot of fun.  I purchased some apples to bring home. 

Here's the first recipe that I tried...

APPLE CRISP
Serves: 5-6
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 45 min

Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
6 medium apples
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of butter

1. Peel, core and slice apples.
2. Arrange in a baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. In a large bowl, mix flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter. Be sure to blend this mixture until crumbly.
5. Pour over the top of the apples.
6. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until apples are tender.

 Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

Coffee Ice Cream

I was feeling nostalgic so I created this coffee ice cream recipe.  You can modify it to fit your preference for how strong you want the coffee to taste.  I think that a hazelnut coffee would taste amazing!

COFFEE ICE CREAM 
Makes: 2 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1 cup milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
1/2 cup strong coffee, chilled (I used Vanilla Flavored Coffee)
1/2 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)


Instructions: 
1. Mix the milk, cream, coffee, sugar, and vanilla together. 
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 
4. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream. 

If you add a bit of chocolate and make a milkshake, it'll taste just like a Jamocha Milkshake from Arby's. 

Jamocha Milkshake

Enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

It's approaching the end of May and I have still not purchased ice cream since last year. I'm quite proud of myself! Here's a recipe for Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. 

After making the Chocolate Ice Cream and cutting out 1/2 cup of the milk, I realized I liked the creamier texture compared with the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I also reduced the amount of sugar and vanilla since the cookies will add some extra sweetness.  I did think that the Chocolate Ice Cream was my favorite but this one tops it!

COOKIES AND CREAM ICE CREAM 
Makes: 2 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
3/4 cup granulated sugar 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
1/2 tsp salt 
2 cups crushed Oreos (about 20 cookies) 

Instructions: 
1. Crush oreos. You can use a plastic bag with a rolling pin or a bowl with a potato masher. Both work 
2. Mix the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla together. 
3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 
4. After about 15-20 minutes of freezing, add the cookie pieces and continue to freeze for another 10 minutes.
5. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream. 


Enjoy!

Strawberry Ice Cream

With all the nice weather, I wanted to do something more springy.  I modified the Chocolate Ice Cream into Strawberry.  I dropped the milk content since the strawberry was going to add some liquid.  It's quite yummy and perhaps my favorite so far.  Here's the recipe!

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
Makes: 2.5 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

 

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1 cup milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
2 cups strawberries 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions:
1. Blend the strawberries until they reach a consistency you like.  I blended mine until it was mostly blended with a few chunks.

2. Mix everything together.

3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

4. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Ice Cream

If you haven't noticed already, I really enjoy making ice cream.  This stems back to when Amy and I were younger and we would have a bedtime snack with my dad.  99% of the time it was ice cream and still to this day, ice cream is my go to dessert.  Here's a quick and easy chocolate ice cream recipe.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM
Makes: 2 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients: 
1-1/2 cup milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 tsp vanilla extract 

Instructions:
1. Whisk together milk, cocoa powder, and sugar to combine. The sugar and cocoa should close to completely dissolved. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract. At this point, it should look like chocolate pudding.

2. Refrigerate the chocolate ice cream base for at least 30 minutes  so it is completely cold. This will help it freeze faster, improving the texture, and allow the cocoa powder to become fully hydrated by the milk and cream. 

3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

4. Freeze for at least 2 hours and store your remaining ice cream in an air-tight plastic container in the back of the freezer. This will help preserve the flavor and texture of the finished ice cream.  I use Tovolo's Glide-A-Scoop Ice Cream Tub.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

I wanted to try something different when I made my next batch of ice cream and decided to combine two recipes: Mint Chocolate Chip and Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt. It didn't turn out how I wanted it to look but it was just as tasty as I had hoped. Here's what I did.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE DOUGH ICE CREAM
Makes: 2.5 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 5 hours

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 cups 2% milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
1 cup sugar 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

Instructions:
1. Prepare Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt and save 1 cup from freezer.  Place Cookie Dough mixture on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  Freeze for at least 2 hours the cut into chunks.

Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

2. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until the sugar has dissolved.  

3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 


*If you are using a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment, after about 12-15 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips and chunks of the cookie dough mixture. After the ice cream has thickened, about 20-30 minutes total time, spoon into a container, and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

One of our favorite sweets is mint chocolate chip ice cream.  It's our go to if we are ever out getting ice cream.  I found an easy recipe to try.  It turned out pretty well!  


MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM
Makes: 2 quarts
Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 cups 2% milk 
2 cups heavy cream 
1 cup sugar 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon peppermint extract 
green food coloring (optional) 
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and peppermint extract until the sugar has dissolved. Color to your liking with the green food coloring. 

2. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. 

*If you are using a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment, after about 12-15 minutes into the freezing, add the chocolate chips. After the ice cream has thickened, about 20-30 minutes total time, spoon into a container, and freeze for at least 2 hours.