Several weeks ago, a friend of mine enlisted my help with a thank-you dessert bar for some awesome volunteers. For my contribution to the spread, she asked if I?d bring ice cream.
Now, a normal person would have gone to the store, bought a couple containers of ice cream and brought them on over. But I saw this as an opportunity to try something new.
I love ice cream, and I especially love homemade ice cream, but without an ice cream maker at our house, I don?t get the homemade stuff very often.
Not long ago, I stumbled on a recipe for no-churn ice cream from a blog called ?The Comfort of Cooking.? You can see the original recipes and other ingredient combinations at http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2014/04/amazing-no-churn-ice-cream-6-flavors.html. I changed things just a little with my version.
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Double Chocolate Peanut No-Churn Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 pint heavy cream
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup baking cocoa powder
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or other nuts of your choice)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, beat the heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks.
In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients.
Carefully fold in the whipped cream.
Pour the mixture into a large freezer-safe container and cover. Let it freeze for about six hours or until the ice cream is firm.
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Just in case, I also bought some ice cream for the dessert bar, but this ice cream was by far the most popular flavor. It tasted awesome, and now I?m excited to try the other flavors on the blog as the weather begins to heat up.
I also think I probably added more than just a half cup of the peanuts and chocolate chips. My excitement for ice cream didn?t lend itself well to measuring precisely.
If you need a fun project for the kids or want a way to cool yourself off this summer, I highly recommend trying this no-churn ice cream out. It?s an easy way to get a homemade treat?even if it is a bit more complicated than just buying a container and picking up a spoon.
When not helping husband Joey with newspaper work, Lindsey teaches speech, debate and forensics at Haven High School. She can be reached at lindseyclarion@gmail.com.
