Christmas Ice Cream
Christmas Ice Cream is the perfect homemade ice cream recipe for Christmas. It's rich and creamy with warm vanilla, holiday sprinkles, and bits of Christmas cookies mixed in.
Equipment
- Set of 2 Reusable Ice Cream Tub Containers For Homemade Ice Cream 1.6 Quart
- Cusinart ICE-70P1 2-Quart Cool Creations Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Gelato and Sorbet Maker, LCD Screen with Countdown Timer, Makes Frozen Treats in 20-Minutes or Less, Stainless Steel
- KitchenAid KO117OHAQA Gourmet Ice Cream Scoop, One Size, Matte Aqua Sky
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup Christmas sugar cookies roughly chopped
- 3/4 cup holiday sprinkles divided
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl.
- In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract and kosher salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved into the mixture. You should not feel any grit if you rub the mixture together between two fingers.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 25 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- In the last two minutes of the churn, add the Christmas sugar cookies and ½ cup of the holiday sprinkles, reserving the remaining sprinkles.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining holiday sprinkles over the top of the ice cream.
- Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- It is important that the granulated sugar dissolves into the milk. This creates a smoother consistency in your final ice cream. When you rub the mixture in between your fingers, you should feel no grit.
- It’s very important that your mixture is really cold before going into the ice cream machine to churn. If you find that it is not cold enough, let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before churning. If it’s not cold enough, it will not get thick.
- I find that holiday-colored jimmies sprinkles work the best in this recipe. The round nonpareils tend to change the color of the ice cream base very easily and it’s not as pretty once all of those colors combine. It’s also best if you do not overmix the ice cream once you’ve added the sprinkles as the color can start to run into the ice cream base if overmixed.
- Use your favorite crunchy cristmas cookies in this recipe. Sugar cookies, anise cookies, or gingerbread cookies will all be delicious.
- Optional add ins could include white chocolate shavings, chopped walnuts, or a sprinkle of cinnamon.