For the past few years, the 4th of July has meant the making of homemade ice cream at the Obery house. The first batch of the ice cream season is (much like my own childhood) made using the candy canes that survived since Christmas. It's simply delicious! For me: Peppermint Ice Cream screams summer; it screams family; it screams celebration.
The ice cream maker we own is a beauty. It includes both the old-fashioned hand crank AND the hand-dandy motorized churn. That means my boys can churn like crazy until their skinny arms are completely worn out. Then, I can snap on the motor and the electric mechanism revs all our spirits back to life.
While we’ve tried several different ice cream recipes, we finally have a basic base on which we can always rely.
Easy Vanilla Ice Cream
2 quarts half-and-half cream
1/2 pint heavy cream
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla
1 pinch salt
Combine half-and-half, cream, sugar, vanilla and salt in pour into the freezer container of your ice cream maker. Churn & freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Feel free to add your own flavored ingredients (crushed candy canes, chocolate chips, fresh fruit, cookie dough, candy bars, etc…)
The name “Easy Vanilla Ice Cream” says it all: No cooking, no eggs, five ingredients total. My boys can follow the recipe completely on their own, which gives them a sense of accomplishment as well as a cool treat.
It really is the perfect dessert for Independence Day.
It really is the perfect dessert for Independence Day.