Recipe 1: Eggnog Ice Cream (Non-alcoholic)

Monday, January 5, 2015

     On January 1, I made my first ice cream: non-alcoholic eggnog ice cream.  I wanted a simple recipe that incorporated already-made eggnog.  A few years ago, I tried to make my own eggnog and was incredibly dissatisfied with the results.  I couldn’t get that signature eggnog taste, and I couldn’t get it to thicken.  It was basically vanilla milk, which, while good, still isn’t eggnog.

     The recipe I chose was the No-Cook Eggnog Ice Cream recipe on allrecipes.com.  I modified it slightly, reducing the amount of sweetened condensed milk and cutting out the vanilla extract entirely.  The end result was heavy on the eggnog flavor and not too sweet.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups eggnog (I used Kroger brand – it was the only thing available this time of year)
• 2 cups heavy cream (I actually probably used closer to 2 ¼ cups)
• 8 oz sweetened condensed milk

Directions:

1. Place metal canister in the freezer to chill.  It should be cold to the touch.  This only takes about 15 minutes.
2. While canister is chilling, mix eggnog, heavy cream, and condensed milk in a large mixing bowl.  Modify your use of eggnog, cream, and condensed milk to taste if desired.
3. Chill mixture in fridge for approximately 15 minutes.
4. While mixture is chilling, prepare your ice cream bucket, adding in layers of crushed ice (small, irregular pieces densely packed are best) and ice cream salt or rock salt.  If you run out, kosher salt works just fine too.  Place a small layer of ice and salt beneath the metal canister and then pack the ice and salt around the canister.
5. Remove the chilled mixture from the fridge.  Mix a little then transfer it to the canister.  Add lid and motor and turn on the ice cream maker.
6. Allow ice cream maker to run at least 30 minutes.  Tip: for best results, let the ice cream maker stop naturally when the ice cream is too thick for the dasher to turn.  Also add more ice and salt as the ice melts; you want to keep it cold.
7. Remove canister from bucket and cover with plastic wrap (or place in a sealed container).  Place in the freezer to set.  For best results, leave in freezer overnight.

     The end result was AMAZING and so incredibly delicious, especially when I let the ice cream set overnight.  Ice cream made in a personal maker tends to be soft like soft serve and will melt easily.  If you want to serve it immediately, I’d recommend chilling the serving bowls first, but if at all possible let it set overnight.  Once I did, it was perfect, truly store quality, very firm and easy to scoop.  I served mine with a dash of cinnamon on top and a bit of whipped cream.

     What I liked about this recipe was how easy it was to make and how I got exactly what I wanted.  I didn’t have to do a lot of prep work, and it seems pretty fool proof.  I’m glad that I modified the recipe to suit my personal tastes, and I’m looking forward to combining this ice cream with other desserts like ginger snap cookies to make ice cream sandwiches.  Overall, I’d call this ice cream a huge success!

Overview

• Mixture prep time: 20 minutes including chilling
• Ice cream set time: At least 2 hours, ideally 24
• Taste: Thick, creamy, mild, DELICIOUS!
• Difficulty level: low
• Expense level: low 

Note: Please follow your ice cream maker’s particular directions.  Its instructions will tell you how to assemble, clean, and use your maker as well as how much ice and salt to use.  Plan on using at least 24 cups of ice and 2 cups of salt.