Sweet, creamy homemade moose tracks ice cream is the perfect summer treat without all the extra junk of the store bought stuff. Just cream, milk, and mix- ins. Bonus points for making your own chocolate syrup!
My former college roomie gives the most perfect gifts. It’s like she looks into your brain for what you want and pulls out the perfect thing. In college, she made me this double sided fleece throw blanket that was extra long so it fit our dorm beds. Best Gift Ever. Nobody ever gives you a throw blanket that covers both your shoulders and your feet. If my house ever caught on fire, it might be the one thing I try and grab on my way out.
Also on the list have been crack climbing gloves (by the way Marie, all my girl climber friends are jealous) and the Pioneer Woman cookbook. Both out of the blue, no mention, nothing. Just the perfect gift.
Another such gift arrived at my doorstep in time for Christmas this year and it was this beautiful purple ice cream maker.
Now I love me some ice cream, but after I churned my first batch of homemade ice cream, holy cow do I LOVE ice cream. Just sugar, cream, milk and your mix ins. No other junk. Sweet and clean and pure.
Homemade Moose Tracks
Servings 1 quart
Equipment
- Ice cream maker
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Reeses mini’s cut in half
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4-1/3 cup chocolate syrup
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup cream and sugar. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the middle and drop that into the pot. (Throw your leftover vanilla bean pod into your sugar jar. You will have wonderful vanilla sugar.) Cook cream mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine the rest of the cream, the milk, and vanilla extract. Pour in the hot cream and sugar mixture. Stir to combine. Cover by pressing plastic wrap directly onto the mixture and refrigerate until completely cool, preferably overnight. (The cooler the cream, the easier it is for the ice cream maker to make, which leads to more consistent sized crystals which equals better mouthfeel).
- The next day, chop cup your Reese’s cups and throw them in the freezer for 20 minutes or so. This helps prevent them from being totally crushed. While you are waiting, make the chocolate sauce or if you are using your favorite store bought brand of chocolate sauce, scroll through Instagram.
- Churn ice cream according to manufacturer’s instructions. During the last 5 minutes of churning, toss in the Reese’s cups and chocolate chips.
- In your final ice cream container (the one that is going into the freezer), drizzle chocolate sauce on the bottom and sides of the container. Scoop 1/4 of ice cream into container. Drizzle with more chocolate sauce. Scoop more ice cream on top, drizzle more sauce. Repeat until all the ice cream is used. Freeze for a couple more hours until firm. When you scoop the ice cream, you will now have chocolate “ribbons” in the ice cream.
Chocolate Syrup
Thick, rich chocolate syrup perfect for stirring into a tall glass of cold milk.
Servings 8 peop.e
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium high heat combine water and brown sugar and stir until boiling.
- Add in cocoa powder and stir to combine.
- Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Pour into heatproof jar. Allow to cool.
- The syrup with thicken as it cools. Because there are no preservatives, store in the fridge and toss if you don’t consume in a month or so.
Notes
Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
If you like making ice cream, you might also want to try this roasted strawberry ice cream or maybe some mango lime sorbet.
Checkout this roundup of my three favorite ice cream sauces: fudge, caramel, and peanut butter.
Happy Baking!