Easy Homemade Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Today I’m sharing a recipe for classic homemade ice cream. It’s a no cook, no egg, easy peasy version that results in an old fashioned, soft serve style ice cream. If you aren’t feeling the summer vibe, this will help you get there.

To improve that summer vibe even more I’m giving away a $100 Zappos gift card! Yippee!!!

You might be surprised to find out that Zappos has more than just clothes and shoes (as if clothes and shoes are not enough!). They now have a great selection of housewares, including small kitchen appliances, cookware & cutlery, cool kitchen gadgets, dinnerware, bed and bath items, and more. You can check out all they have to offer for your summer entertaining by clicking here: ZapWow! Now, let’s make some ice cream and then we’ll get down to the business of the giveaway.

Last summer I broke down in a sudden fit of weakness and purchased an ice cream maker.

The Cuisinart ICE-30BC to be precise. Isn’t she pretty?

I’m so glad I did because it has become one of my most loved kitchen appliances. I can decide to whip up a batch of homemade ice cream or frozen yogurt on a whim and 30 minutes later we are eating dessert. No more fuss and muss with the salt and all, like we had with the old machines. These new machines are awesome and I’m gonna show you just how awesome right now.

Here’s the lineup – Half and half, heavy cream, pure vanilla extract, salt, sugar, and some Oreos.

Combine the half and half and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture on low speed for a couple of minutes or till the sugar has mostly dissolved. It’s going to get a little frothy and that’s just fine. It will calm down in a minute.

Stir in the heavy cream, salt, and pure vanilla extract. That’s it. We are ready to churn.

Transfer the mixture into the canister of your ice cream maker. The canisters for these new machines have a double insulated wall that contain some sort of fancy, high tech cooling liquid that makes it incredibly cold when frozen. I store the clean, empty canister in my freezer so that I’m ready to make ice cream 24/7. It’s important to keep it in the freezer right up until you are ready to process the ice cream so that it will be VERY cold.

Process the ice cream according to the directions for your particular machine. My Cuisinart is uber easy. You literally switch it on and let it process for about 25 minutes. The handy, dandy ingredient spout in the lid is useful for more than just staring at the ice cream while it churns. Although, I have to admit that I do love to do this.

A few minutes before the end of the processing time, drop the crushed Oreos into the canister through the ingredient spout as the ice cream is churning.

Let it churn for just enough time to allow the crushed cookies to incorporate, but no longer. I like the contrast in color between the vanilla ice cream and chocolate cookies and if you let it go too long, the ice cream will begin to take on the dark color of the cookies. It will still taste fabulous so don’t be concerned if this happens.

Transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container with a lid and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.

This recipe calls for a large amount of half and half versus most recipes that call for a larger amount of heavy cream. The result is a creamy, soft serve style ice cream. No need to allow it to sit on the counter to soften, it is ready to serve straight from the freezer.

Hey, is anyone gonna eat that cone? I think we have a volunteer. Bruno cannot figure out why I’d stand around taking photos of ice cream when I could be eating it. He may be on to something.

Scroll down past the contest rules for the printable recipe and enjoy!

So, what do you think? Are you in the market for an ice cream maker? Or, is there something else that you’re itching to get in your kitchen? Go check out what Zappos has to offer by clicking here.

Disclaimer: The hand holding the cone in the photo at the top of this post belongs to my wonderful husband. It is important to me that you know that I don’t have man hands.

***Giveaway Closed***

Contest Rules:

There are six ways to enter. Leave a separate comment for each one. Enter once or enter six times to increase your odds of winning!

• Leave a comment below to let me know what you would buy with your Zappos gift certificate if you won.
• Like Zappos on Facebook and share this giveaway with your Facebook network (if you already Like Zappos on Facebook it still counts, just let me know below).
• Follow Zappos on Twitter (if you already follow them it still counts!) and tweet the link to this giveaway using the following text:” $100 Zappos Gift Card #Giveaway! #ZapposHome @ZapposStyle @ValeriesKitchn https://www.fromvalerieskitchen.com/wordpress/?p=12768 “
• Like From Valerie’s Kitchen on Facebook (ditto note above)
• Follow From Valerie’s Kitchen on Twitter (blah, blah, you know the drill).
• Subscribe to my RSS Feed or Subscribe by Email (there’s just no way to do this without being repetitive).

Be sure to leave a separate comment below for each entry. Maximum of six entries per person.  Giveaway closes on Wednesday, July 31 at 11:59pm. Winner will be chosen at random and contacted by email on Thursday, August 1. If winner does not claim their prize within 48 hours, another winner will be selected.

Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

Good luck to everyone!!!

This giveaway is sponsored by Zappos.com who provided me with a $100 gift card in addition to the one I am giving away. All opinions expressed on From Valerie’s Kitchen are solely my own.

Easy Homemade Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Yield: 2 Quarts

Ingredients:

• 3 cups half-and-half cream
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1-1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 10 Oreo cookies, crushed

Directions:

Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, combine half-and-half and sugar. Mix on low speed for a couple of minutes until sugar has dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Transfer mixture to the canister of your ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions.

A few minutes before the end of the processing time, add the crushed Oreos.

Transfer ice cream to a freezer safe container, cover, and freeze for at least an hour or longer. Ice cream will be scoopable straight from the freezer.

Recipe Note: Omit the Oreos for classic vanilla ice cream. It’s also great with a number of other add-ins in place of the Oreos like chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips, caramel ice cream topping, fresh berries, or chopped fruit. Use your imagination!

Adapted from Allrecipes