I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream During Quarantine

Updated: Jun 24, 2021

I don't know about y'all, but this quarantine has hit our area pretty hard… especially the frozen food section in the grocery store. They've had limits on numbers of products you can purchase in place for weeks, but that hasn't stopped the general public from clearing out the ice cream aisle. There is nothing left except a couple of lonely cartons of Rocky Road and Neapolitan - the outcast of the ice cream world, bless their hearts! You'd think ice cream was the cure for COVID! And maybe it is. At least, maybe it brings us back to simpler times in our lives and helps us forget about the current crisis.

So I was on a mission. A mission to make ice cream. I'd been thinking about this for years, but always decided against an ice cream machine because I argued I could save myself the effort and get something conveniently at the store, but now that was no longer an option…the thought of homemade was enough to overcome my distaste for adding another appliance to my home. With all this "extra time" at home during the quarantine and a hankering for a tasty treat, I started my research in earnest and came up with a delicious compromise: the KitchenAid ice cream attachment.

I am already in love with my KitchenAid stand mixer. That and the coffee machine (which is an essential worker in our home) make up 2 of the 3 appliances I allow precious real-estate on my limited counter tops. So adding to a device we already have and love seemed the obvious choice so I ordered the KitchenAid Ice Cream attachment online and then began the long and grueling wait. Less than 7 day deliver is super quick during these times, but after waiting over a month for ice cream, every day felt like an eternity. While I waited, I researched recipes. I found so many that sounded delicious: Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chunk, Divine Coffee, Lime Strawberry Sorbet, the possibilities seemed endless! The next day I went to the grocery to do my shopping and picked up the few ingredients I needed to try several batches.

Final the day arrived. The sun parted the clouds in the sky and its rays shone down on my beautiful square box holding inside the key to ice creamy goodness… but first, I had to clean and then freeze the bowl for 15 hours. Oh my gracious, another day dreaming of the delicious concoctions I would make. Finally, the bowl was ready and so was I.

When it came time to make my first batch, I lost all that bravado I had in the days leading up to the machine's delivery, so I settled for some vanilla ice cream. Y'all, it may have been vanilla, but it was still fantastic! I don't know if it was the fact it was homemade, the month long wait, or the fact I used our homemade Vanilla extract, but it was the best Vanilla ice cream I've had.

With a new day came new flavors. I tried Coffee, Mint Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ripple, Lime Raspberry Sorbet, and Almond Joy. Once I got the base recipe down, I let my creative mind take over and that's where the magic really began! So I'll share with you my recipe for ice cream and you can deliver a sweet treat to your family as well.

Stay safe, stay well, and stay stocked with ice cream!

~ Farmer Amy

I'll share my recipes, as long as you solemnly swear to share your flavor combos with me too!

Leave your success (or failures) in the comments below!

Ice Cream Base Recipe:

2 Cups Whole Milk

1 Cup Heavy Cream

3/4 Cup Sugar

Mix together by hand until well blended. Add to ice cream attachment and churn for 15-30 minutes. Transfer to a freezer safe container and chill for 2+ hours before serving.

**When adding flavors, add liquid ingredients before churning and dry ingredients when almost completed churning.**

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:

Substitute:

3/4 Cup regular sugar for Vanilla Infused Sugar (see our recipe here)

Add to base recipe:

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract (see our recipe here)