I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

OK, so maybe the first week with real fall weather isn't the best time to write a post about ice cream.... but lets face it is there really a bad time for ice cream? I didn't think so :)

My favorite KitchenAid Stand Mixer accessory is hands down the Ice Cream Maker Attachment (as seen here). It is super easy to use and once you find the perfect recipe it is pretty darn hard to mess up the process. Once you make your first batch I promise you will be hooked! You can make super rich, decadent chocolate ice cream or change up a few ingredients and have a skim milk version that tastes just as creamy.

There are all sorts of ice cream recipes - some are custard based (with eggs) and some are "simple" (milk, cream, sugar, flavoring). Some require you to cook the ingredients beforehand and others just have you give it a quick stir. No matter what type of recipe you chose there is one tip you want to remember when making ice cream. Before you pour your ingredients into you ice cream maker give it time to chill. chill. Chill. Did you get that? It really makes a huge difference. Your ice cream maker will be ice cold and if you pour in a mixture that is closer to room temp you will end up with a grainy final product rather than a smooth, silky ice cream. So have some patience, let it chill in the refrigerator until it is cold to the touch.

My favorite ice cream has always been mint chocolate chip. Bonus points if it is mint cookies and cream! (again, not exactly a fall flavor but I will give you a substitution in the recipe to make cookies and cream ice cream AND mint cookies and cream). If you chose to make the vanilla base you can go ahead and toss in any "mix in" you desire - chocolate chips, cut up pieces of your favorite candy bar, caramel, fudge - go nuts!

Mint Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients

2 cups of milk
2 cups of heavy cream
1 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (Make this two teaspoons and leave out the mint extract if you would like a vanilla ice cream)
1 teaspoon mint extract
1 cup crushed cookies (left overs from this recipe are perfect)

In a large bowl stir together the milk, cream, sugar, salt and extracts.
Stir until the sugar has disolved.
Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
While the mixture is "chilling" assemble your ice cream maker.
Pour the mixture into your maker and freeze according to manufacturer instructions adding the cookies at the end.
For KitchenAid ice cream makers the process should take less than 30 minutes.

2 minutes in

15 minutes in

25 minutes in

Your ice cream will be the consistency of  soft-serve.
Stir in your cookies and then spoon into freezer proof containers.
Let your ice cream stay in the freezer for 2 hours before serving.
Enjoy!

The Final Product!