Apple Pie Ice Cream

Nope that's not apple pie AND ice cream - it's apple pie ice cream!  Woop woop!

This summer we were essentially robbed of summer weather in Southern California.  Instead we got sand up our noses at the beach while the wind blew like crazy, Christmas weather at the Fourth of July, and a bunch of overcast days where I wore a coat.  We waited patiently for sunny days while eating all kinds of warm treats sitting by the heating vents.  A couple of times we thought of making homemade ice cream (the Chef is a whiz with creative varieties!), but the weather was so disagreeable that we mowed down ebelskivers instead.  No major complaints here.

When we got home from Canada last week and visited the grocery store the apples looked amazing.  Suddenly I was all about apple turnovers and ice cream.  Then I had an idea!  Apple Pie Ice Cream....why not make it a best of both worlds?  And so we did.  It was my first time really getting involved in the entire process and I have to say it was painless.  I'm looking forward to experimenting a little more, but in the meantime please enjoy a summery fall treat that will keep you coming back for more.  We've divided it into 4 sections:  Crust, Apples, Cream Mix, and Churn...you prepare each step, dump it into the ice cream maker and churn away to your finished result.  *I swear the two remaining scoops I rationed throughout the week are the only thing that have gotten me through to Friday with a shred of sanity intact.*

Apple Pie Ice Cream
Ingredients

*Cream mix
1pt    half and half
1/2C brown sugar
1/4t   nutmeg
1/2t   cinnamon
4       egg yolks
1t      salt

*Apples
2T     butter
2ea    Granny Smith apple - peeled and medium diced
1/4C  brown sugar

*Crust
1/2C  flour
1/4C  butter
1/4t    salt
1t       cold water

Method
Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
You can use a bought pie crust if you'd like, but you won't need all of it.  I quickly whipped up some homemade crust using my gluten-free flour blend and it was easy and awesome.  For the sake of ease, we just stuck to regular flour for the recipe.

 Begin by combining flour and salt. 

 Using a pastry cutter or fork to mash it until you get a crumbly texture

and then mix the remainder by hand...

to form it into a ball. *You may need to add a bit of water 

to form a ball, but I didn't.

Place the dough into the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.  Once chilled roll flat onto cookie sheet. You don't have to roll it out perfect since you will be crumbling it.  Place it into the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool then break into pieces. Set aside.

Apples:
Begin by peeling, coring and dicing your apples into medium sized bites.  Melt butter in saute pan over medium heat. 

  Add apples and saute for two minutes.

 Add brown sugar and cook until sugar is melted.

This will make a quick caramel. 

 Remove to a plate and chill in fridge.

Cream:
-Begin by bringing half and half to a boil; add cinnamon and nutmeg and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
-In a separate bowl mix yolks, sugar and salt - whisk until smooth.
-Next you will temper the hot cream into the yolks.

 To do this slowly drizzle half the cream into the yolk mixture while whisking.

Then add that mix back into the pot that has the other half of cream, 

and whisk over low heat for 5minutes. 

Remove from heat and set it aside to cool until it reaches room temperature.

Churn:

Add cream mix to chilled machine and churn until it reaches soft serve consistency.

 Next add apples and their caramel and churn again until 

it reaches soft serve consistency.

Fold crust into ice cream, reserving a couple of tablespoons 

to spoon over the finished product.

and finish chilling in freezer until totally set (approximately 2 hours).

We went out for a bit and were like a couple of kids waiting for the time to pass!

 Upon returning we served up the ice cream in wine goblets

and sprinkled the remaining baked pastry crust over top-

-before adding a few thinly sliced Pink Lady apples as a garnish.

In total this recipe made about a quart of ice cream and took no more than an hour or so to make (not including freeze time).  I most certainly have my favorite ice cream flavors at the store, but knowing I can experiment at home and whip up all kinds of creations has got my wheels turning on what to make next...seeing as there's only a tiny bit left after a very rough week of ice cream for breakfast, lunch and crisis.

Have you ever made or tasted homemade ice cream? If so, what did you think and what are your go-to flavors?  I hope you get a chance to indulge in your favorite treats this weekend.  For some reason this week seemed to go on and on and I don't know about you, but I am ready for a couple days off.  Relax and enjoy everyone!!