Very Vanilla Cookie Crumble Ice Cream

Recently, I was gifted with an electric ice cream maker... an appliance I've never worked with before. The last time I made fresh ice cream it was with one of those old fashioned hand crank machines that used rock salt and ice. Sure, it worked... but it took a good bit of elbow grease and preparation, so it wasn't something I did very often. It was just too much hassle. This little electric beauty is a whole different animal though and I've made several different batches of ice cream already. I love it! I expect I'll be posting quite a few frozen sweet treats over the summer! And I'll be doing a review of my particular maker soon, too.

This is a very basic ice cream recipe. It uses no eggs and there is no precooking required so it can be made when ever the mood strikes. I expected it to be less creamy because its not custard based but I was pleasantly surprised at the lovely creamy texture. I hope you'll try it and that you enjoy it as much as we did!

This recipe can be made in an electric or manual ice cream maker... just follow your manufacturer's directions.

Also, this basic vanilla recipe could be used with many different add-ins... candy, other cookies, fruit puree. Just keep the add-ins to no more than 1 cup total and you'll be golden!

Very Vanilla Cookie Crumble Ice Cream
Yield: Approximately 2 Quarts

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups whole milk
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
3 Cups heavy cream
2 Tablespoons good quality pure vanilla extract
1 Cup Crushed chocolate (Oreo) sandwich cookies (approx. 10 whole cookies)

Method:
In a mixing bowl, combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Pour this mixture into the ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's directions. Add the crushed cookies during the last 5 minutes of churning. Serve immediately or freeze.