Kids in the Kitchen: Hand Tossed Ice Cream

I have never met a kid that doesn’t like love ice cream! The sweet, creamy treat can be served up a variety of ways and is popular for birthdays, severed over pie and as a treat all on its own!

The last recipe of ice cream week is perfect for all those ice cream loving kids! Hand-Tossed Ice Cream is a fun way for kids to get ‘hands-on’ in the kitchen by helping ‘toss’ the cream mixture into ice cream consistency.

This was something I remember making as a child (also the “Kick the Can Ice Cream” version) and is still popular today! So of course when I was asked to help develop recipes for a kid’s cooking camp this summer, this is one of the recipes/activities I thought of and it did not fail!

On several occasions the kids squealed with delight and declared that this was ‘the best recipe ever’ and enthusiastically thanked me for teaching them how to make it. If that isn’t a sign of a winner I don’t know what one is!

This ice cream is creamy (think soft serve) and has that perfect vanilla, to sugar, to cream ratio; making it hard to have *just* one bowl! Since I have made this now, more times than I can count, I have this recipe down to perfection which includes some tricks that I have learned along the way. I have included these tricks and a few extra photos showcasing these steps below.

So be the coolest Mom (Dad, aunt, teacher, big sister) eva, and let your kids toss up some ice cream!

Hand-Tossed Ice Cream

Heather of Kitchen Concoctions: www.kitchen-concoctions.com

Printable Version

Prep Time: 10 minutes Active Time: 10-15 minutes Wait Time: 15-20 minutes
Makes approximately 1 quart

Ingredients:

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 heaping cup sugar
½ tablespoon vanilla

Supplies:

2 (1-quart-sized) zip-top freezer bags

2 (1-gallon-sized) zip-top freezer bags

Ice, as needed

½ cup ice cream salt

Duct tape, as needed

Scissors

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, whipping cream, and vanilla. Continue to whisk cream mixture until it begins to thicken, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Pour cream mixture into quart-sized zip-top bag and zip shut, squeezing out all the air. Seal bag opening with two pieces of duct tape. Place taped quart-sized into second quart-sized bag and seal.

Fill gallon-sized zip top bag a third of the way full with ice. Add ice cream salt to ice in baggie.

Place sealed quart-sized baggie (containing cream mixture) into gallon-sized bag containing ice. Maneuver the ice around to make sure ice us on all sides of the smaller bag inside. Squeeze out excess air and zip bag shut. Seal bag opening with two pieces of duct tape. Place sealed gallon-sized bag in remaining gallon-sized bag and seal.

Once baggie is sealed begin shaking and tossing the bag to mix the ice cream. Keep a towel handy as the bag may begin to leak. Gloves or a clean pair of socks may be used to keep your hands warm as you shake!

After about 10-15 minutes of shaking and tossing, cut top off gallon-sized baggie and remove the quart-sized bag and rinse off the saltwater. Ice cream will be the consistency of soft serve and can be served immediately or can be place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up. When ready to serve, cut a hole in one corner of the bag and squeeze the ice cream into individual dishes. Can be served as is, over pie or topped with fresh berries.

Notes:

• Don’t skimp on the name brand zip-top baggies or duct tape.

• Double bagging each bag is essential to help prevent leakage and salt seeping into your ice cream.

• Whisk cream mixture for a solid 2-3 minutes to help it thicken as much as possible before placing into zip-top bag.

• Shake ice cream for the full 10-15 minutes to achieve best results, even freezing for 15-20 minutes before serving.

• Keep a towel handy as the bag may begin to leak.
• Gloves or a clean pair of socks may be used to keep your hands warm as you shake!