Cinnamon Walnut Ice Cream

Cinnamon Walnut Ice Cream

For my recent birthday, my older brother and his girlfriend gave me what any warm blooded, movie watching, library avoiding, 21 year old college girl would be thrilled to own. An ice cream maker. No more trips to the grocery store for that brand name stuff. In twenty minutes or less I can be the proud inventor of my own ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet. My roommates slash sous-chefs are more than happy to be my taste testers. This cinnamon walnut ice cream came about because I was so excited to try out my new ice cream maker that I refused to go to the store to buy any ingredients that weren't readily available in my home. We had a bag of crushed walnuts on the baking shelf, cinnamon in the spice drawer, some light cream leftover from morning coffee, and milk in the fridge for my little brother's cereal before school.  The flavors worked together excellently and its safe to say that my first ice cream making experience was a good one :)

My ice cream sandwiched deliciously between two Tate's cookies.

Ingredients
3 cups light cream
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

This recipe requires an ice cream maker whose bowl has been placed in the freezer for several hours prior to the preparation of the ingredients.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and walnuts and stir with a spoon until well combined.  The cream and milk must be kept cold for as long as possible before adding to the bowl.  Once the ingredients are combined, pour the mixture into the bowl of the ice cream maker and allow to run for eighteen to twenty minutes.  At this point the ice cream should be solid but still relatively soft.  It can be transferred into a plastic container and placed in the freezer until more frozen or it can be eaten immediately.  I chose to put my ice cream in a bowl and top it with a fresh mint sprig while my brother ate his sandwiched between two Tate's cookies. The cinnamon spices up the vanilla based ice cream for a classic flavor combination and the chopped walnuts add an element of crunch and texture to the creamy dessert. Enjoy!