Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker- My New Favorite Toy

I love ice cream. It’s one of my all-time favorite foods. I can eat it any day, any time- regardless of the weather. Years ago, I gave up ice cream for Lent, and it was rough. On Easter Sunday, my parents surprised me with a pint of pistachio ice cream (one of my favorites!) for dessert. I absolutely sat at the dining room table eating directly from the pint with a spoon while everyone else indulged in fancy pastries.

This past Christmas, I definitely had a more “adult” wish list. When my Mom asked me what I wanted, I initially asked for a new electric toothbrush and a salad spinner. (See what I mean? 10 year-old Allison is very disappointed) But, at the last minute, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea. So, I asked for an ice cream maker.

My conclusion? It’s even more fun than I expected it to be. If you like ice cream and have any sort of interest in baking, give it a try.

If you’re not an ice cream person, or want more dessert options in general, my friend Lynn has an amazing post with 10+ Delicious Pie Recipes. You should definitely check it out. There’s so many yummy looking options, and I can’t decide which to try first!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

My Cuisinart

I have this Cuisinart “Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, & Sorbet Maker.” It makes 1.5 quarts of ice cream at a time, and is really easy to use. It’s almost too easy- the first time I used it, I kept rereading the instructions because I thought I just had to be missing something.

If you are not familiar with making ice cream, there is a bowl that needs to be frozen before you do anything else. From reading reviews in the past and for this post, the quality of the bowl is the deciding factor as to whether or not an ice cream maker is good. For me, the bowl will freeze and be ready to use in about 6 hours. But, this varies based on your freezer’s settings.

A few days ago, I decided to make 2 batches, right after each other. The bowl usually stays very frozen after 1 batch, so I figured I could make it work. In the end, the bowl was sitting out for just a bit too long, so my second batch wasn’t thickening like it should. But, I popped it into the freezer, (mid-churn, with the paddle still in the bowl) for about 5 minutes. Once I began mixing it again, it worked like a charm.

Ice Cream Recipes

So far, I’ve tried 3 recipes. The first one, is a basic chocolate. This one is the one that is in the device’s instruction/recipe book. It was great considering it’s a basic recipe. I found it to be really rich/sweet, which for me to say means a lot, since I have a huge sweet tooth. (I can eat a can of frosting, no problem)

The next 2 recipes I found through Pinterest. They are both from the same site, and you can find them in my food board on Pinterest. There are so many other great recipes on this site, and I can’t wait to try more!

First, I tried the Birthday Cake Ice Cream recipe. This one was good, but not my favorite. After it had been in the freezer for a day or two, I noticed some clumps of cake mix, but I do not think this had anything to do with the recipe. It could have been one of the ingredients I used, or perhaps that it had been in the freezer, since all of these ice creams have a short shelf life. Either way, the taste didn’t change, and I didn’t notice the texture change when I was eating it. If you like cake batter, definitely give it a try.

My personal favorite, is the Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream recipe. Mint Chip is one of my favorite flavors in general, but it’s so good! This one was also the easiest to make since there was no refrigeration time in between adding the ingredients and churning in the mixer.

I’ve also tried two slightly different versions of this recipe. The first time I made it, I only had mint extract, not peppermint, like the recipe calls for. After lots of googling I learned that mint is often a blend of peppermint and spearmint, and that adding some vanilla can help balance out the mint blend. I did add some vanilla, but to determine how much, I tasted it during the mixing process. The second time I used peppermint extract and there was a very noticeable difference, but both variations were great.

Extra Items

When making my first batch of ice cream, it occured to me that I hadn’t really figured out how I was going to be storing the ice cream in the freezer. It was easy to figure out at my parents’ , but at my apartment, we have limited freezer space. Thankfully, I found these containers that are the perfect size for 1 batch (each), and they fit in our small freezer perfectly.

I also ended up buying this ice cream scooper. Even if the ice cream is really frozen, it’s easy to scoop if you’re using this. Plus, it’s dishwasher safe! That alone makes me so happy, so clearly I’m old.

Would you consider buying an ice cream maker? Do you love it as much as I do? Let me know your thoughts and what recipes you recommend I try in the comments below!

Are you in need of an easy dinner option? Check out my post on one sheet sausage & peppers. Need new self-care tips? Check out this post.

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