A Month of Homemade Ice Cream

You don't have to own an ice cream parlor to impress your friends and family with a variety of homemade ice cream flavors. All you need is an ice cream maker and the ideas gathered here.

Start with the basic vanilla ice cream recipe below, then pick from the following variations to create everything from old favorites like strawberry and rocky road to innovative combos like cinnamon-cardamom pine nut and oatmeal cookie ice cream. You can also use the basic recipe as a jumping off point for your own delicious creations.

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2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean split lengthwise or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks

1. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, 1 cup of cream, sugar, vanilla bean if using, and salt until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 30 minutes.

2. Place the egg yolks in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Gradually whisk the warm milk mixture into the yolks until combined. Scrape mixture back into the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a spoon and leaves a track if you run your finger through it.

3. Pour mixture through a fine-meshed sieve set over a bowl and whisk in the remaining cup of cream and vanilla extract if using. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill completely. When ready to churn, remove vanilla bean* and reserve. Prepare ice cream according to manufacturer's directions.

*Rinse vanilla bean and let dry. It can be used again or placed in the sugar canister to flavor your sugar.

Ice Cream with Nuts and Such

Toasted Coconut: Replace the 1 cup of cream added at the end with 1 cup of coconut milk. Stir in 2 cups toasted coconut just before taking the ice cream off the machine.

Almond: Replace milk with plain almond milk. Fold 1 1/2 cups of toasted sliced almonds into ice cream just before taking the ice cream off the machine. Add 1/2 teaspoon almond extract when adding the vanilla extract.

Butter Pecan: Saute 1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped pecans in 2 tablespoons of butter until lightly crisped. Add to ice cream just before taking the ice cream off the machine.

Ballpark: Fold 3 cups of caramel corn with peanuts into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Peanut Butter: When warming milk and cream, reduce cream to 1/2 cup and whisk in 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter. Fold 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped salted peanuts into the ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Rocky Road: Fold 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows, 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips, and 1 cup sliced almonds into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Cinnamon-Cardamom Pine Nut: Steep 20 cardamom pods, 2 split cinnamon sticks, and 1-teaspoon ground ginger in milk-cream mixture in the beginning. Strain and proceed with recipe. Fold in 1 cup toasted pine nuts when the ice cream is taken off the machine.

Fruit Ice Creams

Cherry-Pomegranate: Combine 2 cups dried tart cherries with 1/2 cup pomegranate juice and simmer over low heat until cherries are very tender. Strain, reserving liquid. Add liquid to custard after it's been strained. Fold cherries into ice cream once it comes off the machine.

Strawberry: Puree 2 cups of strawberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Fold into custard after it's been strained.

Raspberry-Orange: Puree 3 cups of raspberries with 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest, and 3 tablespoons orange juice; strain to remove seeds. Fold mixture into custard after it's been strained.

Port Wine Prune: Poach 2 cups of plump pitted prunes in 1/2 cup port wine along with 2 tablespoons sugar and 3 strips of orange zest. Gently cook until the prunes are very soft and have absorbed the port. Remove orange zest. Puree prune mixture and add to custard before freezing ice cream.

Spiced Blueberry-Lime: Cook 3 cups blueberries with 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice until blueberries are tender. Puree. Fold into custard and proceed with recipe.

Peach: Puree 2 cups of canned peaches with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Fold into the custard before chilling and freezing.

Apricot-Mango: Combine 1-1/2 cups of dried apricots with 1 cup mango nectar. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until cool. Transfer to a food processor along with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and puree. Fold mixture into custard before freezing.

Bitter-Orange Marmalade: Add 1/3 cup of orange zest strips to milk mixture when steeping. Strain after 30 minutes. Fold 1 1/4 cups of chopped bitter orange marmalade into ice cream mixture just before it comes off the machine.

Rum Raisin: In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups raisins with 1/3 cup dark rum and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let stand at least 3 hours and up to a day ahead. Strain, reserving the rum. Add the rum to the custard mixture after it's been strained. Add raisins to ice cream mixture just before it comes off the machine.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Mexican Chocolate: Add 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 whole cloves, and 2 allspice berries to the milk-cream mixture and warm as in the original recipe. Dampen 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder with some of the cream at the end until well combined. Proceed with recipe, straining out cinnamon, cloves, and allspice when removing vanilla bean.

Malted Milk: Whisk 1/4 cup of malt powder into the custard once it's been strained. Coarsely chop 2 cups of malted milk balls and fold into the ice cream once it comes off the machine.

Double Mint Chocolate: Add 1 cup finely chopped mint leaves to milk mixture when steeping. Strain after 30 minutes. Coarsely chop 2 cups of mint patties or junior mints and fold into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk: Whisk 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder into the sugar then whisk in the 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of cream until combined; cook as in basic recipe but don't steep. Add 4 ounces of coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate to the milk mixture when it comes off the heat; stir to melt. Strain and whisk in remaining cream. Fold 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped chocolate into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Toffee Crunch: Fold 2 cups coarsely chopped toffee bars into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Chocolate Brownie: Add 5 ounces of coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate to the milk-cream mixture when it comes off the heat; stir to melt. Strain and whisk in remaining cream. Fold in 2 cups of broken brownies into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

More Delicious Ice Creams

Caramel: Place 1/2 cup of the sugar in a skillet with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and cook over low heat until mixture caramelizes. Add 1/2 cup of cream (be careful: mixture will splutter) and cook, stirring until smooth. Set aside. Prepare ice cream as above, reserving only 1/2 cup of cream at the end and proceed with recipe.

Lavender: Steep 1/3 cup dried lavender and 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest in milk-cream mixture and strain after 30 minutes. Proceed with recipe.

Espresso: Add 1/2 cup finely ground espresso beans to milk mixture when steeping. Strain after 30 minutes and proceed with the recipe.

Green Tea: Add 1/4 cup green tea leaves to milk mixture when steeping. Strain after 30 minutes and proceed with recipe.

Granola: Fold 2 cups of your favorite crunchy granola into ice cream once it's been taken off the machine.

Maple: Omit sugar. Use 1/4 cup dark brown sugar in the milk-cream mixture. Stir 3/4 cup maple syrup (preferably grade B) into custard mixture before freezing.

Oatmeal Cookie: Fold 3 cups coarsely broken crisp oatmeal cookies into ice cream when it comes off the machine.

Crystallized Ginger: Fold 1 1/2 cups of chopped crystallized ginger into ice cream once you've taken it off the machine.

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