Homemade Nutella Ice Cream

I could have sworn I posted this for you guys almost a year ago, but when I looked through everything, it wasn't there. Strange. Nevertheless, today, I have the best ice cream recipe for you. It takes five minutes to throw together and since it doesn't contain eggs, there is no need to stand over the stove whisking egg yolks. And no chance for curdled ice cream. Now that's just gross. Even though there are no eggs in this ice cream, you'd never know there was no custard base. This ice cream is rich, creamy and so so good. Just ask the captain. He's already eaten half the container. Don't tell him I told you that.

This ice cream came about when I had a huge jar of nutella sitting in my pantry just begging to be used. Of course I could use it in brownies or swirled in banana bread, but it has just been too darn hot to even want to turn on the oven and heat up the whole house. Let me tell you, that is the last thing I want to do after it has been over 100 degrees for several days in a row. Since I had another huge jar of nutella in the pantry (it's one of those things I always have, but never open for fear that I will eat the whole thing with a spoon!), I knew I had to make this again and finally share the recipe with you. All you need for this fabulously easy ice cream is nutella, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla and a bit of salt. That's it. Blend it all together in a blender until smooth and let chill for an hour or two to let everything combine. At this point, you'll be tempted to just drink the mixture through a straw. And no, I did not do that. I wanted to. Trust me.

Once the mixture has been chilled and is ready to go, give it another quick blend to mix it all up again. Then, as per your ice cream makers instructions, poor the chilled mixture into the machine (I have this machine and it's great!). My machine made this ice cream in about 25 minutes or so. Yours may be faster or longer, but just keep an eye on it. If you want to add chocolate chips or anything else, make sure to do so before it gets too hard. I usually add mine when it looks like soft serve ice cream. Then you know it will mix in really well. After the ice cream is made, you can of course eat it straight from the container, but it's best to freeze it so it becomes a bit more solid. This ice cream stays rather soft, but it will firm up a bit after several hours in the freezer.

Just a warning, this ice cream is completely addictive. I kid you not. And you will probably find yourself eating it straight from the container. Don't say I didn't warn you. Also, if you don't like nutella, you can substitute your favorite peanut butter (just not that all natural stuff - the oil makes for a slippery ice cream!). It's just like the filling of a peanut butter cup. So yummy!

there is really cream in that half and half container, don't worry.

blend

pour

freeze

add chocolate chips!

Homemade Nutella Ice Cream (slightly adapted from Scoop Adventures)

3/4 cup nutella

1/2 cup  sugar
1 1/3 cups whole milk (don't skimp here and use 1% or 2%, use the real deal)
1 1/3 cups  heavy cream
Pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla extract (about 1-2 teaspoons)

Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food process and process until smooth.  Chill mixture in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Once ice cream base is thoroughly chilled, pour base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Pack the ice cream into a plastic container.  Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours. Enjoy!

After this, you may find yourself never going back to store bought ice cream again!