Chocolate Ice Cream

Another mild day outside.  I love it.  I actually heard an ice cream truck out on Saturday.  Spring is in the air which means summer will be here before we know it.  That should give you plenty of time to buy yourself an ice cream maker, if you don't have one already,  and make up some of your favorite flavors.  Chocolate is a good one because it tastes great by itself, or you can add such things as nuts, marshmallows, fudge, chocolate chips, ect.  This recipe is at the request of my Aunt Chris.  It came at a perfect time because I am going to be having a pretty big group over this Saturday and I now have a little head start on the meal!

This recipe actually came with the machine I bought.  I got mine at Bed Bath and Beyond.  It gives you a great reason to use one of your coupons from their store that I am sure you have tucked in a drawer somewhere!  I absolutely love everything about this machine.  But let me tell you something I did not think of when I bought it and brought it home.  You have to allow 24 hours for the freezer bowl to initially freeze.  You also can only make one recipe a day because of the freezer bowl needing to refreeze.  I wish that they sold extra freezer bowls.  I have to start way in advance when I want to serve a variety for parties.  I highly recommend the 2 quart capacity.  I can't imagine making less.  I buy my heavy cream and cocoa from Gordon's (GFS) in larger quantities to save money.

Here is what you will need:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cup whole milk
3 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
blender or hand mixer
ice cream maker

Place the cocoa and sugars in a medium bowl: stir to combine.

Add the whole milk and use a hand mixer or blender on low speed or whisk to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.  If not freezing immediately, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Turn machine on; pour mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes it will be about as thick as soft serve ice cream.  I always put it in an airtight container and into the freezer for an additional 2 hours to get it firmer.  Just take it out about 15 minutes before serving it to make it easier to scoop!

When I add extra ingredients I pour half the ice cream into the container, add the extras of my choice, add then the rest of the ice cream, and stir it up to combine.  Today I just wanted to make plain chocolate.  It's not what's for dinner, but it is what's for dessert!