A Better Vanilla Frozen Custard!

Okay, we tried this a few weeks ago, and we came out with a wonderful but slightly "eggy" frozen custard... Not bad at all, but not what I was looking for.

So yesterday I went back to the drawing board. I reduced the eggs, evened the ratio of heavy cream to whole milk, and reduced the sugar...

And used real vanilla, because it makes a difference in frozen and baked custard.

THIS CAME OUT AMAZINGLY WELL.

I made the vanilla as a base and then added homemade M&M/Chocolate Chip cookie chunks, and a handful of M&M's to the second half of the mixture.

This recipe made two batches... so I froze the first batch using my Cuisinart Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt maker (a wonderful machine!)...

And the second batch was where I folded the cookie parts and M&M's in at the end of the process so they wouldn't get soggy.

Here is the revised recipe:

2 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
2 1/2 cups Whole Milk
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
4 tablespoons Corn Syrup (this helps the ice cream/custard to have a silkier, smoother texture)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Using a 3 quart kettle, pour cream, milk, egg yolks, sugar and corn syrup into the pan. Whisk well. Cook over medium/medium-high heat, stirring or whisking constantly, until mixture begins to thicken and "bubble" around edges. You don't need to boil it, you just want those eggs and cream and milk to make a real happy marriage together!

Chill. (I cheat and fill my sink with ice water and set the pan in there to get a head start on the chilling process, but you can simply put it in the fridge and let it chill there. If you're patient. I am not patient when it comes to ice cream. SIGH....)

Once cool/chilled, I poured one half of the mixture into the ice cream tub and turned it on... 

I LOVE THAT PART. I DON'T HAVE TO CRANK ANYTHING!!!! :)

The old scale is checking out the shiny newfangled intruder... and finds the bold red color a little too "notice me" for her tastes, but didn't throw down the gauntlet... so ice cream maker is free to stay!

Once frozen to custard-like consistency, spoon into a freezer container and repeat the freezing process with the balance of custard.

And here's what the chocolate chip cookie variety looked like:

The cookies stayed crisp and delicious and the whole thing was a crowd pleaser... both varieties, plain vanilla and cookie-studded M&M variety!

I miss my little camera... it gave me the best pics, and the USB cord disappeared. I must order a new one, I kept thinking I'd find it.. and I will, no doubt. Right after I order a new one!

UPDATE!!! NEWSFLASH!!! Daughter Beth Jamison found my little cord, bringing my little camera back into the game. Well done, Beth!!!

Multi-published, award-winning author Ruth Logan Herne loves writing sweet books, meeting readers, cooking, baking, running a crazy busy small farm, and reading stories to cute little kids... and making bigger kids do homework! You can find her at ruthloganherne.com, facebook and twitter, Seekerville and now at Petticoats & Pistols.com with some of her Western writing buds. If nothing else, she loves to talk... (sigh...) but she mostly loves to meet readers!