Delicious and Unique Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

Why settle for just plain old vanilla when you can savor the richness of real vanilla beans? You will need 2 vanilla beans
to make this recipe.

Take the vanilla beans and slice them in half lengthwise. Use the back of your knife to scrape the tiny seeds into your cream for the homemade ice cream recipe. You can put the pods into a bowl of sugar and they will give you pleasantly flavored sugar for using in cookies and cakes . . . . just refill the sugar when it gets low and the beans will last for a long time.

Let the cream sit overnight with the vanilla beans stirred into it. This will allow the flavor to seep into the cream. 12-24 hours later, make the recipe as usual and you will have a delightfully speckled ice cream with the wonderful flavor of natural vanilla.

Want the flavor of a banana split without having to make one for everyone in your house? Here's a quick and easy recipe to use.

Add to the basic recipe:
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (the riper the bananas, the better the flavor)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. milk

1 can. fruit cocktail, drained
1/2 c. chopped peanuts
1/2 c. chocolate sauce, half frozen in freezer (should be paste-like)

Blend the milk and bananas together with the nutmeg and vanilla. Chill for at least an hour before adding to the main recipe and freezing according to the directions. 5 min. before the end, add the can of fruit cocktail.

Once the ice cream is finished, stir in nuts and chocolate sauce by hand before serving.

This homemade ice cream recipe uses a popular spice that you will love in ice cream form. It provides just the right touch of spiciness with a fun flavor blast.

Start with the usual recipe and stir in 2 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Proceed as usual, making sure that you have stirred the cinnamon mixture right before pouring it into the ice cream maker, otherwise the spice will tend to settle and you won't get even distribution.

When the ice cream is finished, you may wish to stir in a cup of cinnamon red hots before serving.

To make this recipe, you will need a little more time than the average homemade ice cream recipe, but the results are definitely worth it.

In a frying pan, saute 2 medium apples, chopped, in 2 Tblsp. butter. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon and cook over low heat until the apples are soft. Mash them well and chill in the fridge before starting the ice cream.

You will need the basic recipe, but only use half the sugar. Replace the other half with 1 cup of prepared caramel sauce. Freeze as usual, adding the apple mixture 10 min. before the ice cream is finished.

If you want a delicately flavored homemade ice cream, this is ideal. It's also healthier for you than many regular flavors.

Start with the basic homemade ice cream recipe, increasing the milk amount to 1.5 c. You will need to heat the milk over low heat, then steep three green tea bags in it.

Once the tea has finished steeping, about 5 min. dissolve sugar into it and cool. Proceed as normal, adding 1 tsp. of lemon extract.

There's no reason to follow a set homemade ice cream recipe, really. You can make up your own just by adding your favorite flavors, candies or just about anything else, to the basic recipe. However, there are a few things you should know before you get started.

1. Most spices and flavorings should be added easily enough to the cream or milk in the recipe. You may want to simmer the milk with the spice in order for it to take on a stronger flavor.

2. Fruits should be mashed and then added just a few minutes before the ice cream is finished. You can also add finely chopped nuts or hard candies (such as Smarties, etc.) at this point.

3. Anything else, including cookies, whole nuts, marshmallows, etc. should be stirred in by hand after the ice cream is done. If it softens up during this process, just pop it back into the freezer for a bit to make sure it is hard enough to serve.

That's it. Now go wild and come up with some great recipes of your own. Don't forget to let me know what you've concocted!