Homemade “Ziplock” Ice Cream
I’m not sure where the sudden urge came from, but for the past week I have been craving a sweet treat from my childhood. I have a vivid memory from Kindergarten of making ice cream by shaking a small plastic bag of cream and sugar inside of a larger plastic bag of ice and salt, and it being the most delicious ice cream ever. No fancy ice cream maker required!
My boyfriend was a little skeptical, but I went to the grocery yesterday and got all of the ingredients to relive my childhood ice cream making experience. It’s a fairly simple process, just takes a bit of arm work to shake up the Ziplock baggies for about five minutes, and then a truly rewarding treat awaits.
We just did plain vanilla flavored ice cream and topped it with some sprinkles and it was awesome, but we have a ton of the ice cream salt left so I’m thinking about exploring some other fun flavors next time… mint chocolate chip (using mint extract and green food coloring) or coffee flavored.
What you’ll need: sugar, half and half, vanilla extract, salt (preferably ice cream salt or another salt with thick granules), ice cubes, pint-sized Ziplock bags and gallon-sized Ziplock bags.
In the small Ziplock, combine the half and half, vanilla extract and sugar. Make sure it’s all combined and that your bag is sealed tight.
In the large ziplock, fill it at least half-way full of ice cubes, and add the salt. I found ice cream salt at my local Publix, but you could also use Kosher or rock salt, too. Basically, the bigger the salt granules, the quicker and easiest the process will be. I would imagine you could use table salt, too, it just might take more salt and more time to get the ice cream to harden.
Place the small bag inside of the larger bag with the ice & salt, and seal the large bag. Shake the bags for about 5-10 minutes until the cream firms up into ice cream. I did a combination of moving the bag around gently, and shaking fairly vigorously over my sink, and it took about 8 minutes for mine. You’ll be able to feel the smaller bag and tell when it firms up. Then you can eat it straight out of the bag or transfer to a bowl and top with your favorite goodies.
Let me know if you come up with any other fun flavors or combinations to enjoy!
Homemade “Ziplock” Ice Cream
Serves 1
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup ice cream salt (or Kosher or rock salt)
- Ice cubes
- 1 pint-size Ziplock bag
- 1 gallon-size Ziplock bag
Steps
- Combine the half and half, sugar and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal tightly.
- Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside of the gallon-size bag.
- Seal the larger bag.
- Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens, about 5-10 minutes. (You can feel the smaller bag to determine when it’s firmed up and ready to eat.)
- Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add your favorite toppings and mix-ins and enjoy!
Hugs, kisses & yummy dishes… xoxo
Lauren