Butter Pecan Ice Cream

 

Oh boy this is seriously sooo addicting and sooooo good. I wish ice cream were healthier because I would literally have it all the time. And by that I mean I would have this specific butter pecan ice cream all the time. But I still like a nice treat so I enjoy this ice cream when the mood wings.

First you have to toast the pecans in melted butter. I use bagged pecan halves but you could also use pecan pieces (we end up chopping the pecan halves later anyway). You also will heat up 2.5 cups of heavy cream and 2.5 cups of milk in a pot. 

Strain the pecans to get rid of the excess butter.

 You can use the drippings on waffles--I did and it had the most delicious pecan-butter taste!

After that, add 4 eggs, 2 yolks, and sugar to a bowl and blend until it resembles mayonnaise. 

Add one cup of the heated milk/cream mixture to the eggs SLOWLY to avoid cooking the eggs. Once Then pour the whole egg mixture into the milk/cream and let it simmer until it coats the back of a spoon.

Then let the mixture cool in the fridge until completely cool. Add to ice cream maker and let churn for 30 minutes. Add walnuts and churn for five more minutes.

You can eat the ice cream fresh out the ice cream maker but the consistency will be very soft. I like to let it firm up in the freezer for an hour. This ice cream stays somewhat soft and never turns rock hard like store bought ice cream.

It reminds me of the butter pecan gelato we had in Florence at the Gelato Festival.

Enjoy!