by Briana Thomas Burkholder 55 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. Click here for my affiliate disclosure. If you purchase items through my affiliate links, I receive a small commission but your price doesn't change.
First published 7/6/14. Recipe updated2/24/16.
The best ice cream I have ever had was butter pecan.
A couple of summers ago, I was working for my grandparents at The Peach Barn in Holmes County, OH (far away from home). It was hot and sticky, but I got to go driving around for the afternoon with my grandfather on business of some sort. Our “business” led us to Walnut Creek Cheese, a huge “grocery store” of sorts in Walnut Creek, OH. There my grandfather bought me an ice cream cone.
And let me tell you, this was an ice cream cone that spawns legends.
A huge waffle cone topped with homemade butter pecan ice cream. The summer heat made it drip so fast that I could hardlykeep up. Up until that moment, I had scoffed at the idea of nuts in my ice cream. But then I had that ice cream cone, and ever since, I have inherited my grandfather’s love of butter pecan ice cream. My love of ice cream really is hereditary.
I’ll never forget the words of my grandfather regarding that ice cream cone: “It’s an experience.”
Fortunately, it’s an experience that I can have at home as well. Without damaging my waist-line.
I recommend sweetening this ice cream with THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder, my preferred sweetener which can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
I use a Cuisinart 1 1/2 qt. Automatic Ice Cream Maker for all my ice cream making needs. Works great.
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
5.0 from 8 reviews
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Author:
Briana Thomas
Serves: 6
THM:S, Low-carb, Sugar free, Gluten/peanut free
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- 2 farm fresh eggs*
- 1 T softened/melted salted butter
- 1 T vegetable glycerin, optional but highly recommended
- 2 tsp. butter flavoring
- 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. caramel flavoring
- ½ tsp. molasses
- 6-8 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.), to taste
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. glucomannan
Pecans:
- 1 T salted butter
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- 1 packet (3/4 tsp.) Truvia
Instructions
- In a high-powered blender, blend all the ice cream ingredients together until completely smooth. Churn in an automatic ice cream churn according to manufacturer's directions.
- While the ice cream is churning, toast the pecans with the butter in a skillet until toasty and fragrant. Toward the end of toasting, sprinkle the pecans with the Truvia and let them continue toasting a bit longer. When the pecans are done, transfer them to a freezer-safe container and freeze them to chill. When the ice cream is done churning, transfer it to the container as well and stir to evenly distribute the pecans. Freeze to firm up more as desired, or serve immediately. Yields 6 servings.
- Like most homemade ice creams, this recipe is best eaten fresh (unless using vegetable glycerin, which gives you more flexibility-see below). If you have leftovers, freeze them and when you're ready to eat them, either let them sit out on the counter for 30 minutes or so or defrost them for a few seconds in the microwave.
- I recommend adding 1 T of vegetable glycerin to this ice cream to keep it from sticking to the sides of the ice cream maker and to keep it softer and not let it get hard so fast in the freezer. If you freeze the ice cream for an extended length of time in the freezer, it will still freeze hard, but if you let it sit out to soften up a little, the glycerin keeps it scoopable instead of icy. Transfer the ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 3 hours before serving for optimum texture, or let it sit out on the counter for 30-40 minutes.
Notes
*If you're concerned about salmonella poisoning, use pasteurized eggs. These can be purchased, or you can make them at home (Google it).
If you don't have an ice cream maker, you could try freezing the mixture in ice cube trays, then blending the cubes in a high-powered blender. You may have to add some almond milk or cream to get the mixture to blend. Stir in the toasted pecans by hand after blending.
Suggested products:
- Ninja blender
- Cuisinart 1 1/2 qt. Automatic Ice Cream Churn
- Vegetable Glycerin
- Glucomannan
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder and other great products are available for purchase from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
You may also enjoy:
Butter Pecan Breakfast PorridgePeanut Butter Ice CreamBrownie Batter Ice Cream with Peanut Butter ChipsMaple Cookie Ice Cream
