How to Make Scrumptious Homemade Ice Cream

Making homemade ice cream with your children may sound difficult, but it can be a memorable way to spend an afternoon. Kids love to help Mom in the kitchen, and creating culinary delights like homemade ice cream is an easy way to bond.

Making homemade ice cream with the kids always has the flavor of adventure. And the delectable frozen dessert need not be unhealthy. Depending on the bounty of the season, you can add healthy options such as fresh berries, melon, mint and cinnamon.

Where to Begin?

There are an assortment of machines on the market today to help in the ice cream making process. Depending on your method of production, you can choose accordingly. Whether you select an automatic ice cream maker or a manual machine, you’ll want to encourage your children to start thinking about the delicious flavors that they’d like to make.

Peruse the Aisles

Your ice cream making adventure begins with the appropriate ingredients, so start at your local supermarket. Most ice creams use eggs, half-and-half and vanilla as their typical starters. You can add your own spin based on your children’s tastes. Scope the aisles in search of a blend of nutritious and yummy treats that your kids can add to their ice cream experience.

Take cinnamon, for instance. Cinnamon is believed to contain a host of benefits for improving health naturally. The aromatic spice may help relieve headaches, lower cholesterol and reduce the complications of diabetes. It's also thought to be beneficial in preventing certain types of cancers.

The following recipes incorporate cinnamon and are healthy ways to enjoy a homemade ice cream dessert.

Chocolate Cinnamon Sorbet

This chocolate and cinnamon recipe goes hand-in-hand with summer time. Your children are sure to love how rich and delicious the following low-fat treat can be–and you don’t even need an ice cream maker to make it.

Ingredients:

¾ cup organic sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
Pinch salt
3 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together 3 cups of water, sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder and salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Whisk in the chopped chocolate until the mixture is smooth. Add the vanilla and pour into a 9-by-13 pan. Place in the freezer and scrape the edges with a fork toward the center of the pan every thirty minutes. Once the mixture gets to the consistency of a sorbet, spoon it into bowls for a great outdoor treat for eager kids.

Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream

With this recipe, you'll think you're eating a frozen apple cobbler. Yummy!

Ingredients:

2 cups apple cider
¾ cup evaporated can sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
¼ teaspoons cinnamon
6 egg yolks

Whisk together the apple cider, sugar and cinnamon stick over a medium heat until boiling. Reduce the mixture to 2/3 cup. Remove from heat and toss out the cinnamon stick. Stir in milk, cream, ground cinnamon and egg yolks, and blend until smooth. Return to heat and cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Pour mixture through a strainer and chill, then process in your favorite ice cream maker and freeze for a minimum of four hours.

You can build a mountain of cherished memories by spending the afternoon making ice cream together with your children. And by incorporating healthy ingredients, you’ll be able to offer your kids a great tasting frozen treat that sneaks in a little nutrition. But the youngsters won't care about that. They'll be too busy licking their bowls and begging for more.

This guest post was written by Richard Freeland. As the father of two boys, he has spent many a summer day sweating over a hand-cranked homemade ice cream maker. Prograde is a leader in nutritional education and has its own line of nationally recognized nutritional supplements. Their cinnamon recipe for Vanilla Protein Pudding is to die for.

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