4th of July Firecracker Ice Cream Recipe

This Independence Day you should treat yourself to something delicious, patriotic, and easy to make.  That is why we are sharing this simple recipe to make a great tasting vanilla ice cream with red, white, and blue sprinkles and a surprise pop courtesy of Pop Rocks!

4^thof July Firecracker Ice Cream

Makes just over a Quart of Ice Cream (10 ½-cup servings)

 

INGREDIENTS:

1               cup whole Milk

¾             cup granulated Sugar

Pinch of Salt

2              cups Heavy Cream

1              Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract

Red, White, and Blue Star Sprinkles

5              packages Red Pop Rocks (ours were strawberry flavored)

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the Base: Use a medium sized bowl (choose one that is easy to pour from) and a whisk to combine the whole milk, sugar, and salt until all the sugar is dissolved.  Next, stir in the heavy cream and the pure vanilla extract.  You will now want to refrigerate this for at least 2 hours or overnight.
2. Make the Ice Cream: Once the base has been chilled you will want to process the base according to the instructions for your ice cream maker.  I have a Cuisinart ICE-21.  Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the base into the freezer bowl.  I let it churn for 20 minutes till it became thickened.  Next add 4 packages of the Pop Rocks, saving the last package to sprinkle on top the ice cream when serving.  Let that mix in a couple minutes and then add your red, white, and blue sprinkles (you can add a little or a lot, it is up to you).  Once the sprinkles have mixed in the ice cream will have a soft serve consistency to it.  If you would like a firmer ice cream put it in a container and freeze for another couple of hours.     Note: If you do not have an ice cream maker, you can pour the base into a quart sized Ziploc bag and seal tightly getting as much air out as possible.  Next, place the smaller bag into a gallon sized Ziploc bag and fill with ice.  Then sprinkle 4 tablespoons of salt over the ice and seal the bag, again getting as much of the air out as possible.  Now the fun part; wrap a towel around the bag or use gloves and shake the bag for the next 5-8 minutes until it thickens and sets into ice cream.  Once it has set take the smaller bag out and pour the Pop Rocks and sprinkles in then place back into the larger bag.  Make sure to surround it with the ice then squeeze and knead the bag to mix in the additives.  Once it is all mixed and shaken again you are done.  To get a firmer ice cream once it has set up place the quart sized bag in the freezer to further set the ice cream.

3. Sprinkle with remaining Pop Rocks just before serving for an added explosion of fun!   Enjoy!