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Homemade S’mores Ice Cream

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March 16, 2020

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Sandlot. Real renegade, I know. I know it’s a super popular and mainstream movie, but for me, it’s a part of my childhood. I’m an early ’90s baby, so it was everywhere when I was growing up. I’m pretty sure my first crush ever was Benny Rodriguez and I mean, who can blame me? And of course, it’s just a really funny and fun movie. So, that’s why I couldn’t and can’t resist the pull of The Sandlot. Pretty much every scene in the movie is my favorite and is super quotable, but one of the most iconic in the movie is when Scotty aka “Smalls”, is in the treehouse for a campout and is called out by “Ham” for not knowing what a s’more was. “I haven’t had anything yet…so how can I have some more of nothing?” Ah, Smalls you fool. Your naiveté is quite hilarious. Regardless, The Sandlot is no doubt an All-American movie and the S’more is no doubt an All-American snack. Thus, to honor both one of my favorite movies and one of my favorite snacks, I’ve decided to share this foolproof recipe for delicious homemade s’ mores ice cream.

How to Make My Homemade S’mores Ice Cream:

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, skim milk powder, and whole milk. Whisk until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat and whisk often until the skim milk powder and sugar granules are fully dissolved into the mixture and no lumps remain. Then, whisk in the cream.

Once the cream is in, turn the heat up to medium and clip a candy thermometer to the saucepan or use a digital food thermometer. Cook, stirring often with a rubber spatula or whisk and scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking and burning until the mixture reaches 110ºF (45ºC), which should take about 5 to 10 minutes. After the cream mixture reaches that temperature, remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
In a large bowl, place the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Begin whisking the yolks. While whisking, slowly pour 1 to 2 cups of the hot milk/cream mixture into the egg yolks to temper them. Continue to whisk slowly until the mixture is an even color and consistency, then whisk the egg-yolk mixture back into the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan.
Return the saucepan to the stovetop over medium heat and continue cooking the mixture, stirring often, until it reaches 165ºF (75ºC), which should take about 5 to 10 minutes more. Then, transfer the pan to the prepared ice bath and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will allow the mixture to cool quickly and prevent scorching. After 15 to 20 minutes of cooling, pour the ice cream base through a wire-mesh strainer into a storage container. Wrap well with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours, or until completely cool.
After the base cools for a couple of hours, you can toast the marshmallows. Line up the marshmallows on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat sprayed well with cooking spray, leaving a couple of inches of space between the marshmallows and the sides of the pan (they have a way of expanding and melting over the sides). Bake until browned, about 15 minutes. If you want them almost blackened, then go for it. It’s up to you.

Remove the pan of ice cream base from the refrigerator, and use a rubber spatula to gently slide the burnt marshmallows into the base. Be careful not to let the molten marshmallow drip on your hands. It’s very sticky and hard to work with, so move quickly before it sets and becomes too hard. Use a handheld immersion blender to break up and distribute the toasted marshmallow in the base. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer the base and marshmallows to a food processor or blender and pulse until combined and smooth.
Once again, pour through a wire mesh strainer into a storage container, wrap well and refrigerate until ready to use.
For the graham cracker crust, line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or with parchment paper and spray well with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, skim milk powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
In a small saucepan, heat the unsalted butter and cream cheese over low heat until just melted, stirring to combine. Once fully melted, off heat, and add in the vanilla.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the dry ingredients and work them together with your hands. Mix until the crumbs are fully hydrated and the mixture resembles wet sand when clumped together.
Spread the graham cracker mixture over the prepared baking sheet, and press it into a compact, even layer about ½ inch (12 mm) thick. (The goal here is to pack the crust together so the butter and cream cheese bond all of the dry ingredients together. This way you can chop it up later, and the crust won’t break apart into a thousand little crumbs.) Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 1 hour, but ideally for 4 hours, at least.

On the same day you’re pouring your ice cream base into your machine, make your chocolate ganache. Place the milk chocolate (or whatever chocolate you’re using) in a heatproof bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium-high heat until it just starts to simmer (bubble), then pour it over the chocolate.

Stir gently with a rubber spatula until fully melted and combined. It should get smoother and shinier as you stir. Set aside when finished.

On the same day you’re making the ice cream, take the graham cracker sheet out of the freezer. Chop into small square bite-size pieces. Not too big or they won’t mix properly and not too small or they’ll fall apart when put into the machine.

Do as I say, not as I do in this case ;). I would have cut them a bit smaller if I had to do it again. Not a big deal taste-wise, but it just would have been easier to mix them in.

Transfer the cooled base to an ice cream maker and churn it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When the ice cream is nearly finished churning, open the lid and add some crust pieces. Use as much of the crust as you want; you won’t necessarily need the whole batch.
Finish churning, then transfer the ice cream to a large bowl. Begin to gently fold in more graham cracker crust pieces. Then, add 2 to 4 heaping spoonfuls of the chocolate ganache. Begin to gently swirl the chocolate, softly throughout the ice cream. Be careful not to overmix, or you might end up with chocolate marshmallow ice cream rather than marshmallow ice cream with a chocolate swirl. Continue this process as many times as you’d like, depending on how many graham cracker crust pieces and chocolate you want in there. Be careful not to overdo it or like I said, you’ll have chocolate ice cream, instead of toasted marshmallow ice cream.

Transfer this mixture to your storage container and make sure to wrap it well or seal it with a lid. I highly suggest using an actual ice cream container like this.
Freeze for at least an hour or for 8 to 12 hours for more scoopable ice cream.

Let the ice cream sit out for 10 minutes before serving.

SOME MORE GREAT ICE CREAM RECIPES: