Snickers Ice Cream

This past weekend was one of those great weekends.  A friend was in town from Atlanta and he was completely up for doing anything, which was awesome.  It started on Thursday and the fun didn't end until Sunday.  There was a fundraiser for LiveSTRONG...where cookies were made for SWAG bags.

This is my tower of Milky Way Cookies...

That went into these super cute little bags, along with carrot cake cookies.

Friday, there was a LOT of walking...oh wait this weekend was just totes a lot of walking.  It started on the Hill with lunch and then down to the National Archives to check out...you know the Constitution and The Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence...all of those important documents.

If you are on Capitol Hill just do it...go eat lunch at Good Stuff.  Burger, french fries and milk shake...go all the way...its totally worth it.

Saturday there was a hike/walk through Great Falls, where you forget that you are only 45 minutes from D.C.

Sitting on the ledge and enjoying the view.

And a late night walk around the monuments after dinner.

Then it was time for the ice cream.  This ice cream was chosen because Karl's favorite dessert is ice cream and it was a toss up between Snickers and banana pudding, and I basically decided on the Snickers.  This comes out with an awesome vanilla flavor and there are snickers in almost every bite.  Seriously, very delicious.  If Snickers are your thing, or maybe Milky Way bars, you should definitely give this a try.  Enjoy!

A little vanilla bean action

And time for infusing...so that things can just get all infused.

Temper the eggs, strain, then its time for the heavy cream.

Snickers time!

Snickers Ice Cream: (recipe base from David Lebovitz)
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (150g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 snickers bars

1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour.

2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan.

4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.

6. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Once ice cream has come together, chop snickers bars and fold the pieces into the ice cream.  Pour ice cream into plastic container and let freeze for 2-3 hours. Serve and Enjoy!