Snow Ice Cream

Snow Ice Cream!!!

This week Ohio, along with much of the mid-west, was blasted with the first real winter weather of the season. I read today that the central Ohio region received more snow this week than of ALL last winter! I really hope this is not a precursor of things to come. I love the snow but being snowed in and slipping and sliding on the road really does get old. So last night we were expected to get an additional 2-5 inches of snow on top of the 6 inches we got the day after Christmas! I decided that making some snow ice cream with the kids would be a fun way of enjoying all of this fluffy white stuff.

The base of the ice cream is from a Paula Deen recipe for Snow Ice Cream found here at http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/snow_ice_cream/. And since I can't leave anything well enough alone, I tweaked it oh so slightly. So the next time you experience a snow storm do what I did, set out a large mixing bowl, make some hot cocoa, put on your favorite music of the moment (mine was Andrew Lloyd Weber's Phantom of the Opera) and make a delicious bowl of snow ice cream!

Ingredients

1. About 8 Cups of fresh snow. Mine actually ended up with about 11 cups. I set out a very large mixing bowl where it wouldn't be bothered by kids, animals, winds etc.
2. 1-14 ounce can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
3. Any flavor extracts of your choice. We used Vanilla, Lemon, Strawberry and Mint. The amount of each extract will depend on your personal preference and how many different flavors you want to make. We'll address this later on.  
4. Coloring of your choice.
5. Ice cream toppings such as sprinkles, chocolate syrup, etc. 

Directions

Bowl of Snow

First you will need to set out a large bowl or bucket to collect the falling snow. Once it's filled to about 8-11 cups you are ready for the next step! 

Next you will need to add the entire can of sweetened condensed milk to the bowl of snow. Mix thoroughly and set it into the freezer to keep it fresh and frozen. 

Now, READ THIS PART CAREFULLY, how you proceed with this next part is up to you. The Paula Deen recipe has you add 1 tsp of vanilla to the snow/sweetened condensed milk mixture and stop there. But since we were feeling inventive, I wanted to make four different flavors. So I separated the snow/milk mixture evenly into four different mixing bowls. Next we added the flavor extracts. I began with a 1/4 of a tsp of flavor in each bowl. I added more based on taste and our preference. By the time we were done I had added 1/2 a tsp of each flavor to it's own bowl. In retrospect, I could have really added another 1/4 tsp to make it a little more flavorful. So my recommendation is to tweak this to your personal tastes. 

Once you have the flavors how you like them, add the colors as you prefer. I like softer colors. In my Wilton classes, one book says that neon or bright colors are less appetizing. I would have to agree. 

Then cover your bowls with foil, and place them back in the freezer for about an hour give or take depending on the freezer. If you leave it in there for to long it will be frozen solid. If this happens pop them in the microwave for a few seconds and stir or let sit out for about 10-15 min.

Lemon Ice Cream with a Cherry On Top!

Once your ice cream has set up in the freezer, it's time to enjoy! You may need to stir it up a bit. I left mine in the freezer almost all afternoon so by the time we ate it, it was frozen solid. I popped mine in the microwave for a few seconds, gave it a good stir and we were ready to enjoy it! I hope you like your snow ice cream as much as we did.