Is there anything better than ice cream? I think not. What about homemade ice cream? Even better! One of the most frivolous, and fun, wedding registry items of ours was an ice cream maker…and since my best friend got it for us, I have been on an ice cream making joy ride. So hop in, let’s make ice cream.

The main thing you’ll need for this endeavor is an ice cream maker. I already have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, so I went for the ice cream attachment that includes the paddle and the bowl that goes in the freezer. I really like this so far! It doesn’t clutter my cabinets and it’s no frills. You just freeze the bowl, put in the batter, and churn using your mixer for 20 minutes…it could not be easier.

Guiding my ice cream making process has been 3 different cookbooks. For classic flavors and a bit of fun, I have been using Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book. For some more gourmet flavors, all while learning the science and art of ice cream making, I am relying on The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. A new one to my collection is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, written by the founder of the iconic Jeni’s Ice Cream! This book is full of innovative, off the wall flavor combinations!

We’ve made an abundance of flavors so far. Classic strawberry and vanilla ice creams, as well as roasted banana and orange with Szechuan pepper to switch things up. We made lemon sherbet, mocha sherbet, and gin and tonic cucumber sorbet. We’ve also started to get into mixing in toppings. We made a lemon merengue ice cream with homemade marshmallows, as well as a sweet potato casserole ice cream, complete with toasted marshmallows swirled in!

One other fun thing we’ve been doing? Using custom containers! My mom ordered us custom branded ice cream pint containers from Etsy. They are such a fun touch that makes us feel like we have our own ice cream parlor.

Making ice cream has been such a fun, new hobby we’ve added into married life, and I have been very much enjoying eating the fruits of our labor! I find this easier than baking, and it is a pretty fun party trick to share with others!

All thoughts and opinions are my own.