It’s the end of September in PA and today I thought I was going to die of heat stroke while walking around the block at lunchtime. This is not the fall I imagined. The first week of September, we had a rainy Saturday with football on the TV and I had the oven on all day without breaking a sweat and now three weeks later we get the complete opposite! My fall boots, scarves and sweaters are sitting on the edge of my closet patiently waiting to be dragged out and worn again.
When I went to Savannah and spent the days drenched in an irremovable layer of sweat, I was so excited to come back to my nice, northern fall weather and this is what I get. I’ve always wanted to move south, but 4 days in Savannah was enough to make me question just how south I was willing to move. Hint: not as far as Georgia. I will not, however, let this heat stop me from rolling out the pumpkin spice recipes like it’s my job.
Now, to be completely honest, I have never made my own pumpkin ice cream recipe so I knew this was going to be the year that I made it happen because why not? I debated on a few different recipes: pumpkin caramel, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake (don’t worry – they still might make an appearance), but I really wanted something different. So what do you know, I’m walking through Giant when I saw the Holy Grail of all holiday cookies: Halloween Oreos. Some may call me crazy, but I will forever be convinced that something about Halloween Oreos tastes so much better than regular Oreos. This theory also holds true with Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs and I won’t hear otherwise.
Located conveniently next to the Halloween Oreos were the basic Pumpkin Spice Oreos. My biggest question: why would they make them vanilla cookies instead of chocolate? What’s wrong with chocolate and pumpkin cream filling? That’s when I decided that my next ice cream flavor would in fact be Pumpkin Oreo. I have to tell you, there’s a 50% chance that it was one of the best decisions of my life.* I could seriously eat this ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner because the taste is just so unique that it feels like it could work for all three.
I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to get the ice cream sweet enough without ruining the texture, but the brown sugar in the recipe just does the trick. Even if you’re not into the Oreos, I highly recommend giving the pumpkin ice cream a shot with whatever mix-ins you happen to like. But let’s be real, who doesn’t love Oreos?
*This may or may not be a slight dramatization.
Pumpkin Oreo Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ginger
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp. allspice
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 8 oz. pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 10-15 Oreos crushed
Instructions
-
In a small bowl, whisk together your brown sugar, egg yolks, spices and salt. Set aside.
-
In a medium sized sauce pan, whisk together your whole milk and heavy cream until steaming. Once you have a light steaming going on, slowly start to temper your egg mixture.
-
To temper your eggs, slowly incorporate the heated mixture 1/4 of a cup at a time whisking constantly. This keeps the eggs from 'scrambling' as it slowly brings the eggs to the same temperature.
-
Once combined, pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and heat over medium heat stirring regularly. Heat the mixture until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, leaving a clear line after you run your finger through it - about 10-15 minutes.
-
Pour the mixture through a mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin puree and vanilla until smooth and well-combined. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3-5 hours.
-
Remove from the fridge and freeze according to manufacturer instructions. About 1-2 minutes before it's finished, pour in your crushed Oreos and allow to churn until well-combined.
-
Pour into your freezer-safe container and freeze for 1-2 hours. Scoop it out and enjoy!
Haha — you and my husband are in the same boat. He insists that the Reeses’ PB eggs have a better “ratio.” Mmm hmm….
This looks freaking incredible. Never do I want an ice cream maker as much as when I look at your blog, Darrian!!
Pro tip: I heard a rumor that sometimes when you check out the Hometown Freezer at WebpageFX, DarryCakes Ice Cream magically appears 😉