Pistachio-Honey Ice Cream

Just a few days ago, I did a post about one of my favorite things, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams (specifically the pistachio-honey). After my post I did a search online to see if I could find Jeni's recipe. I couldn't find the exact right one (I knew it wasn't the same because it had no honey and the ingredients weren't identical to the label on the container). But I did find an old plain pistachio recipe from Jeni and figured that was a good place to start, so I reworked it a little and made my own version.

I expected to like it, even if it wasn't as good as Jeni's. But I never dreamed it would taste so close to the original. Man was it good! Seriously scrumptious. So delicious, if you've ever considered getting an ice cream maker, but weren't sure if you should take the plunge...do it. Plunge! Then make a batch of this.

PISTACHIO-HONEY ICE CREAM

Yield: 3 ½ cups

1 (heaping) cup toasted unsalted pistachios

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch or tapioca starch

1 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened (3 tablespoons)

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1.      Finely grind the pistachios with the sugar; set aside.

2.      Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth.

3.      In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream and honey. Bring the milk mixture to a boil and stir over moderate heat until the honey dissolves, about 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

4.      Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in the pistachios, almond extract and salt. Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cold, about 20 minutes.

5.      Strain the ice cream base into another bowl, pressing the pistachios with the back of a spoon to extract all the flavor. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

6.      Pack the ice cream into a plastic container. Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Freeze the ice cream until firm, about 4 hours.

adapted from Jeni Britton Bauer

pistachios

pistachios and sugar

The sugar helps soak up some of the oil when grinding,
which helps keep the nuts from turning into nut butter.

ground pistachios

I used my little mini grinder, but a regular size cuisinart works too.

pouring the honey into the cream/milk

cream cheese

This ice cream is eggless...the cream cheese, along
with the cornstarch, helps makes it thick and creamy

straining out the ground pistachios

ice cream base cooling (you can make it ahead
and leave it in the fridge for a day or two)

ice cream churned

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