#COOKING WITH CLORIS--CHERRY ALMOND CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

I’ve been on an ice cream binge lately. Can you blame me? It’s the perfect finish to dinner on a hot summer day. (It’s also perfect at any other time during the day!) For me, nothing beats homemade ice cream. It’s quick, easy, far less expensive than purchased gourmet ice creams, and free of chemical additives whose names no one other than chemists can pronounce.

I love experimenting with different flavors whenever I make a batch of ice cream. Sometimes I use fresh fruit. For this batch I grabbed a jar of natural cherry fruit spread, the kind without any added sugar, because no matter how sweet a sweet tooth you have, you simply don’t need it for this ice cream. It’s sweet enough from the sugar and chocolate chips. The addition of almonds gives it a bit of crunch.

Cherry Almond Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

1 T. vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3/4-cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2-cup mini chocolate chips

1/2-cup sliced almonds

1/2-cup cherry fruit spread or jam (such as Polaner All Fruit)

Whisk together cream, milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Slowly whisk in sugar and salt until dissolved. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. 

Turn on ice cream maker. Slowly pour in mixture. Process 15 minutes. Add chocolate chips and almonds, then cherry spread, processing 5 more minutes.

Serve immediately for soft-serve. For harder ice cream, scoop into a plastic container and freeze for a couple of hours before serving.