I feel like ice cream makers are in the same family as bread makers: you either use them, or they collect dust in your pantry. 

I am the kind of gal who uses both of her “makers”, and I have to say, if you have an ice cream maker and you’re not using it, you need to change that. 

I use this one, and love it. But ask around – someone else may be storing an ice cream maker in their pantry that you could possibly adopt. 

Making ice cream is ridiculously easy. And if that’s not enough to convince you, it’s also a way of making sure that you know what you – and your kids – are eating. 

More than once, we have brought home a carton of some delectable-sounding treat, only to discover that we missed the “frozen dessert” hiding on the label. Not ice cream, frozen dessert is the catch-all name for frozen solids. It can be made with juice, but more likely, it’s a vegetable oil product. It’s not cream – despite the fact that it’s pretending to be. 

There have been times where I have emptied frozen dessert from a bowl into the sink. HOURS later, the “ice cream” will still be there, barely melted.

I don’t want to eat that.

This basic vanilla ice cream recipe takes only a half hour to put together, and can be the jumping off point for your imagination. Create sundaes, add crumbled cookie, or just drizzle with syrup. 

Lucy is our ice-cream monster, and she was the tester for this recipe. 

She definitely approved.

There will be many ice cream cones topped with our homemade concoctions this summer. If you can get your hands on an ice cream maker, you should grab one! You’ll be amazed at how easily you can avoid the non-melting frozen dessert. 

Nobody is asking for a vegetable oil cone. And there’s a reason for that.