Apple Pie Ice Cream
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Tomorrow begins the Labor Day weekend. What?! I am still in complete shock that the summer has now come and gone, and all I have to show for it is a racer-back tan line on my upper back and the feeling that I haven’t eaten nearly enough ice cream cones as I should have. At the bank last week, an older gentleman whose skin was golden, likely from spending hours in his garden, asked me why I was so pale and that I should get outside more. If only he knew how quickly I burn and that I spray on 100 SPF if I’m going to be in the sun for more than 15 minutes. I can’t do much about my pale skin tone, but I sure as heck can do something about my lack of ice cream cones this summer. We may be on the cusp of September, but that doesn’t mean I’m slowing down my ice cream churning one bit! I’m just shifting gears to include more fall-inspired flavors. Apple pie in an ice cream cone? Yes, please!
I’m always a little suspicious of recipes that take a classic flavor and deliver it via a completely different vehicle. As it turns out, in this instance, ice cream can taste exactly like apple pie. Especially since apple pie is almost always served with vanilla ice cream! To make this ice cream, apples are cooked down with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and then pureed with half of the ice cream custard base. You get teeny tiny specs of apple in each and every bite, along with a little punch of cinnamon and creamy vanilla ice cream. The kicker is folding in chopped up snickerdoodle cookies, which adds more cinnamon flavor and the texture of a “crust”. I think you could also substitute graham crackers here, or your favorite sugar cookie.
Summer may be coming to a close, but I’m still playing catch up on ice cream cones. This apple pie ice cream is the perfect bridge from warm, summer days to the crisp fall air. Grab a spoon and dig in!
One year ago:Â Traditional Pavlova
Two years ago: Cowboy Cookies
Three years ago: Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes
Five years ago: Black Bean Burgers[/donotprint]
Apple Pie Ice Cream
Ingredients
For the Apples:
- ¼ cup (55 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Ice Cream:
- 5 egg yolks
- â…“ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- 1¾ cups (416.5 ml) heavy cream
- ¾ cup (183 ml) whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (118.29 g) chopped snickerdoodles
Instructions
- Cook the Apples: Combine the brown sugar and butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. When the butter is melted and bubbly, add the apples and cinnamon. Cook, stirring frequently, until the apples are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Make the Ice Cream Base: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then whisk in 2½ tablespoons of the sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, stir together the cream, milk, salt and remaining sugar over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
- Ladle some of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat once more. Using a rubber spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowly pour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Strain the base through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Set the bowl in an ice water bath and stir occasionally until cool. Cover and refrigerator overnight.
- Churn the Ice Cream: When you're ready to puree the ice cream, combine the cooked apples with the vanilla extract and half of the chilled custard base in a blender or food processor. Puree until smooth.
- Combine the pureed mixture and the remaining custard base in the bowl of your ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Add the chopped cookies during the last minute or so of churning, or fold them by hand when it has finished. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Fabulous! I did this several times and we can’t get enough! Thank you so much!
Can you cheat by mixing chunky apple sauce in vanilla ice cream and baking a pie crust and crunching it all up together…?
I have a ice cream attachment for my kitchen aide. Do you know if I can use this recipe and make it in that attachment and not and actual “icecream maker?”
We put this into a snickerdoodle crust for an Apple Pie Ice Cream Pie, or Apple Pie-Scream, as the 9-year-old put it. Wonderful!
I made this today and I just found it ok. Apples and ice cream just don’t mix. The base was fantastic; just wished I hadn’t added the apple mixture to it. I will use the base for vanilla ice cream.
Michelle,
Is it ok to add the pureed apples to the base and refrigerate it for one day and then churn it off?
Hi Ariane, Yes, you could do that!
I made this ice cream today, and it was dynamite! Hubby loved it too! My children didn’t get the chance to try it yet, but I made it because my 10 year old son requested “apple” for a fruity ice cream. And boy, this really did taste like apple pie. A keeper for sure!
This recipe sounds awesome! I’m thinking about making it for dessert at Thanksgiving, I guess it would be great with pecan pie :D But I have one question: the recipe sais that you should freeze the ice cream when it comes out of the ice cream maker. So technically I could make it ahead and store it in the freezer till needed. But won’t it be less creamy when it is frozen too long? For how long can I freeze it or how can I prevent it from getting too hard?
Greetings from Germany! Cheers Caro
Hi Carolin, Once you churn homemade ice cream, it is only the consistency of soft serve; it needs to be placed in the freezer to firm up. I’ve not found that homemade ice cream gets too hard; mine is always very scoopable.
Thanks for the quick reply! I haven’t made a lot of ice cream yet and the times I did there were hardly any leftovers :P The one time I had some ice cream left it got really hard in the freezer. But you are the expert so I will follow your recipe to a t – that always works out very well. Made the Snickerdoodles today and they are delicious! My only problem is now that I have to make a second batch because there are not enough left for the ice cream – once my roommates discoverd them… ;)
I made this recipe over the week, piece by piece, and I admit I was getting a little impatient by the end (I used the hyperlinked snickerdoodle recipe) but it was so worth it! It was like fall was in my mouth, dancing on my tastebuds. The only way it could have been better is if I had been eating it while looking at the trees’ leaves changing colour. I cannot recommend this recipe enough!
This was fabulous!!! I used coconut sugar instead of the brown sugar and the cane sugar to lower the glycemic index and used Annie’s Gluten Free Snickerdoodle Bunnies (I’m celiac). Ok, there was nothing I could do about the lactose but at least they have a pill for that!! We loved the ice cream!!!!
I’m in Australia, and have recently discovered and am loving loving your site! What are snickerdoodle cookies like? Have never heard of them down under ;0)
Hi Annabelle, Snickerdoodles are basically soft cinnamon-sugar cookies. I have a recipe here: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2009/07/08/snickerdoodles/
Now is is some fun ice cream!!
It looks delicious!!!
A local frozen custard place where I grew up made apple pie ice cream and it blew me away. But since I am no longer there I am deprived of it. Good thing you shared this recipe!
Oh that looks so good – I’m thinking how good it will be on top of a nice big slice of apple pie!
I bought a tub of apple pie ice cream when I was getting my wisdom teeth removed, and it was what I ate breakfast lunch and dinner. I got sick of it right when the tub was done and I swore to myself that I would never have apple pie flavored ice cream again in my life. But I think that for yours I would make an exception ;)
yum, sound very delicious! Another way to enjoy our apple pie. Thank you for sharing and have a great day!
Nora
This. is. genius. Pretty much the perfect bridge from summer to fall (though I am in complete denial that summer is ending…). I can’t wait to make this flavor!
This looks SO good, I can’t wait to make this for my husband who loves apple pie!
mmmmmm! That sounds so good!
http://www.shilohstaste.com
I don’t have a very impressive tan for this summer either. Just some bad tan lines from all my summer bike riding! I should have totally eaten more ice cream this summer. I’ll have this recipe though, because it tastes like fall!
I REALLY want this asap. I’ve never tried apple ice cream but I love apples so it must happen.
What a fantastic idea for ice cream – I love it.
And I feel you on the pale skin! It took me a long time to become comfortable with being fair skinned, after years of ridicule in school and many failed attempts at tanning (and burning) :( Rock that porcelain skin!
I can’t get over this recipe! Ice cream with apples and snickerdoodles? OMG! I can’t wait to try this.
Looks yummy! I may just need to get myself an ice cream maker
Yes! You must! I’m convinced that everyone needs to own one :)
I saw a girl on chopped make an apple pie ice cream and it made me want to try. Thanks for providing something to work off of! :)
This is like the best transition dessert. Summer ice cream with fall flavors. Perfection!!
Apple pie is one of my favorite pies!! Looking forward to making this!!
http://www.lifeofamodernhousewife.com
It may be the end of August, but it is still in the 90’s here. Ice cream is perfectly acceptable! And this flavor sounds absolutely perfect!
What a nice concept. I have to make room for my Kitchen Aid ice cream maker in the freezer, so I can try this recipe. I like to use Honeycrisp apples in my apple pie (Granny Smith are little too tart for me) and I would probably make the same substitution here. Thanks for the post.
I use to buy apple pie icecream at Baskin Robbins when there was a store in our mall. Next to chocolate, it was my favorite. I am definitely going to have to make this recipe for old times sake – lol…. Have a great Labor Day weekend!
Hi Michelle,
Thank you so much for this recipe-it looks incredible! What a concept!
Over the summer I have tried a bunch of your recipes— to the point that my kids ask, “is this dessert also from the lady on the computer?” LOL!
I look forward to reading your email every day—it puts a smile on my face!
Keep up the great work!
love, another “brown eyed baker!”
Hi Eleanor, Aww, your kids are so cute! Thank you for the kind words!
Ohhhhh yummy!!! I bet this tastes amazing!!
I happen to love apple pie ice cream, and this looks so dreamy. I can’t wait to try it.
You’re not the only pale creature walking around this summer; I, too, am extremely pale. I’m Irish, so the sun is not necessarily my friend. We have a mutual understanding.
Apple pie is good. Apple pi ice cream must be good too. I’ll have to do it :)
I need this in my life!! I feel the same – summer really got away from me this year
I just had a sundae at Sarris last week and chose apple pie ice cream with caramel sauce! A salted caramel sauce would be awesome on it too!
Oh, that sounds fabulous! I haven’t made it down to Sarris’ ice cream shop yet. Hopefully there isn’t an NHL lockout and when I head down to Southpointe to watch practice I can make an ice cream pit stop! I will have to keep yours in mind!
Oh wow… that sounds fantastic!!!! Talk about apple pie ala mode!