That’s before I tell you that this ice cream is made with the creamiest of homemade vanilla ice creams, then completely loaded with bits of cinnamon sweet baked apples, and crunchy streusel topping. There is nothing about this ice cream that I did not love. (Except perhaps the fact that I ate way too much of it.)
The idea for this ice cream popped into my mind a few weeks ago. I tried a couple of different versions using the same ingredients, but not with a real apple crisp. They lacked the authentic apple crisp flavor I wanted.
Apple Crisp Ice Cream
I finally caved and decided to bake an actual apple crisp just for the ice cream. As soon as my apple crisp finished cooling last week, I was chopping it into bits and folding it into this ice cream. I don’t know when I’ve been more excited about an ice cream recipe. (Spoiler alert – that excitement was fully justified.) I initially thought of this recipe as “sacrificing” an apple crisp for the ice cream, but after one bite, I realized it was no sacrifice. I ate this ice cream off a spoon straight out of the freezer, and served it in ice cream cones as well. I might have even gone a little crazy and scooped the last of this apple cinnamon ice cream over a warm brownie last week as well. (It was tasty, but way too rich and randomly flavored even for my sometimes bizarre tastes.) Cold apple crisp ice cream served over warmed bowls of the leftover apple crisp though? THAT was an apple lover’s dream of a dessert!
Apple Ice Cream
The pieces of apple crisp don’t need to be uniform at all. Roughly chopped is perfect. However, a large piece of apple will turn icy once frozen. Making the pieces small, nothing bigger than 1/2″ in size, will keep the texture nice, instead of creating icy chunks of apple in the otherwise creamy ice cream. Place the ice cream on the counter to warm for 10-15 minutes prior to scooping, if it is extra firm when you are ready to serve it.
Apple Crisp Ice Cream Recipe
While an old-fashioned apple crisp served warm with melting vanilla ice cream on top is never EVER going to go out of fashion, this ice cream? It’s a whole new apple crisp ballgame, friends. If you’re unsure of it now, set aside a portion of your next apple crisp and make a half batch. I’m willing to bet that you’ll be making a full batch after that. You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:
Old Fashioned Apple Crisp baked and cooled completely heavy cream milk sugar vanilla extract kosher salt
The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here! Want a few more awesome ice cream recipes to try? Peach Cobbler Ice Cream, Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream, and Strawberry Crisp Ice Cream are a few more homemade ice creams that you’re sure to love. This Peach Ginger Ice Cream with Rum Caramel Sauce sounds pretty fantastic too. For the chocolate lover in your life, this Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream just might blow their mind. (It was inspired by our trip to Montreal and as soon as we tasted it, we knew we’d be recreating it asap!) {originally published 6/3/14 – recipe notes and photos updated 4/5/24}
