Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream

+ Cinnamon Ice Cream Whisky Shooters!

My goodness, friends. That weekend? A blur. Is it over already? Where did it go? I feel like I've been going non-stop since Friday.

I know I say that every weekend, but this weekend was something else! What happened this weekend? Here goes!

Friday- The hubby and I had to drive to Columbus to meet with a neurosurgeon about my back. We got a speeding ticket on the way up. We cursed the holiday weekend and powered on to meet with the doctor. I really liked the doctor I met with, he was very professional and a lot of his patients are athletes. After studying my MRI, he's not sure if the problem is with my joint or with the actual disc. He agreed injections into the joint were the best place to start, or at least the least invasive choice. Twas' a good appointment and the hubby and I headed for home. We grabbed some sushi from Kroger, scarfed it down, and headed out to visit with the hubby's family. A little too much red wine was enjoyed, and we returned home around midnight.

Saturday- The hubby worked his butt off to get all of our plants planted into our landscaping before we went to our family barbecue/pool party in the afternoon while I stretched my back with some yoga. It was afternoon before we knew it, and we spent the rest of the day/night at the barbecue. We finally headed home for a scant few hours of sleep.

Sunday- Breakfast at the hubby's aunt's. Hubby headed to Lowe's for 30 bags of black mulch. He unloaded the mulch, and then back to the hubby's-cousin's-wife's-mother's house for more food and pool time. The hubby and I left around 4:30 in the afternoon to meet a couple friend of ours at our local brewery, and returned back to the family around 7 with 3 large pizzas for the group. We stayed out late again before returning home for a few more hours of sleep.

Monday- Hubby spreads the mulch and realizes we need 30 more bags. Back to Lowe's. A quick spread of the few bags, and then back to the pool party. Due to the hubby having to work today, we only stayed till about 8. And we headed straight to bed when we got home last night.

And thus, the reason for no posts this weekend :-)

It's back to reality now. It's always a party when the hubby's family comes to town and gathers, but the party always has to end sometime. I'm going to console myself with homemade ice cream mixed with cinnamon liquor, or Cinnamon Ice Cream Whisky Shots! They're fun, delicious, creamy... the whole package friends!

This ice cream recipe is easy. So easy. There's no cooking, no eggs, nada. This is one of those recipes you mix, chill, pour in the ice cream maker, and boom! You've got homemade ice cream. My favorite type of ice cream recipe!

And why not make it cinnamon? Cinnamon is actually really good for you and has a lot of health benefits. Check out some of the advantages here:

The Health Benefits of Cinnamon

I flavored my ice cream with Vanilla Bean Paste. I love, love, LOVE my bottle of Vanilla Bean Paste. I've tried it in numerous recipes since I got it, and it really kicks the vanilla flavor up. What I love about it is the ease of use. If you've worked with vanilla beans, you know you usually need to infuse the bean in milk to get that flavor. Not the case with vanilla bean paste. You can skip that whole step that takes quite a bit of time. It's ingenious! 

Look at all those lovely specks!

I mixed up my base in the stand mixer, and immediately chilled it for 2 hours-

Before pouring the mixture into my ice cream maker.

It's exciting to watch the base start to thicken up and turn into ice cream.

Oh yeah, this dessert is ready!

We like our ice cream a bit firmer, so I transfer the ice cream to a pan and freeze it for a couple of hours before I serve it. 

I love the flavor of this ice cream. It reminds me of Christmas, but I still like it in the summer.

How cute are these little shot glasses? I really couldn't resist getting them.

They made perfect vehicles for Cinnamon Ice Cream Whiskey Shots :-)

That's it for today friends! I've got oodles of laundry to do today- 5 million swimsuits and towels to wash. Ah yes, truly back to the grind. I've also got pictures to take of the garden and our new landscaping for my monthly wrap-up that I'm determined to get prepared for tomorrow. Between laundry, the pictures, the housework, and needing to run to the grocery store, today is promising to be busy, busy, BUSY! 

I better get on it!

Have a great day everyone!

Recipe adapted from: Cuisinart

Ingredients (makes 5 cups):

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

2 tsp ground cinnamon

optional- Fireball Whisky

Directions:

1. In a bowl, beat milk, sugar, and salt until sugar is completely dissolved (about 5 minutes). Stir in the cream, vanilla bean paste, and cinnamon. Cover bowl, and chill in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Turn on your ice cream maker. Pour chilled contents into the ice cream maker. Allow to churn for 15-20 minutes, or until thickened. Serve immediately for a soft texture, or freeze for another 2 hours for a more traditional texture. Store in freezer.

3. To make Cinnamon Ice Cream Whisky Shooters- Place about 1 tbsp of Cinnamon Ice Cream in a 1-ounce shot glass. Pour whisky into the shot glass until filled to the top. Serve immediately!

Printable Recipe

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5-Ingredient Vanilla Ice Cream

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Hard Root Beer Floats