Description
Toasted pistachios and almond extract give this Pistachio Almond Ice Cream incredible flavor. It beats out the store bought stuff ten fold!
Ingredients
Scale
- ¾ cup shelled, unsalted pistachios, plus more for serving*
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream*
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- ¼ tsp kosher salt (pinch of fine salt)
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ tsp almond extract, or to taste
- 2–3 drops green food coloring, or as desired (optional)
Instructions
- Toast nuts: Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat. Toast nuts for 8 minutes or until lightly golden and crisp. Cool to room temperature.
- Prep bowl: Place a sieve over a large bowl and set aside.
- Grind nuts: Finely grind the cooled pistachios using a food processor. Add sugar and continue to grind until very finely ground, about 1 minute.
- Warm base: Combine the cream, milk, pistachios and salt in a medium saucepan. Warm over medium heat until the mixture comes to slight simmer.
- Whisk eggs and sugar: While cream mixture heats, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale, thick and creamy, about 3-5 minutes.
- Temper eggs: Ladle in about ½ cup of the warm cream mixture to the bowl with the eggs and sugar while constantly whisking.
- Cook base: Reduce the heat to medium-low. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the pan, while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk, making sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of pan repeatedly. Cook 3-5 minutes or until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Strain & cool: Immediately strain ice cream base through sieve into the prepared bowl. Allow to cool in bowl over wire rack until room temperature. Stir in the almond extract and food coloring, as desired. Chill in the fridge at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Freeze & serve: Freeze using an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to freezer to set up completely or enjoy some soft serve. Top with chopped pistachios, if desired.
Notes
- The total time does not reflect the time needed to chill and churn the ice cream.
- If you use salted pistachios, omit the salt from the recipe. It’s okay to use pre-toasted pistachios too.
- You can substitute 3 cups of half and half in place of milk and cream. I also tested this recipe using 1 cup of cream and 2 cups of whole milk, which works well.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Toast, Boil, Freeze
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 23g
- Sodium: 70mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 170mg
