My ice cream maker changed my life. For less money and barely any hassle, you can make your own ice cream that is truly more delicious and pure than anything you could buy in the store. Just mix up a little cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla and you’ve got Haagen Daaz beat - hands down!

Recently, I hosted a party at my house that would require two batches of ice cream. You really have to plan ahead when you do this because part of the machine has to be frozen for at least 24 hours in order to work properly. Don’t try to fudge this time requirement or you’ll end up with a drippy, half-frozen mess. So, I made one batch 2 days before, re-froze the insert, and then made the second batch.

I decided to mix it up and make two different ice cream recipes so that we could do a side-by-side taste comparison. The first one is Simple Vanilla Ice Cream made with cream, milk, sugar, and vanilla. The second one is called Premium Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and it’s a lot more work because it’s made with eggs so you have to heat up the ingredients. Plus you use a real vanilla bean. Would all the extra work be worth it? I wasn’t sure, but I wanted to find out.

I figured one formula would be clearly more popular with my guests than the other. But it was interesting because the preferences were split about 50/50. I learned that it was clearly just a matter of personal taste. The Premium ice cream is a lot more work, but it’s very creamy and flecked with little brown dots of real vanilla bean. In the Simple Ice Cream, you can taste the simplicity and purity of the ingredients. I never really developed my own opinion on which one’s better. I was just happy that both were hits of the party!

Now on to the recipes!

Simple Vanilla Ice Cream
Courtesy of Cuisinart
Makes about fourteen 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients:

* 1-1/2 cups whole milk
* 1-1/8 cups granulated sugar
* 3 cups heavy cream
* 1-1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 255 (68% from fat) * carb. 19g * pro. 2g * fat 20g * sat. fat 12g * chol. 73mg * sod. 32mg * calc. 64mg * fiber 0g

Premium Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Courtesy of Cuisinart
Makes about fourteen 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients:

* 2-1/3 cups whole milk
* 2-1/3 cups heavy cream
* 1 whole vanilla bean (about 6 inches in length)
* 3 large eggs
* 4 large egg yolks
* 1-1/8 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Combine the milk and cream in a Cuisinart® medium saucepan. Use a sharp knife to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the blunt edge to scrape out the “seeds.” Stir the seeds and bean pod into the milk/cream mixture. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Combine eggs, egg yolks, and sugar in a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer on medium speed to beat until the mixture is thick, smooth, and pale yellow in color (similar to mayonnaise), about 2 minutes.
3. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk/cream mixture and discard.
4. Measure out 1 cup of the hot liquid. With the mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot milk/cream to the egg mixture in a slow, steady stream. When thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk/cream mixture and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Transfer to a bowl, stir in vanilla, cover with a sheet of plastic wrap placed directly on the custard, and chill completely.
5. Pour the chilled custard into the freezer bowl, turn the machine on and let mix until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional information per serving:
Calories 257 (64% from fat) * carb. 19g * pro. 4g * fat 19g * sat. fat 11g * chol. 166mg * sod. 50mg * calc. 86mg * fiber 0g

Thanks to everyone at the party who put up with my persistent polling about the ice cream!