Apple Ice Cream

I love a good homemade ice cream recipe. A few recipes from the blog that I adore are my My Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, Biscoff Ice Cream, Tiramisu Ice Cream, Nutella Ice Cream and Cookies and Cream Ice Cream. I am so excited to add this homemade ice cream recipe to the blog. I know you’ll love this fall ice cream flavor because:  

• You love apple pie. I love apple pie. My favorite part has always been the apple pie filling. Top that apple pie filling with ice cream and it’s pure bliss. This apple ice cream recipe has all the same flavors as apple pie, just in ice cream form. 
• Super simple to make. Once the apple pie filling is made,  you can make this wonderfully easy ice cream with apples in about 10 minutes.  Then, just let the frozen apple pie ice cream dessert freeze for about 6 - 8 hours, scoop and enjoy!

This apple ice cream recipe needs only a handful of ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge.

• Apple Pie Filling: Gather apples, butter, sugar and apple pie spice. 
• Graham Cracker Crumbs: Gather graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, apple pie spice, salt and melted butter. 
• Vanilla Ice Cream Base: Gather heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and salt.

Here are my recommended substitutions to make this apple pie filled ice cream if you need them.

• Apples: I prefer using a tart apple like Granny Smith for this ice cream. Any “baking apple” such as  Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Fuji, and Pink Lady and Cosmic.
• Unsalted Butter: Feel free to use your preferred unsalted butter. Miyokos Plant Butter is a good choice for a plant based butter. 
• Granulated and Light Brown Sugar: This recipe hasn’t been tested with alternative sugars. However, maple sugar would be a good substitute for even more fall flavors. 
• Apple Pie Spice: Feel free to use any spice blend like chai spice or pumpkin spice in place of apple pie spice.
• Graham Crackers: Use your preferred graham crackers. If you prefer something a bit salty, use ritz crackers in place of the graham crackers. 
• Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is another essential ingredient for homemade ice cream when not using an ice cream maker. 
• Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for the ice cream.
• Heavy Cream: This is an essential ingredient to the structure and texture of ice cream when it’s made without an ice cream mixer. Heavy cream usually whips to amount twice the amount.

Learn how to make apple ice cream in a few easy steps.

1. Peel, core and dice the apples into ½ inch cubes. Add the apples and butter to a sauce pan. Melt the butter over medium heat. Mix the apples and butter together until well combined. Once the butter has melted, add the sugar and apple pie spice. Cook the apples over medium heat for about 8 - 10 minutes or until the apples are soft and caramelized. Cool to room temperature before mixing into the ice cream. 
2. Place the graham crackers into a plastic bag. Crush the graham crackers until they form crumbs. Alternatively use graham crackers that are already in crumbs. Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the brown sugar, apple pie spice and salt until well combined. Mix in the melted butter with a fork about 1 tablespoon at a time until a streusel like texture forms. Transfer to the fridge to chill while the apple filling cools. 
3. Pour sweetened condensed milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract or paste and salt into a mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. Mix the ingredients together for 1 minute on medium speed until well combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and whisk until the cream mixture whips into medium- stiff peaks. Using a large spoon or large flexible spatula, fold in all of the cooled apple filling and all but ¼ cup of the brown sugar graham cracker mixture until well combined. The reserved graham cracker crumbs are for topping the ice cream.

4. Transfer the apple pie ice cream into a large freezer safe container. I love using a loaf pan or deep dish pie plate and top with the reserved graham cracker streusel.

5. Transfer to the freezer to set for 1-2 hours. Then cover the entire container in plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Freeze the ice cream for another 6 hours, but preferably overnight. Pull the ice cream out to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, scoop and enjoy!