Butterscotch Pecan Ice Cream- It's to die for

Since I got my Kitchen Aid, I've been using it non-stop. Today was no different, except for this time I tried out my ice cream maker attachment (thanks Katie!). Stephen has been kindly reminding me that I promised to make him some a couple of days ago and that he was really looking forward to it. So this afternoon I was thumbing through recipes and decided to give one a try. I made a few alterations (because unfortunately I didn't have whisky on hand) but I think the substitutions I made helped make it even better. If you're not totally into pecans, no worries, just don't add them. They do however make the ice cream even more amazing!

Butterscotch Pecan Ice Cream

Ingredients

For the pecans:

1 tbsp. butter

1 c. chopped pecans

1/8 tsp. salt

For the ice cream:

5 tbsp. butter

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt (scant)

2 c. heavy cream, divided

3/4 c. whole milk

6 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. butterscotch chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt 1 tbsp. butter in small microwavable bowl. Toss pecans in butter. Spread onto baking sheet and lightly salt. Place in oven to bake for 10-12 minutes, stirring once or twice. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and set aside.

4. In a separate mixing bowl, pour 1 cup of heavy cream in, then place a mesh sieve over top.

5. In a medium sauce pan set over medium-low heat, melt butter. Whisk in brown sugar and salt (the mixture will become clumpy). Stir in 1 cup of heavy cream and the whole milk. Once the mixture is warm, add to bowl with yolks. Stir continuously to temper the eggs.

6. Return mixture to medium heat. Add butterscotch chips, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and it reaches approximately 160-170 degrees. Immediately remove and pour through sieve into remaining cream. Add vanilla and stir.

7. Cover the bowl and transfer to the refrigerator until completely cooled or place/stir over an ice bath to chill.

8. Once the mixture is chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacture's directions. After 15 minutes, add toasted pecans. Transfer into an freezer-safe, air-tight container. Freeze for 2-4 hours.

(recipe adapted from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop)

Need suggestions?

While the reviews on the Kitchen Aid attachment are 50/50, I was really pleased with the results. If you are thinking about using it, whether it's for the first time or you just can't quite figure out why you're getting soupy results, I have a few suggestions. First, make sure you've frozen that bowl for at least 15 hours. I would even say 24 to be safe. Second, don't make ice cream in a hot kitchen. While the bowl is completely frozen solid, it melts really quickly (in a matter of 40-50 minutes). Third, I never heard "scraping" to suggest the ice cream was done, and since it didn't look the right consistency, I left it in an extra 10 minutes. So when it comes to mixing time, go ahead and leave it longer (30-40 minutes)... unless of course the ice cream is stiff and unable to churn.