Snowfall Ice Cream, With Variations

by Amy McDaniel, Posted Mar 2nd 2009 @ 5:03PM

Yesterday brought a rare treat to Atlanta: a real, steady, robust snowfall. The flakes were fat puffs, not icy almost-hail, and much of it stuck. Growing up, I missed school only once every year or two for a true snow day, but when I did, my mother did it up right. Our family ate our traditional snow-day breakfast of light-as-air fritters with syrup, and after a day of snowball fights and sledding on a nearby golf course, we were treated to ice cream made from fresh powder.

In case you've known no such delight, I'll tell you how to recreate this quintessential childhood treat. First, you want to gather a couple quarts of untouched new-fallen snow. If you're expecting snow, you can put out a receptacle to gather it for you. Immediately, gingerly mix in about a half a cup of ice-cold whole milk or half-and-half into which you've dissolved a quarter cup of sugar, and stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract. And that's it: no freezing, no churning. A quick Google search reveals that my mother's recipe is the most common, but Paula Deen offers a slightly different version with condensed milk instead of milk and sugar. That makes good sense to me, too.

You could try some easy flavor experiments, too. If you use chocolate milk instead of regular and add a splash of cold espresso, you've got mocha ice cream. Fresh-squeezed lemon or orange juice would make a lovely creamsicle-like flavor. Cinnamon, ginger, and cocoa also make lovely additions. Snow ice-cream is ultra-light, so I'd caution against heavy mix-ins like nuts or cookies; better to stick with liquid and powdered flavorings. Make the most of this long winter!

Filed Under: Ingredients
Tags: comfort food, dairy, snow ice cream, SnowIceCream, winter

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-02-2009 @5:17PM blue MD said... Chinese people have a really similar dessert (made from shavings from an iceblock - aka "shaved ice"), except with different toppings: red bean, green bean, lychee, almond tofu, grass jelly, etc... and instead of chocolate milk or milk+sugar they just use condensed milk and simple sugar made from brown sugar. It's pretty fantastic. Freshly fallen snow probably has a much fluffier texture though!
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3-03-2009 @8:28AM Dana said... Wow! This brought me back to being 7 years old again. I had been telling my husband about this and he had no clue what I was talking about and now here it is in article form. Thanks for putting a link up for this super yummy concoction. I am so glad to know that other people have had this and this wasn't something that my parents just made up as a snowy treat for us.
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3-03-2009 @11:46AM Thuy said... SOunds delicious! But...I wouldn't try this recipe in New York City though =/
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3-03-2009 @2:32PM Laura said... I never had this as a kid in upstate NY. Maybe there was just too much snow for it to seem like a treat! Ironically, I learned about "snow cream" when I moved to the south.
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3-03-2009 @5:55PM Heather said... Thanks so much for posting this. People think I am either crazy or my family was too poor to buy real ice cream when I was a kid. Its a lot easier to make than real ice cream that is for sure!
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3-07-2009 @2:06PM zen said... I grew up in NYC, but spent lots of time in the South, where my great-grandmother made snow cream. I forgot all about it, until this post - thanks! I'm thinking, however, that I won't try this with NY snow, even upstate NY snow.
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3-09-2009 @4:24PM Lee said... What a great recipe and a cool idea. We've started posting some of our favorites to our blog at http://recipefeeder.com, and will definitely post this one. Thanks!
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