Toasted Almond Ice Cream

I am loving my new ice cream maker that was a Christmas present from my husband, and have enjoyed trying new and exciting ice cream recipes. The most recent ice cream recipe that I made was Toasted Almond and it was a great balance of sweet and nutty. The recipe came from an old Williams-Sonoma cookbook that I borrowed from my step-dad (the first person to make me homemade ice cream) and here is the recipe in case you want to try it for yourself:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the almonds and saute, stirring often, until the almonds are golden and the butter browns, about 5 minutes. Add the half-and-half and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat.
• In a metal bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and corn syrup until blended. Gradually pour the hot half-and-half mixture into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the same saucepan and plan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spatula, until the custard thickens and leaves a path on the back of the spatula when a finger is drawn across it, about 5 minutes; do not allow mixture to boil.
• Pour the custard into a clean bowl and then stir in vanilla and almond extracts. Refrigerate the custard until cold, about 1 hour.
• Transfer the custard to an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Then transfer the ice cream to a container; cover and freeze until firm for at least 4 hours.

I made this ice cream a few weeks ago and still have a little bit left in the freezer for a treat tonight. My husband and I are headed out for date night tonight to see the new 'Red Tails' movie and then home for hot cocoa and the rest of the toasted almond ice cream... yum!