Apple Butter Oatmeal Crisp Ice Cream

 

I’m one a’ those folks who never wants summer to end.  Yeah, one a’ those.

“Babe, but doesn’t everyone love fall?”  Mike asked of me as I was lamenting impending cold weather. 

“Sure, lots of folks love fall and that’s great but I’m not one of them.”  Getting all fatalistic I continued, “that means winter is next and hyper-commercialism and then just cold, gray gloomy slush.”

Yeah, we didn’t say much after that. 

Hey, what can I say, as a perma-cold human I much prefer warmer temps. 

In my effort to somewhat embrace fall (aka Apple Season, the more acceptable terminology) yet (maybe desperately in some eyes) hang onto summer, I made this Apple Butter Oatmeal Crisp Ice Cream.  

Whooooo, tasty.

As I’ve blathered many a time before, ice cream is not a seasonal thing for us, we delight in it all year.  As one should.  

But I thought this recipe from Baked by Rachel would be a nice bridge between seasons.  Or heh whatever, who am I kidding, it’s really just an excuse to make something with apple butter and eat ice cream, truth be told.    

Taking the shortcut by buying it at the store is my preferred method of apple butter procurement.  Try to find one without high fructose corn syrup like Musselman’s or if you’re lucky and live near an orchard, local would be faboo!

Get yourself set up by measuring out your ingredients, that mise en place thing.  It makes life much easier.

I wasn’t quite sure how this was going to turn out but it did appear too good to pass up.  My main fear was the crisp would be chewy unbaked oats or become soggy in the ice cream.  Turns out neither came true.  Whew.

Truth be told, honestly?, sigh, crisps are not my jam (haha, crisp, jam, almost pun), and likely because I haven’t had the right one. 

Eons ago I made a crisp and remember complaining about it to my mom.  The oats were not cooked, the apples not done enough, and overall it, bleech.  Others I’ve tasted since suffered the same fate, hence my concern with the crisp here.

A crispy collage!

Further recipe concern:  after turning off the ice cream machine,* I tasted the freshly churned ice cream because uh, baker’s prerogative, the ice cream tasted smoky rather than apple buttery. 

But!  I would not be here and waste your valuable time if this was not a winner.  In fact, I found the essential base of this ice cream to be one of the best I’ve had in a long time, super creamy, with flawless mouth-feel, and minimal ice crystals. 

“Mmmph,” I hear from the other end of the couch, “this is good.  It tastes like apple cider.  Mmmmmm.”  There’s Mike’s stamp of approval for you.  Thanks, babe!

I did rework the steps mainly because I have a preferred method and I lowered the egg count as I find an ice cream recipe with more than two to three eggs to be excessive and wholly unnecessary.  Ice cream is rich, it should be rich, but it should not be (in my humble opinion) so rich that it becomes whoa, stop it rich.  It’s a fine balance to find, and the result should be a fine balance. 

Start the ice cream base first as your crisp will cool in no time.   Set up an ice bath, set a bowl in there, pour most of the cream in the bowl.  Next you’ll heat the remainder of cream, the milk, and salt and let it come to a barely noticeable simmer, mostly steamy.

Whisk* up the eggs and sugar into that super pretty pale yellow color which you’ll then temper with the heated creamy milk.

I’ll never grow weary of this pale yellow egg-sugar color.

Pour all that back into the saucepan* and stir stir stir until a spoon, or in my case here, a spatula* is coated thickly and nicely.  Mmmmm, yes.

Yeah ok, I didn’t drag my finger through it but it’s ready.

All that goes into the reserved cream along with the vanilla, let that cool.  A neat trick I discovered recently is if you can find some fridge space, put the whole ice bath in there, or outside if it’s cold enough.  It really speeds up the cooling.

I was very much enjoying the colors and swirls, heh.  I’m a dork.

The crisp is next which is simply just mix, spread, bake, cool, tada done.  Simple, yeah?

Wait, Becky, what about the apple butter?  You’ll add your apple butter to the ice cream base when it’s cool, just before churning.  So then it’s churn time, woot!

Sadly the better swirly photos adding the apple butter were blurry, dammit.  Sorry!  Add the apple butter, stir.  Heh.

Oh!  Yes!  Riiiiiight?!?!  Wow, super creamy ice cream heaven is correct, ding ding ding!  It makes a load of ice cream too.  I’m bad at figuring total quantities, so it’s uh, a load.

Ok!  Once the ice cream has churned, grab a freezer-safe container and start layering up….ice cream, crisp, more ice cream, more crisp.  I was judicious with the crisp as it seemed like a lot so I had leftovers.  Feel free to sprinkle that on top when you serve it, if you end up with extra.  Or eat it as you go, up to you.

Layers away!

And voila!  Grab a spoon, a cozy blankie, toasty slippers and enjoy the newly invented season called Summer Fall!

Ready for the freezer!  Or a biiiig giant spoon.

If you’re looking for more apple-related recipes, I’ve got some here!  Oh yes!  And be sure to click on “recipes” up at the top menu in general to find your next baking adventure!  Better yet, subscribe to my emails so you don’t miss a beat!

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

Apple Butter Oatmeal Crisp Ice Cream

Yield

8 servings (~1 quart)

Prep time

30 Min

Cook time

30 Min

Inactive time

4 Hour

Total time

5 Hour

Hang onto summer yet dip your toes into fall with a luscious apple butter ice cream mixed together with a crispy crunchy oatmeal crisp.

Ingredients

Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) whole or 2% milk
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240 g) apple butter

Crisp

• 6 tablespoons (45 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (45 g) old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup (53 g) light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon (0.65 g) cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Set up an ice bath using a large bowl filled with ice and a little water. Set a slightly smaller bowl in the ice bath, pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into that bowl and set a fine-mesh strainer atop.
2. In a saucepan, add the 1/2 cup of cream, the milk, and pinch of salt. Turn the heat to medium-low.
3. Once the milk and cream have warmed and is steaming but not boiling, whisk the eggs and egg yolk with the sugar in a medium sized bowl until pale yellow.
4. Drizzle the heated milk/cream into the egg/sugar mix very slowly while constantly whisking to temper the eggs. Once the egg mix has warmed, add it back to the saucepan. Turn the heat to about medium and whisk until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Remove the ice cream base from the heat, pour it through the strainer into the reserved cream. Add the vanilla, stir, cover the liquid with plastic wrap directly on the surface, and let cool completely. The whole ice bath can be set in the refrigerator to speed the process.
6. In the meantime, make the crisp by preheating the oven to 375° F (190° C). Once the oven is heated, mix all the crisp ingredients in a small bowl. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, a silicone mat, or lightly spray it with cooking spray then spread out the crisp mix onto it. Break up any larger clumps.
7. Bake the crisp for about 10 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and cook completely.
8. When ready to churn, add the apple butter to the ice cream base, stir it in thoroughly, then add the mix to the ice cream maker. Churn as directed by the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Layer the ice cream in a freezer-safe container with the crisp, cover, and transfer to the freezer to set firm. Serve as is, with any leftover crisp atop if there is any, a caramel sauce, whipped cream, or as desired.

Notes:

Adapted from Baked by Rachel.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

338.90

Fat (grams)

23.44

Sat. Fat (grams)

14.20

Carbs (grams)

27.98

Fiber (grams)

0.93

Net carbs

27.05

Sugar (grams)

23.30

Protein (grams)

5.55

Sodium (milligrams)

71.66

Cholesterol (grams)

135.09

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details and information about gram weights.

ice cream, apple

recipes

American

*The apple butter, whisks, saucepans, spatulas, and ice cream makers are an Amazon affiliate link.  Happy baking, thanks!  Please see the "info" tab for more, well, info.