Vanilla Cottage Cheese Ice Cream with Candy Coated Rice Crispies and Toasted Pecans
This Vanilla Cottage Cheese Ice Cream recipe uses a rich vanilla sauce custard base with the addition of cottage cheese. The cottage cheese is blended smooth and mixed in with the vanilla sauce before churning. The result is a rich, tangy, smooth, luxurious ice cream, ready for mix-ins and toppings!
For my mix-in, I made candy coated rice crispies and toasted pecan clusters. I melted Wilton Candy Melts over a double boiler and mixed in rice crispies and toasted pecans. I love to buy raw pecans and toast them myself in the oven. The flavor is so much better! Also, make sure to coat the rice crispies entirely in the Candy Melt. This will keep them from getting soggy when mixing it into the soft (not yet fully frozen) ice cream.
Vanilla flavored Candy Melts have a sweetness similar to white chocolate that goes really well with the tanginess of the cottage cheese, and the toasted pecans add so much depth of flavor and a nice pop of surprise. I love to eat these candy clusters by the handful!
Vanilla Cottage Cheese Ice Cream with Candy Coated Rice Crispies and Toasted Pecans
Equipment
- Ice cream maker
- Strainer – Used to strain the vanilla sauce
- Ice – Used in ice bath to quickly cool vanilla sauce
- Small pot/saucepan
Ingredients
Base – Vanilla Sauce
- 4 oz Milk
- 4 oz Heavy Cream
- 2 oz Sugar (Divided into 2 portions)
- 0.25 tsp Salt
- 0.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 yolks Egg yolks
Base – Cottage Cheese
- 10 oz Cottage Cheese (I used 1.5% fat)
- 2 TB Sugar
Candy Coated Rice Crispies & Toasted Pecans
- 2.5 oz Candy Melts (vanilla flavor) (I used Wilton brand, lavender color)
- 1 oz Toasted pecans (Toast raw pecans at 300F in the oven for 12-15 minutes)
- 0.6 oz Rice crispies
Instructions
Day 1 – Vanilla Sauce
- Combine the milk, heavy cream, the first portion of sugar, and salt in a small saucepan/pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
- When the mixture is boiling, remove from the heat. Set aside momentarily.
- In a medium to large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and the second portion of sugar together. While whisking, gradually pour about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture to temper the egg yolks.
- Pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the hot milk mixture.
- Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon. (This should be around 175F.) Remove from heat immediately. Be careful not to overcook, else you'll get scrambled eggs!
- Strain out any pieces of egg by pouring the mixture through a sieve into a metal bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Place the metal bowl in a larger bowl that has ice in it to quickly cool the vanilla sauce. Stir periodically for 15-20 min.
- Transfer vanilla sauce into a container or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
Day 1 – Candy Coated Rice Crispies & Toasted Pecans
- Toast raw pecans in the oven at 300 F for 12-15 mins. Let cool while continuing with next steps.
- Melt the Candy Melts in a double broiler or using a microwave.
- Pour the rice crispies into the melted candy melts. Stir until the rice crispies are fully coated.
- Add toasted pecans and stir to coat.
- Pour mixture onto parchment paper or a silicon mat. Spread the mixture out into small clusters and let cool.
- When cool, break up any large pieces. Store in an air tight container.
Day 2 – Add Cottage Cheese & Churn
- Blend the cottage cheese and sugar in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Mix the vanilla sauce from day 1 and the cottage cheese together, then pour into your ice cream maker.
- Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. (If using a Kitchen Aid ice cream bowl and attachment, churn on speed 2 for 12 minutes.)
- Once the ice cream is churned to about the consistency of soft serve ice cream (may be a little softer), mix in the candy coated rice crispy and pecan pieces.
- Transfer to a container with a lid and freeze overnight.
Notes
- Candy coated rice crispies can be made a couple days ahead.
- Be sure to coat the rice crispies completely! Any part that isn’t covered by the Candy Melt will absorb the liquid in the ice cream and get soggy.