Caramel Corn Ice Cream

It’s summer. It’s hot. You want ice cream.

If you’re like me you always want caramel corn.

So let’s combine the two and make caramel corn ice cream – without an ice cream machine!

I have a caramel corn addiction. It’s a serious problem – I can’t even buy it at the store or it will all get eaten.

When I visited Harry & David in April I brought back eleventy-thousand bags of Moose Munch with all sorts of grandiose ideas of what to make with it. I made Caramel Corn Peanut Butter Cookies and then…

Then I ate almost all the bags of Moose Munch I bought. #wishiwaskidding

It’s just so freaking easy to eat caramel corn. You never just grab one kernel and it’s so easy to just mindless eat a whole bag or 5 of it. Finally I was down to my last bag and I told myself I had to make something with it or I’d just eat it all.

So I made caramel corn ice cream and ate the whole bag of caramel corn…along with my ice cream.

Do you see why I work out?

I loved this ice cream, possibly too much. It’s kind of a re-creation of a dessert I had while in Oregon – the chef made Moose Munch Ice Cream and that gave me the idea to make this. However, I am assuming his dessert was made with all sorts of fancy equipment (i.e. an ice cream machine). If you don’t have an ice cream machine, don’t worry. I’m much too lazy to actually use one, so I make all my ice cream the easy way.

To make this ice cream you just need a few ingredients: sweetened condensed milk (I use the fat-free kind), heavy whipping cream, caramel corn, and vanilla. That’s it!

This recipe does take slightly longer to make than my regular versions, because I infused the SCM with the caramel corn flavor by cooking them together over low heat. Then you have to let the milk cool so it doesn’t ruin the whipped cream. But an extra hour or two is not a big deal, especially when you’re eating this. Trust me.

Once the SCM is cool, I picked out the big pieces of caramel corn and discarded them, then stirred in some fresh crushed pieces before adding the vanilla. I used Moose Munch because I had it on hand. It has some chocolate covered pieces, so that added some chocolate flavor to my ice cream. You can use any kind of caramel corn you like.

{And I know I’ll get asked this so I’m answering it – the caramel corn does not get soggy!}

The sweetened condensed milk mixture gets mixed with freshly whipped cream (using the aforementioned heavy whipping cream) and then you freeze it. Easy peasy.

{Tip: if you’re trying to cut calories or reduce the sugar or fat in your desserts, you can use Cool Whip instead of the whipped cream. This lets you control the sugar or calories or fat because you can use fat-free, lite, sugar free, or regular Cool Whip. I like to substitute 1 1/2 containers (about 12 ounces if you’re using an 8 ounce package) for all of the whipped cream.}

Once it’s frozen you have to just try not to eat it all like you would a bag of caramel corn. And a serving suggestion?

Pour caramel all over it. It takes this ice cream to a new level.

More caramel is always good, right?

Caramel Corn Ice Cream

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Ingredients

 

• ▢ 14 ounces 1 can sweetened condensed milk (fat-free or regular)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon nonfat milk
• ▢ 2 cups caramel corn divided (I used Moose Munch, which has chocolate covered pieces - use your favorite!)
• ▢ 2 cups heavy whipping cream cold
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Place sweetened condensed milk, nonfat milk, and 1 cup of caramel corn in a small saucepan. Heat over low heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often, to infuse the caramel flavor into the milk. Remove from heat and cool completely before continuing.
• Beat cold heavy cream on high in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer) until stiff peaks form.
• Remove large chunks of caramel corn from the sweetened condensed milk mixture and discard.
• Place remaining 1 cup of caramel corn in a ziploc bag and pound with a rolling pin until it’s broken into small pieces.
• Fold whipped cream into sweetened condensed milk mixture. Stir in vanilla and crushed caramel corn. Place in a large resealable container and freeze at least 4 hours or overnight before eating.
• Serving tip: top with caramel ice cream topping and more caramel corn!

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Author Dorothy Kern

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Last Updated on February 26, 2022