I Scream. U Scream. We ALL Scream. For ICE CREAM!

My family absolutely adores ice cream! All of us do! Its one of our favorite treats in the entire world, no matter how hot or cold it might be out side. The running joke is that my mom, when pregnant with my sister, told my dad "the baby needs ice cream." So most every night of her pregnancy they would go to Baskin Robbins to get something for the baby. This continued more as a tradition with the second and third pregnancy, and eventually became a long standing family tradition.

Because of our love for the cold stuff, my mom bought my dad an uber cool homemade ice cream maker for Father's day one year. And since acquiring the fine kitchen appliance, my mom has become an expert at making gourmet ice cream. (Side note - I made an amazing batch of Dulce De Leche ice cream one time too!) Mom really has ice cream making down to a science.

So, last Sunday I was at home for a little weekend get-a-away, and was craving some homemade ice cream. Mom and I got on the Rachael Ray magazine site because she just published an issue with lots of great ice cream recipes. We found one that would be easy to make with the ingredients we had at home. It is Rachael's Triple Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream. Mom made a few minor adjustments based on available ingredients, and in the end, it was the ABSOLUTE BEST chocolate ice cream I have ever eaten.

If you love making ice cream, I definitely recommend this one!

Rachael's Triple Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream

Ingredients:
4 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-2/3 cups milk
1-1/3 cups heavy cream
Ice Water
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup broken dark chocolate-covered pretzels

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar and the salt. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream and remaining 1/4 cup sugar over medium heat and cook, stirring, until steaming hot but not simmering, about 6 minutes. Add to the egg mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into the saucepan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and registers 175° on an instant-read thermometer, about 8 minutes.

Strain the custard into a medium bowl set in an ice water bath. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Using an ice cream machine, process the custard according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Fold in the chocolate chips and pretzels, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

**My mom didn't have white chocolate chips or pretzels when we made this, so we just used a bunch of mini chocolate chips. It was AMAZING!!!!!