When Sean and I heard our friend Kelly Brozyna (aka The Spunky Coconut) was writing a paleo ice cream book, we got really really REALLY excited. We both love ice cream – a lot. Indulging in the creamy goodness probably too often, and sometimes not feeling so great after (we both can handle dairy fine, but sometimes it gets to us). So basically – we needed this book. I’ve made my own vanilla coconut milk ice cream before, but haven’t really ventured to flavors. I love that EVERY recipe is not only dairy-free but also (get ready): gluten-free, soy-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free!
Kelly’s no stranger to delicious desserts: her previous book, The Paleo Chocolate Lovers’ Cookbook, is to die for. The yumminess in that book is insane, so we knew her new book, Dairy-Free Ice Cream would be just as amazing.
So far we’ve made both her chocolate ice cream and Butter Pecan ice cream. My two favorite flavors of ALL TIME are Rocky Road & Butter Pecan. I wanted to turn her chocolate ice cream into her recipe for Rocky Road, but it didn’t last long enough to do that! Sean even put a scoop of it in his coffee one morning…a twist on affogato??
And the Butter Pecan? So freakin’ good. We took it to a friend’s house and it was a big hit even with non-paleo people! We did use ghee in the Butter Pecan, but if you’re completely intolerant, she has options.
All this talking about ice cream, I bet you’re thinking “Hey, Suz, how ‘bout you share the love?!?” 🙂 Well, you’re in luck! Kelly has been kind enough to allow us to share a sneak peek of her book and share the Butter Pecan recipe with all of you! We love this book SO MUCH we’re giving away an advanced copy!!!!
Check out the recipe below and enter to win a copy of Dairy-Free Ice Cream before it hits shelves on June 24th!
- 1½ cups pecan pieces
- 2 tbs + ¼ cup ghee or soy free buttery spread such as Earth Balance
- 1/4 tsp fine-grain sea salt
- 1 (13.5 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup (about 8) soft, pitted Medjool dates
- 1¼ cups almond, cashew, or hemp milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- optional thickener: ½ tsp guar gum or 1 tbs gelatin completely dissolved into ¼ cup boiling water
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spread the pecan pieces on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until lightly toasted.
- Immediately put the toasted pecans in a mixing bowl with 2 tbs of ghee or buttery spread and the salt. Let the heat of the pecans melt the ghee. Stir to combine then chill the nuts.
- Put the remaining ¼ cup ghee, coconut mll, dates, almond, cashew or hemp milk, vanilla extract and thickener (if using) in a blender. Purée until smooth.
- Freeze for about an hour or refrigerate until cold.
- Pour into the ice cream machine and churn per the manufacturer's instructions.
- Chop the pecans, and add them to the ice cream when it reaches a soft serve consistency.
- Eat right away or freeze until hard for pretty scoops.
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meg says
June 17, 2014 at 10:54 amThis is so pinned for later! I love buttery flavored desserts!
Pastured Kitchen says
June 17, 2014 at 2:28 pmIt’s so tasty! Let us know how you like it!
kristy says
June 20, 2014 at 4:59 pmIsn’t ghee made from butter (dairy)
Pastured Kitchen says
June 24, 2014 at 1:34 pmIt is clarified butter meaning all of the milk solids have been removed leaving just the vitamins and butter fat. If you can tolerate butter, then it’s ok to consume it as long as it comes from a grassfed source. There are tons of health benefits from butter so give it a shot and see if you tolerate it, if not, try ghee instead.