Just because summer is over, don’t think that the ice cream recipes are going to stop, because they are not! They just get more seasonal with me!  I enjoy my nightly bowl of ice cream tucked under my electric blanket – and I am not being sarcastic or funny here, the only way to enjoy the creamy, cold goodness without my body totally going numb! Does anyone else run super cold like me, or do you all just think I am loony now?!

Anyway, as promised, another pumpkin recipe!! I was making a pumpkin/sage cream sauce last week to serve over pork loin, and I needed to do something with the leftover pumpkin puree….soooo that evening I took my basic “guilt free ice cream” (previously shared with you guys) and blended a little pumpkin and spices into the mix – and voila! The perfect pumpkin/spice ice cream without the fat, carbs, sugar or guilt!

I am already under my blanket now as I write this on this crisp, cool Friday evening, now if only I had someone to prepare the ice cream for ME, then I’d be in heaven!

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 packets of stevia

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

two nice-sized “pinches” of the following: cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg…maybe a little more cinnamon than the rest, you kind of just have to blend them in, taste, and adjust the spices accordingly.

Directions:

1. Mix the 1 cup of almond milk, stevia packets, and vanilla extract.
2. Pour this mixture into ice cube trays and allow it to freeze fully; it’ll take around 1.5‐2 hours or more. (I usually just freeze it around 5‐6 pm if I know I want some, and then make it at 11 pm for dessert).
3. When you’re ready to have ice cream, place the ice cubes in a blender with the xanthan gum, pumpkin puree, 1/3 cup more almond milk and spices. (No fancy blender or ice cream maker needed. Seriously, I have the cheapest, dinky $20 blender I could find.) Then blend some more. Stay patient with this; the longer you blend it, the thicker it gets. It takes me about 5 minutes of blending, stirring, blending, stirring, blending…
4. Eventually it hits a point where you just KNOW it’s done – the thickness becomes perfect. It’ll blend without jamming, but it blends SLOW and THICK.
5. Scoop it out with an ice cream scoop or a large spoon and enjoy!

Note: I also like to serve mine with a light drizzle of sugar-free maple syrup, the maple really enhances the spices!

Click here to download a printable copy of the Pumpkin Ice Cream Recipe.