Butterscotch Bourbon Ice Cream

This homemade ice cream is so creamy and perfect. I stupidly forgot to take a picture of it scooped out, so you'll just have to take this one of it churning. A few summers ago, the New York Times came out with a fantastic ice cream article and recipe with a basic base and a whole bunch of ways to customize it with different flavors, aptly titled, "The Only Ice Cream Recipe You'll Ever Need." They had a butterscotch bourbon flavor that I tried last weekend - yum! It's really, really good and I will definitely make it again. It's rich and creamy and has just a hint of bourbon - it's not overwhelming at all. (I don't like my desserts to taste like booze).

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar, separated

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

1/8 tsp salt

6 large egg yolks

1 tbsp bourbon

Directions:

In a medium pot, melt 1/2 cup sugar with 3 tbsp water over medium heat.

Swirl this occasionally, until it turns a pretty reddish brown (not too dark - watch carefully!).

Stir in milk, cream, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and salt and be sure all the caramel has melted into the mixture and that the sugar is dissolved.

Turn the cream mix off the heat. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.

Take 1/3 of the hot caramel cream mixture and pour slowly and gradually into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. (This tempers the yolks so they don't turn into scrambled eggs.)

Whisking constantly, slowly pour the yolk/cream mixture back into the pot with the remaining cream/caramel. 

Once incorporated, return the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

You should be able to drawn your finger across the spoon and leave a line.

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to catch any little chunks and let the mixture chill to room temperature. (If you're in a hurry, you can put the bowl into a larger bowl of ice water and stir it - this will cool it down much more quickly.)

Once it is room temperature, pour in the tablespoon of bourbon and stir. (I used Knob Creek because it's Jamie's favorite and what we had on hand, but any bourbon will work.)

Cover with Saran wrap and chill in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. It must be very, very cold before churning. 

Pour into the ice cream maker and churn for about 30 minutes until it is thick and fluffy, following the ice cream maker's instructions. Put into desired freezer-safe container and let firm up in the freezer for an hour or so before serving. (I used two solo cups and that worked pretty well!)