Simple and creamy homemade gingerbread ice cream with gingerbread spice taste and actual gingerbread bits! No eggs required for the ice cream base!

If you’ve been following my blog for a time, you’ll know how much I like ice cream. I feel that ice cream is the ideal dessert that is not limited to the summer months and can be enjoyed all year.

I don’t care if it’s ten degrees outside; you’ll find me bundled up in front of the fire, next to all my fall decorations, with a bowl of ice cream in my hand because it’s the love of my life (sorry, Bill).

I get anxious when we don’t have ice cream in the freezer because OHMYGOD WHAT IF I HAVE A CRAVING AND DONT HAVE ICE CREAM TO SATISFY IT?!

I realized recently that I dont really have any seasonally specific ice cream recipes on here and thats probably because of my bias toward eating it year round.

But that doesnt HAVE to mean that I dont have any flavors I can look forward to eating during a specific time of the year, right? Right.

I recently posted this recipe for paleo gingerbread bars, which I’m sure you’ve seen because you’re a loyal and amazing reader (no guilt trip here, just want to encourage you to be your best self).

Gingerbread is one of those things I just eat outside of the November and December months because its become sort of a sacred holiday food for me. The smell and taste of gingerbread bring me right into the mode of fallen leaves, crackling fires and family gatherings.

I dont want to taint that by making it commonplace during the rest of the year, so I save up all my gingerbread taste buds for the end of the year and usually end up eating way too many gingerbread things.

Some people overdo it with pumpkin, I overdo it with gingerbread. I make no apologies for my life decisions. And thus, this gingerbread ice cream was born.

Ingredients for gingerbread ice cream

• 2cupsheavy cream
• 1cupLand O Lakes Buttercream Style Half & Half
• a cup of light brown sugar
• cupmolasses
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (affiliate link) or vanilla essence
• teaspoonground ginger
• teaspoonsalt
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 cubes (try mygingerbread) 2 cups chopped gingerbread or gingerbread cookies

How to make gingerbread ice cream

1. Use parchment paper to line a baking sheet. Put the cubed gingerbread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and freeze for at least an hour.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add heavy cream, Land O Lakes Buttercream Style Half & Half, brown sugar, and molasses.
3. Whisk in the cinnamon, vanilla, ginger, salt, cloves, and nutmeg until well combined. Put the bowl in the refrigerator for at least an hour to cool.
4. Prepare the frozen ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions (usually 20-25 minutes of churning). Add your gingerbread during the final 5 minutes of cooking.
5. If you want a soft-serve texture, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for a couple of hours (or overnight, if you want to eat it after its hardened). Enjoy!

Adding real gingerbread is a must

But because Im me, the ice cream wasnt enough. I had to add in some chunks of even more deliciousness in the form of these gingerbread bars.

Cut em up, drop them in the freezer for a little, and then add them in during the final couple minutes of churning. And simple and in my view important stage in the procedure for ultimate ice cream perfection. Smooth and chunky, together in sweet harmony.

These happen to be paleo, but I want to make sure I’m creating the correct expectations here.

Tip: Use half and half

While the chunks of real gingerbread are a must, the real star of the show here is the Land O Lakes Buttercream Style Half & Half that I use in the recipe. It has a creamy, extra-rich combination of genuine milk and cream.

It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for without realizing it. Buttercream style is where is at, yo.

Can’t seem to find it in the store? Not a problem. Ive seen plenty of recipes in the past that use a mix of heavy cream and half and half, and thats perfectly fine and works if you cant find this.

This ice cream, you guys. Its so wonderful. I simply want to bake another batch of these gingerbread bars and then put a layer of this gingerbread ice cream on top of it.

And then maybe add a giant drizzle of molasses.

THEN ANOTHER LAYER OF GINGERBREAD, ICE CREAM, AND MOLASSES.

I apologize for it.

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s rich and creamy, and it deserves to be emphasized. There is no iciness here, which is the bane of my ice cream-loving existence.

I like to do this thing when I smoosh ice cream into the bottom of a glass serving dish so its sort of like a really thick milkshake, and then add scoops of ice cream on top of it.

For some reason, being able to see the gap in between the scoops of ice cream at the bottom disturbs me, and this offers the ice cream a beautiful little cradle on which it may sit.

Why yes, I do know that Im completely weird why do you ask? Wait dont answer that.