Lemon Bliss Homemade Ice Cream 

I am not a huge ice cream fan. I like it, but I usually don’t love it. If I’m choosing desserts, I would choose a piece of rich caramel cake or a cupcake over ice cream. That is, before Blue Bell Lemon Bliss entered my life! It is one of their newer flavors and is only sold in the summer. This lemon ice cream with crushed golden Oreos mixed in won my heart with the first bite! I may or may not have driven all over Dallas last summer trying to find stores that had it.

So when the news came out in the spring that Blue Bell wouldn’t be around this summer, I knew I had to make my own version! After searching the Internet for the recipe with no luck, I decided to just make one up! It turned out so delightful that I had to share it with you.

We received this ice cream maker for a Christmas present one year and we love it! The recipe below is for the size of our maker. Be sure to read all of the instructions before you begin. This one requires that you freeze the bowl 24 hours before making the ice cream. It is no fun when you really want ice cream but can’t make it that day because the bowl is not in the freezer!!

Also, Trey doesn’t like lemon desserts so I made another batch for him omitting the lemon and then mixed in Nutella and Keebler Fudge-covered graham crackers at the end. He was one happy husband!

Lemon Bliss Ice Cream (adapted from The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Ice Cream)

(Makes 1 ½ Quarts)

2 cups Half-and-half
1 ⅓ cups Sugar
1 ½ Teaspoon Lemon Oil or Extract
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
6 whole Egg Yolks
2 cups Heavy Cream
1 ½ cups crushed Lemon Golden Oreos

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the half-and-half and sugar. Stir it to combine, then add the lemon flavoring and vanilla. Stir the mixture around and heat it up until it’s very hot but not boiling.

Meanwhile, add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and whisk them vigorously for about 2 minutes, until the yolks are slightly lighter in color.

Grab a ladle of the hot half-and-half mixture and drizzle it very slowly into the yolks, whisking them constantly to temper the egg yolks. Repeat with another ladle of the hot liquid. When it’s mixed in, slowly pour the entire egg mixture into the pan with the half-and-half, stirring with a spoon. Once added, stir and cook it for 2 minutes or so, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spoon.

Set a fine mesh strainer over a clean glass bowl and strain the custard. Don’t worry if it’s a little lumpy!

Add the heavy cream to the bowl and stir it all together. Chill the mixture for at least 2 hours or overnight, then pour it into the ice cream machine and process it according to your machine’s directions. 5 minutes before it is ready, slowly pour in the crushed Oreos. When it’s finished churning, it will be in the soft-serve stage; transfer it to a freezer container and freeze for several hours or overnight until it is frozen firm. Enjoy!