Old Timey Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

A while back I created a recipe that tastes almost identical to the vanilla ice cream my family used to make. Back in the olden days, we would take turns hand-cranking the old White Mountain ice cream maker during summer barbecues. There were only two flavors we’d make; vanilla and cherry-vanilla. They were very simple egg-free recipe’s, but tasted oh so good! Here is my updated version:

Old Timey Vanilla Ice Cream


2 1/2 cups of half and half
1, 14 ounce can of condensed milk
3 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp of cornstarch
2 tbsp of raw blue agave

Reserve 2 tbsp of half and half in a small bowl. Mix it with the cornstarch. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the condensed milk, the remaining half and half, agave, and vanilla until well blended. Mix in the cornstarch slurry and immediately pour into the ice cream maker. (FYI: If you let the mixture sit, the cornstarch will settle at the bottom of the bowl. This will screw up the results!)

Depending on your ice cream maker, it will usually take 20 - 30 minutes for the ice cream to reach the desired consistency.What is the desired consistency, you ask? It should be like soft serve.

When it reaches the right consistency, pour into a 1 quart freezer container and freeze for four hours. It should then be ready to scoop and serve!