I can’t even put into words how much I love fresh Oregon peaches in the late summer. A fresh ripe peach makes a wonderful dessert on it’s own. And on the nights where I am craving ice cream, I whip up this ice cream dish in minutes. Just be sure to have frozen peaches on hand and your choice of “milk” so you can enjoy this instant ice cream without needing to mess with an ice cream machine. It is ready to eat like a thick soft serve custard right after blending, or you can spoon into a dish and place it in the freezer for an hour until its firm enough to scoop like traditional ice cream. I like to quickly candy a handful of walnuts while the ice cream is chilling, to add a little kick of salty sweet crunchiness to this dessert.
Peach Ice Cream with Candied Walnuts
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
Instant Peach Ice Cream
3 cups frozen peaches, chopped (about 2 to 3 large peaches)
1/2 to 3/4 cup coconut milk (or other “milk” or yogurt*)
1 teaspoon vanilla, divided
optional: 1 to 2 Tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)
Candied Walnuts (or Pecans)
1/2 cup walnuts (or pecans)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil (or goat milk butter)
2 teaspoons maple syrup (or honey)
pinch of sea salt
Directions:
Chop peaches into chunks and lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer overnight. I always do a larger batch so I have them on hand to make this ice cream instantly anytime. It is very important to freeze peaches in smaller chunks on a baking sheet without the pieces touching. Then after they are frozen you can transfer them to a ziplock baggie or tupperware container.
Place frozen peaches in a blender or food processor (a high speed blender like a Vitamix will work the best, and a food processor will work pretty good too).
Add in 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and sweetener, and blend peaches. If needed add the additional 1/4 cup coconut milk. You will need to stop the blender and push the mixture down from the sides repeatedly until you have a nicely blended frozen dessert. I think it tastes best with little chunks of frozen peaches throughout the ice cream.
You can eat it right away as it will have a nice soft serve texture, or place it into the freezer for about an hour until it firms up a little more so you can scoop it like regular ice cream.
While peach ice cream is in the freezer you can candy the walnuts or pecans.
Heat up a small saute pan over medium low heat. Add in coconut oil.
Toss in walnuts or pecans and stir them until they are lightly toasted.
Add in maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and sea salt, remove from heat and spoon nuts onto a place covered with a piece of parchment paper and set in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Chop nuts and stir into peach ice cream.
Serve and seriously enjoy!