Recipe: Ice Cream in a Bag with Homemade Sprinkles

Want a single serving of cold, dreamy ice cream, stat? All you need is a handful of ingredients and some plastic bags, says lifestyle expert and cookbook author Maria Provenzano. In her new cookbook, “Everyday Celebrations from Scratch” (Harper Horizon, $30), Provenzano shares simple recipes and kid-friendly DIY projects that yield amazing results, like this shake-and-serve ice cream with homemade sprinkles.

Be sure to double bag the ice cream ingredients and the ice to avoid a mess. You can cover the bags with a towel or something similar, if your hands get too cold during the process. And if you can’t find ice cream salt, kosher salt works just fine. Be sure to let your icing strips cool for 24 hours before cutting them into sprinkles.

Ice Cream in a Bag with Homemade Sprinkles

Makes about 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1 cup half-and-half (or cream)

1 cup whole milk

¼ cup extra-fine sugar or maple syrup

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 sealable plastic bags (2 quart size, 2 gallon size)

½ cup kosher salt or ice cream salt

Hot fudge or chocolate sauce

Homemade sprinkles (see recipe below)

DIRECTIONS

Pour the half-and-half, milk, sugar and vanilla into a small plastic bag.

Remove the air, seal tightly and double bag the liquid to prevent salt from getting into the bag.

Fill the large (gallon size) plastic bag a little over halfway with ice. Add the salt.

Place the small liquid-filled bag into the larger, ice-filled bag and seal. Place this into the second gallon-size plastic bag and seal.

Shake for about 10 minutes.

Serve ice cream topped with hot fudge or chocolate syrup and homemade sprinkles, or transfer the ice cream to a plastic container and store in the freezer.

Homemade Sprinkles

Makes about 4 cups

INGREDIENTS

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

¼ cup meringue powder

4 to 6 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Gel food coloring

DIRECTIONS

Mix the powdered sugar and meringue powder together in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.

With the mixer on low, stir in the lemon juice, vanilla extract and 4 tablespoons of water. Once mixed, increase the speed to medium/high and beat until very thick, about 15 minutes.