IMG_3332I suppose I should have known I was tempting fate when I declared our last snow/sleet as the Last Hurrah of winter.

We got about 4 inches of perfect, fluffy snow last night, and today had snow ice cream written all over it.

Encouraged by one of my brothers (who got about an 8″ snowfall in his neck of the woods), I made snow ice cream for the kids today. I may have sampled some myself.

Here’s the method, not an exact recipe, but the way we have made snow ice cream in our family for over 50 years.

Step 1: Wait for a nice, dry, powdery snowfall

Step 2: Take your biggest bowl and a big spoon outside or put it in the freezer. I buried mine in the snow for about ten minutes.

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Step 3: Open a can of sweetened evaporated milk and add 2 to 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Stir it in. If you have a very large bowl and want to make an extra large batch, use 2 cans of milk and another dose of vanilla.

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Step 4: Remove the snow used to chill the bowl and scrap any ice crystals off the inside of the bowl. Fill the bowl with fresh snow from a nice, clean, shady spot.

Step 5: If you can stand it, bring the milk outside and drizzle it over the snow. I leave the bowl in the snow while I stir in the sweetened condensed milk so everything stays very cold. If you like, you can bring everything inside, just stir quickly!

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The snow ice cream is ready to eat when the milk is incorporated. For best flavor and texture, eat it soon after it’s made and keep any leftovers covered outside or in the freezer.

The batch shown here is probably a little light on the milk and heavy on snow. It was still very good!