By Brianne Spinelli

This July 21st will be a day of joyous celebration: it is National Ice Cream Day! But wait, it gets better. One day of ice cream jubilation is not nearly enough time to revel in all of its creamy frozen goodness. What’s better than a day devoted to ice cream, you ask? An entire month dedicated to the yummy treat! All of July is recognized as National Ice Cream Month in the United States! Thank you, President Ronald Reagan, for having this, the greatest idea of all time, back in 1984.

One way to celebrate is to make your own homemade ice cream with your nieces and nephews in which you can all indulge together. If you have an ice cream maker on hand, what are you waiting for?! Get that creamy goodness churning out as quickly as possible! However, if you currently find yourself ice cream maker-less, fear not. You can still make your own ice cream sans fancy equipment. Most of the items you’ll need, you probably already have on hand!

You’ll need:

2 zip-top plastic bags (one sandwich size, one gallon size)
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Ice
½ cup salt (the coarser, the better)
Mix-ins (i.e., sprinkles, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, crushed cookies, etc.)
Mittens or gloves (to protect hands from the cold)

What to do:

1. First, mix the half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla in the sandwich size zip-top bag. Seal the bag.
2. Next, fill the gallon size zip-top bag half-full with ice. Sprinkle the ½ cup salt over the ice.
3. Then, place the smaller bag inside the larger bag. Seal the large bag.
4. Now comes the fun part! Get your mittens or gloves on. Begin shaking, scrunching, mashing, and rolling the bag around. You can play with the bag as much as you want, and can even turn it into a game of passing it back and forth, sort of like a game of “Cold Potato.”
5. After about 3-5 minutes, you can open the bags and add your mix-ins. Reseal both bags, and continue shaking.
6. When the ice cream reaches the right consistency, remove the small bag from the large one, squish the contents to the bottom of the bag, open, and begin scooping!
7. The ice cream will have a soft-serve texture. If you’d like it a bit firmer, place the bag in the freezer for an hour or so before serving.

One warning before you embark on your delicious adventure: BEWARE OF BRAIN FREEZE!

Brianne Spinelli is an “Auntie by Relation” (ABR) to Julia, Alexis, and Lucas, as well as Godmother to Alexis. Connect with her on Twitter at @freetobebree or here on SavvyAuntie.com, member name: AuntBree.

Photo: Naito8
Published: July 16, 2013