May 17, 2010
Wow! I made this exactly as the recipe is written, except that I divided it in half because I have a small quart-size ice cream maker. I toasted the coconut along with the pecans; 350 degrees for about 10 minutes - watch them closely and stir them often. I used the cookie pieces style of pecans because I like how small they are. I did a 24 hour chill in the fridge, mixed it up one night, made it the next night and this made it REALLY smooth and creamy. I'm sure if you mixed it up in the morning and made it that night it would be fine, but it does need to cool down quite a bit to keep the ice crystals from forming and also to help it get really frozen. I guess you could consider that a drawback since you can't decide to make this and have ice cream 40 minutes later, like you could with no cook recipes. But, trust me, it is WELL WORTH the wait. My husband said it's the best ice cream he's ever had and then ate enough to prove it. I've already hidden a small bowl of it behind the frozen peas in the freezer to make sure I get more than one bowl! Every ice cream maker is different, of course, but it came out of mine like a real thick soft serve style and after being in the freezer over night, it's hardened up nicely, but still scoopable. Definitely a keeper! I didn't have any caramel sauce, but I think this would put it over the top. I'll be trying that next time.
—Kimberly
