Recipes

The Perfect Snow Day Treat: Snow Ice Cream

How To Make Snow Ice Cream

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I grew up on the sun-dappled, white sand beaches of Florida's Gulf Coast.

But before my family moved south when I was 7, we lived in northern Indiana.

There, a whole different type of white stuff often covered the ground. And it was the key ingredient for a special winter treat, made by my dad: snow ice cream.

After several days of writing about the parade of winter storms that so many of you experienced this month, I texted my three older sisters to see if any of them had the recipe for snow ice cream. Their reply was, of course, "There is no recipe." My sister Missy did offer this tip: "Remember only use white snow!! Yellow snow does not give it lemon flavor!"

(MORE: Is It OK To Eat Snow?)

I can remember Dad reaching outside the window to grab a big bowl of snow, randomly dumping some combination of sugar and vanilla and (maybe?) milk on top, stirring it up and handing me a spoon.

There are several snow ice cream recipes floating around out there, but the one below from the University Of Alaska Museum of the North seems the most "authentic" to me. While the recipe lists several dairy options, I'm fairly certain you can substitute whatever you prefer. You can also elevate it by mixing in things like cocoa, flavored syrups, sprinkles or fruit.

Just like the best snow day, snow ice cream has no rules.

INGREDIENTS FOR SNOW ICE CREAM:

8 cups lightly packed clean snow (safely gathered from atop a deep pile after several hours of snow)

1 cup any of these dairy options, or a combination:

Milk: dairy or non-dairy (such as rice milk)

Half and half

Heavy cream

Sweetened condensed milk

Sugar to taste (suggested: 1/3 cup. No sugar needed if using sweetened condensed milk).

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions For Snow Ice Cream:

Mix dairy/non-dairy ingredient and sugar (if using) together in a bowl.

Pour the dairy mixture and vanilla extract over the snow.

Mix with a spoon or spatula until you reach ice cream consistency.

Serve with toppings of your choice.

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Weather.com senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.