Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream
I have never had pistachio ice cream. Or a pistachio muffin. Or any other neon green food claiming to be pistachio flavored. The first time I tried a pistachio was in 8th grade. I was on vacation with a friend and her family. I had braces on. Now I wasn’t a very good braces-wearer. I broken brackets off all the time.
My orthodontist was always on my case about it. I had learned how to eat almonds without breaking off brackets, so I figured I could handle a pistachio. I figured wrong. I only ate one pistachio, and I wasn’t overly impressed. Plus I got another lecture at my next orthodontist appointment, so all around pistachios just aren’t my thing…
Hubby on the other hand, loves all things pistachio. They’re one of his favorite nuts to snack on. He loves them so much that every for Christmas, his mom still gives him a 5 lb bag of pistachios. She’s been doing that since he was a boy.
So when I told him I was making some pistachio ice cream, he got really excited. See, I just recently ordered Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, and after browsing through all the recipes (and flagging most of them), I decided on this roasted pistachio ice cream to be the first recipe to try. Not sure what the motivation was, but I’m glad I went with it.
One thing you’ll notice is that it’s not bright green. The pistachios turned a darker brown through the roasting process. I opted to add chunks of roasted pistachios in the ice cream as well to give it some texture.
Having never tasted pistachio ice cream, I can’t really comment on how it compares. What I can tell you is that this ice cream is like a salty peanut buttery ice cream (if your peanut butter was made with roasted pistachios). You guys know I love all things salty and sweet and this stuff definitely hits the mark. Based on the success of this recipe, I can gaurantee you’ll be seeing more of Jeni’s recipes on my blog this summer.
One Year Ago: Balsamic Basil Strawberry Shortcake
Two Years Ago: Golden Snitch Cake Pops and Butterbeer Recipe
Three Years Ago: French Silk Pie
Four Years Ago: Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream
Yield: ~1 Quart
Ingredients:
1 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, divided in half
2 cups whole milk - I used coconut milk
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 oz (3 Tbsp) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream - I used coconut milk
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Spread pistacios onto a small baking sheet and toast in oven for 10-12 minutes, until fragrant and starting to turn brown. Remove from oven.
Roughly chop 1/2 cup roasted pistachios and reserve for mixing in later. Place the other 1/2 cup in a food processor and process until you get a smooth paste.
In a small bowl, make a slurry with 2 Tbsp of milk and the cornstarch. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese, pistachio paste, and salt.
Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a 4-qt saucepan. Bring to boil over med-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in slurry.
Bring mixture back to a boil over med-high heat and cook until slightly thickened (~1 minute). Remove from heat.
Whisk the hot milk mixture in to the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight, until completely cool.
Process in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Add the almond extract after adding the ice cream to the ice cream maker.
Layer the ice cream with chopped pistachios in a storage container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Wow, these look great! Kudos for your success at another baking first!
Your cheesecake pops looked clean-cut. Perfect cubes and they really look good in cubes! Nicely coated!! Unlike mine, lol.
The squares look great.
bakingdelights.com
Mine had footprints.. and finger prints from the pint sized assistant!
Wow, your shapes are so clean and perfect. Very nice job!
Everything looks so perfect. Great job
Well done in getting them dairy-free. I don’t have access to Tofutti in the UK and have had to go for the whole-dairy version, which I have to take a lactaid just to look at. Yours are lov-er-ly looking.
Perfect geometrics! Nice job–and glad you enjoyed them with the extra, dairy-free challenges.
I love how perfectly cut those are – well done!
My first batch of pops I coated by microwaving the chocolate, I think I am going to try it over the water like you did, to try to get a more consistent coating this time – they’re just in the freezer now…
These turned out beautifully..they are such clean lines! Very nice!
Carrie
your pops look so perfect! i wish my cheesecake had been that firm! congrats on adapting the recipe to suit your needs 🙂
Aw, bummer about the lactose intolerance (I too have lactose issues normally). I’m so glad you could figure a way around it and isn’t the new DB site awesome?! 🙂 Your pops turned out beautifully! Great job.
Wow! Did you cut your squares with a knife or dental floss? They are really pretty and precise looking! I’m glad the soymilk/margarine substitute worked for you.
Awesome. I love your squares!
I really love the square pops, they are so elegant. Thanks for the tips on dairy-free pops!
Maggie, I used a knife to cut my shapes.
Great job! I did squares too.
Congratulations on your lactose-free pops. I love their cute little square shape!
Your pops are adorable! I was so happy to see a dairy free version. My little nephews are on a dairy free diet. This is a perfect treat for them. Thanks!
Great looking pops and a nice adapation of the recipe.
Ooo I love the squares and triangles. Very cute. Congratulations on completing the challenge and being able to adapt it to something you can enjoy!
I love the square pops! I’m also lactose intolerant, but I admit to loving dairy too much to give it up. Lactaid is my friend!
Your squares are absolutely perfect!! Great job on this challenge – especially with adapting it so that you could enjoy it!
Love your geometric cheesecake pop shapes. I wish my cheesecake had been firm enough to try that approach. I may try tofutti next time…
Gorgeous cube pops! They remind me of those chocolate See’s suckers 🙂
woot!! Cute little square pops 😉 they look wonderful, and so perfect..soo very perfect lol
Your pops look wonderful!
Wow! Your pops look awesome. Does it taste like real cheesecake with your toffuti substitute.
perfect squares 🙂 I love them !
Great job ! congrats !
i know this post is old but i was wondering if you could share the orginal recipe that isnt dairy free? my email is vertigoxcured@gmail.com
They look and sound great! I will have to try these out.
Hi- just wanted to tell you I’ve been making these every year since you posted this. I never print the recipe and every fall I have to google it to find this specific one- we all love it! My kids (13, 11 and 5) ask for these the first time we say the word pumpkin in August. So thank you!