If you give a girl a goat…

So far this winter we’ve had roughly 20 inches of snow. When my friend suggested I make some snow ice cream, I thought that would be a great idea… The problem was, I didn’t have any sweetened condensed milk, the road had not been plowed, and I didn’t want to risk getting stuck in a snow bank trying to get to the grocery store.

But that’s okay, because I have whole milk and sugar on hand! The only other things I need are vanilla, a pinch of salt, and of course some snow.

If your snow is still falling and you don’t yet have enough, set a large bowl outside and wait until you have about a gallon’s worth. It’s not an exact measurement, and the recipe is very forgiving. While you wait for the bowl to fill up, make your sweetened condensed milk and allow it to cool.

If your snow is already on the ground like mine is, start making your sweetened condensed milk now, because your tummy wants some ice cream and tummies don’t like to wait!

To make your own homemade sweetened condensed milk:

To make a little over a cup of finished product, you will need:

♥ 2 cups of milk (goat milk is great for people who can’t tolerate cow milk!)

♥ 2/3 cup of sugar

♥ pinch of salt

Place 2 cups of whole milk in a  heavy saucepan and whisk in 2/3 cup of sugar and a pinch of salt. Heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until the mixture reduces by almost half. Keep an eye on it so that the milk doesn’t scorch or boil over.

Strain through a sieve or cloth-lined colander to remove any caramelized bits, if necessary. Allow to cool, and refrigerate. Use within about two weeks. When you’re ready to use your sweetened condensed milk, allow it to come to room temperature. Most recipes are based on the canned version, and adding a cold ingredient can alter the texture of some batters and doughs.

Note: you can scale this recipe to however much your recipe calls for. The ratio is 1/3 cup of sugar to 1 cup of milk, and you’re reducing by roughly half. So if your recipe calls for, say, 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk, use the recipe as it’s written above. To have enough for my snow ice cream, I used 1 cup of sugar and 3 cups of milk.

To make your snow ice cream:

You will need:

♥ About a gallon of snow

♥ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

♥ 1 14-ounce can (or 1 3/4 cups of homemade) sweetened condensed milk

Find a spot where the snow is clean. Don’t gather snow near a road or where you’ve been walking or the dog has been. That should be common sense but it never hurts to mention it, right? Remove the top inch or so of snow and scoop up about a gallon’s worth of clean fresh snow. Bring it into the kitchen if you don’t want to make the ice cream outside.

Our snow tends to be light and fluffy, and doesn’t pack. If your snow is denser, you might not need as much snow. You can always divide your snow into two bowls, add the ingredients to one of the bowls of snow, and add more snow as needed from the second bowl.

Drizzle a teaspoon of vanilla over the snow in a large mixing bowl, and then drizzle in the sweetened condensed milk. Stir everything together and enjoy the yumminess.

If you can’t finish your entire batch, it’s okay. The leftover snow ice cream can be stored in the freezer to eat later. It will be kind of hard when you first take it out of the freezer though, so 10 – 15 seconds in the microwave will be helpful to soften it up for scooping.

(Oh, and here’s a tip for those of you who don’t live in a snowy place – you can use shaved ice in place of snow. Next time you see a sno-cone maker at the thrift store, you might want to buy it so you can make this ice cream year ’round!)

(And here’s another tip for those of you who like to get a little fancy – you can add a cinnamon stick to the milk when making sweetened condensed milk. Remove the cinnamon stick when the milk is done simmering. This is particularly lovely in a cup of hot tea or coffee.)