Fresh Peach Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Peach season!!!!

I feel like that should have been all-caps. Because, not only is it peach season, but my VERY. FIRST. PEACH. was perfectly ripe. That has never happened in the history of ever. Farmers market FTW!

When I snagged these beauties last weekend and they were perfectly ripe and criminally juicy, I knew I had to do something amazing with them immediately. And it was balls-hot (the hyphen is important for adhering to AP style…) so ice cream was the logical conclusion.

This is my no-fail coconut milk ice cream. I’ve made it in many different flavors, including my absolute favorite in the world, peanut butter and honey with sea salt, as well as a slight variation of peanut butter and strawberry jam. It’s easy, adaptable, healthy, only as sweet as you want it to be, and naturally dairy-free. And did I mention easy? As long as you have a little frozen yogurt maker you’re golden. Otherwise I’d try stirring it every so often in the freezer and you’ll probably still get good results.

Add the can of coconut milk to the blender, then pit the peaches, slice, and add those as well. Then add the vanilla paste or extract and whatever spices you want. I added some yummy peach pie-like spices and a splash of almond extract, but honestly if I made it again I’d leave them out and let the peach flavor sing on its own.

Blend it up, then pour into a bowl and set in the fridge for a few hours to get good and cool. This is actually important in making good ice cream.

When your mixture is cold, freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions. Serve right away, or maybe freeze for like half an hour to help it set up, but it’s definitely best within the first hour.

If you don’t have an ice cream or frozen yogurt maker, all hope may not be lost. But on a side note, you might think about picking one up…you can often find them at garage sales, they’re awesome and fairly cheap. I use a much older version of this Cuisinart one that my mom got me at a garage sale a million years ago. Anyway, try freezing and then stirring frequently. Can’t promise the same results but worth a try!

Fresh Peach Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Makes 2-4 servings (depending on serving size), can be easily doubled

1 cans (14 ounces) of coconut milk, either full-fat or Trader Joe’s light coconut milk because it’s just as creamy as regular full-fat
¾ cup of honey
2 super ripe, juicy fresh peaches (medium-ish)
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Pinch of sea salt
Optional: hefty sprinkle of cinnamon, tiny sprinkle of cardamom, dash of almond extract

Blend all the ingredients in your blender.
Pour into a bowl and place in the refrigerator until the mixture is completely and thoroughly chilled. If your ice cream maker bowl needs to freeze, make sure that’s done as well.
Pour the chilled mixture into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to your manufacturer’s instructions (for me, that’s letting it freeze/stir for about 15 minutes.
Eat right away if possible, or chill for an hour and then eat. You can also freeze and eat later, but you’ll want to soften it on the counter for a half hour or so prior to eating, it gets really hard.