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Recipe updated 2/24/16
I feel like my life’s work is complete.
I won’t bore you with details and a long story today. I will say one thing, though: don’t be afraid of all the ingredients you see listed in the recipe. This ice cream is a lot easier to make than it looks. You can make both the “marshmallow pieces” and the “graham cracker crumbs” ahead of time, and all the other mix-ins can be bought at the store.
If you’d like to make your own sugar-free chocolate syrup, I think this recipe looks good. I’ve never tried it, but it would be a good alternative if you don’t want to buy a bottle of sugar-free chocolate syrup (which often has some questionable ingredients). A quick FYI: Hershey Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup is sweetened mostly with erythritol.
If you need ways to use up your egg yolks after you make meringue for the marshmallow pieces, check out this page.
You can pin this recipe from my ice cream board here.
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
S'mores Ice Cream
This ice cream is easier to make than it may appear. The meringue and graham cracker crumbs can be made ahead and frozen, and all the other add-ins can be bought at the store. - THM:S, Low-carb, Sugar free, Gluten free
Ingredients
Meringue:
- 2-4 fresh egg whites, chilled
- ¼-1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
- ½-1 tsp. Truvia (or ¼-1/2 tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend), ground in a coffee grinder
Graham Cracker Crumbs:
- 1 T butter, melted
- 2 T almond flour
- 2 T oat fiber (use gluten free oat fiber if necessary)
- Sprinkle of salt
- Cinnamon, optional
Ice Cream:
- 2½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 farm-fresh egg*
- 1 T vegetable glycerin, optional but highly recommended
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. caramel extract
- 4 drops liquid smoke, optional (adds a slight "campfire" flavor; use an allergy-friendly brand if necessary)
- 6-7 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. glucomannan
Other add-ins:
- 50 g 85% dark chocolate, chopped into mini candy bar chunks (2 bars of the Moser Roth candy bar from Aldi; you could also chop up Skinny Chocolate, but I wanted quick and I also wanted more of a traditional candy bar flavor)
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
- 2 T sugar-free chocolate syrup, optional
Instructions
- Meringue "marshmallows": decide how much marshmallow you want. I used the larger amount and got lots of marshmallow chunks, but you could get away with less if you don't have that many fresh egg whites on hand. Chill a glass or ceramic bowl in the freezer with your metal egg beaters. When they are cold, use them to whip the meringue ingredients together until stiff. The stiffer you beat the egg whites, the more they'll hold their shape. Spread the egg whites out onto parchment paper, not too flat and wispy. Bake the meringue on the second shelf down in your oven at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes or until golden on top. Meringue can be frozen and then rethawed for use in this ice cream if at some point you find yourself with an overabundance of egg whites and want to save time when making ice cream. Let the meringue thaw most of the way at least before stirring it into the ice cream. Cut or tear it into chunks.
- For the Graham Cracker Crumbs: combine all crumb ingredients except for the cinnamon. Press onto a greased metal baking pan and sprinkle with cinnamon (like cinnamon graham crackers) if desired. Broil in the oven till brown, only a couple of minutes. Let cool on the counter, then transfer to the freezer to harden before putting in the ice cream. These crumbs can be made and frozen ahead of time.
- Ice Cream: blend all the ice cream ingredients together in a high-powered blender and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions.
- Once the ice cream is done, use a spoon to stir in the meringue chunks, graham cracker crumbs, dark chocolate chunks, peanut butter, and optional chocolate syrup. Stir just enough to get the add-ins somewhat blended in, but don't over-stir because you want to be able to taste the individual elements.
- Freeze another hour or so to firm up before serving, if desired.
- Like most homemade ice creams, this recipe is best eaten fresh (unless using vegetable glycerin, which gives you more flexibility-see below). If you have leftovers, freeze them and when you're ready to eat them, either let them sit out on the counter for 30 minutes or so or defrost them for a few seconds in the microwave.
- I recommend adding 1 T of vegetable glycerin to this ice cream to keep it from sticking to the sides of the ice cream maker and to keep it softer and not let it get hard so fast in the freezer. If you freeze the ice cream for an extended length of time in the freezer, it will still freeze hard, but if you let it sit out to soften up a little, the glycerin keeps it scoopable instead of icy. Transfer the ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 3 hours before serving for optimum texture, or let it sit out on the counter for 30-40 minutes.
Notes
*If you're concerned about salmonella poisoning, use a pasteurized egg. These can be purchased, or you can make them at home (Google it).
You can prepare the meringue and crumbs ahead of time and freeze them, if desired.
Obviously this ice cream takes a lot of add-ins, but also obviously, you don't have to do all of them. Customize this ice cream according to how you like your s'mores. I highly recommend the peanut butter.
If you don't have an ice-cream maker, you could probably freeze the ice cream mixture in ice cube trays and then blend the cubes in a high-powered blender (let the cubes soften slightly if they aren't blending well). Stir in your add-ins and refreeze until firm.
You can prepare the meringue and crumbs ahead of time and freeze them, if desired.
Obviously this ice cream takes a lot of add-ins, but also obviously, you don't have to do all of them. Customize this ice cream according to how you like your s'mores. I highly recommend the peanut butter.
If you don't have an ice-cream maker, you could probably freeze the ice cream mixture in ice cube trays and then blend the cubes in a high-powered blender (let the cubes soften slightly if they aren't blending well). Stir in your add-ins and refreeze until firm.
Suggested Products:
- Cuisinart 1 1/2 qt. Automatic Ice Cream Churn
- Truvia
- Oat Fiber (you can purchase a gluten free product from the Trim Healthy Mama online store)
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder and Super Sweet Blend can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
- Glucomannan
- Vegetable Glycerin
- Hershey Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup
This recipe looks so very good!, love so many of your recipes!
Thank you so much for your recipes. As a diabetic and an icecreamaholic it’s so difficult to find ice creams without Aspertame (poison, in my opinion) or other sweeteners that do not agree with me. I really appreciate the time and work you spend for the rest of us. I also love the THM diet. Thank you for leading us to that section.
I don’t have an ice cream maker, could you just freeze this?
There is a suggestion for making the recipe without an ice cream maker in the “notes” section of the recipe.
I did not see a “notes” section. I will look further today. Thank you.
Can we pin this recipe? I am not finding the pin. Thank you!
There should be a “pin it” button on all the pictures if you hover over them. 🙂
I am so thrilled that I found your blog a couple weeks ago!! I have done locarb for 5 weeks now and I am transitioning to a THM lifestyle just because after reading and researching their lifestyle I love it. My book will be here hopefully tomorrow. Thank you for all you do and your helpful information it has made my life way easier. Keep up the great work!