Ice cream and summer may seem inseparable, but here at Dandelion Chandelier we think homemade ice cream should be a year-round element of our dessert menus. Like what goes better with a fresh autumn apple pie than a hand-churned batch of vanilla ice cream? Or how about peppermint ice cream and warm sugar cookies at the holidays? With that in mind, we went in search of the best cookbooks for frozen desserts and homemade ice cream. Our correspondent Julie Chang Murphy is sharing her curated list of the best ice cream recipe books to buy right now. Grab a spoon and let’s go!
What are the Best Ice Cream Recipe Books Right Now?
The end of summer doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the season’s most beloved treat all year long, freshly made in your own kitchen.
If you don’t have one already, buy one of the best luxury home ice cream makers (this one has served me well for ten years and counting). Or maybe this Wirecutter recommended one.
What to buy if you’re in search of the best ice cream recipe books and frozen dessert cookbooks right now.
Then you’re ready to start churning! Then the most pressing question is: what’s the Flavor of the Day going to be at your house today?
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There are so many creative options that it’s rather easy to imagine a 36 flavors kind of groove in the luxury of your own home. Take that, COVID-19!
We’ve gathered a list of the best ice cream recipe books and frozen dessert cookbooks out there. And we are proud to say that we have personally sampled ice creams from most of them, either at their brick and mortar locations or from the frozen aisle at our local grocery stores. Yes, dear reader, this research mission was very hard work. But in the interest of research, someone had to do it.
What to buy if you’re in search of the best ice cream recipe books and frozen dessert cookbooks right now.
Here are our top picks for the best books to guide you as you churn homemade ice cream and frozen desserts all year long.
the Best Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Cookbooks
1. The Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream Book by Laura O’Neill, Benjamin Van Leeuwen, Peter Van Leeuwen
I’ll never forget my first scoop of Earl Grey from Van Leeuwen’s yellow ice cream truck in Brooklyn. So toasty, creamy and refreshing. This cookbook contains 100 recipes from classics to the high-brow. Think Sichuan Peppercorn laced with ribbons of cherry compote and Tarragon, made with six tablespoons of fresh herbs. There is a whole section devoted to vegan ice creams and another for sorbets and granitas. For die-hard home chefs who love making things from scratch, there are even multiple recipes for sides and toppings like homemade marshmallows and graham crackers. Ice cream snobs, this one is for you.
2. Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook by Tyler Malek, JJ Goode
From Portland, Oregon’s favorite small-batch scoop shop comes a cookbook with a simple philosophy. Using a super-simple base recipe that takes 5 minutes to make, limitless flavors can be created. Like Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Roasted Strawberry and Toasted White Chocolate and the controversial, Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. Readers will learn the conceptual and technical knowledge to be able to create their own signature flavors. If you have kids at home, we can’t think of a more fun way to conduct some experiments!
3. Ample Hills Creamery: Secrets and Stories from Brooklyn’s Favorite Ice Cream Shop by Lauren Kaelin, Brian Smith, Jackie Cuscuna
We’ve stood on line at Brooklyn Bridge Park many times trying to decide between a cone of Ample Hills Creamery’s Ooey Gooey (vanilla with housemade gobs of St. Louis-style ooey gooey butter cake) or Mexican Hot Chocolate. Founders, husband-and-wife duo Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscuna were the first in New York City to pasteurize the milk, cream, sugar and eggs used in their ice cream together on-site. But you don’t need to do that to try and replicate their inventive and delicious flavors. The cookbook is organized by mood with colorful stories, activities and games dispersed throughout for a charming and interactive read.
4. Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer
With more than 100,000 copies in print, this cookbook was dubbed the “homemade-ice cream-making Bible” by The Wall Street Journal and earned Jeni Britton Bauer a James Beard Award.
Bauer invested in a $50 ice cream maker and proceeded to test and retest the recipes from her famous Ohio based artisanal scoop shop until she was certain that readers could replicate the creamy and sturdy ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets at home. There are 100 recipes in this book from Goat Cheese with Roasted Cherries to Watermelon Lemonade Sorbet.
5. Big Gay Ice Cream: Saucy Stories & Frozen Treats: Going All the Way with Ice Cream by Brian Petroff, Douglas Quint
Our family loves stopping in the Big Gay Ice Cream in the East Village after school. Their “truckers”- ice cream sandwiches with two chocolate wafer cookies, vanilla ice cream and rainbow sprinkles are a classic that never disappoints. This cookbook is designed like a yearbook. Freshman year starts off simple with store-bought toppings and shopping lists for the home ice cream parlor. Sophomore year ups the ante with tasty sauces and crunchy toppings. Junior year puts your new skills to work with shakes, floats, and sundaes inspired by some of Big Gay Ice Cream’s top-selling treats like The Salty Pimp. And Senior year get serious with outrageously delicious sorbets and ice cream recipes. Expect plenty of cheeky humor and celebrity cameos.
6. Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones: 90 Recipes for Making Your Own Ice Cream and Frozen Treats from Bi-Rite Creamery by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker, Dabney Gough
San Francisco’s Bi-Rite Creamery is less about head-scratching combinations and more about intensifying the flavors you already know. The introduction takes you through a thorough overview of ingredients and equipment before diving into the techniques for making ice cream, sorbet, and granita. The rest of the book is divided into flavor profiles such as vanilla, coffee and tea, citrus, and herbs and spices. Together with lavish illustrations, you will also learn how to make Bi-Rite’s famed cakes, frostings, pie crusts, and cookies and be inspired to mix and match to create an infinite array of delicious custom frozen treats.
7. The Perfect Scoop, Revised and Updated: 200 Recipes for Ice Creams, Sorbets, Gelatos, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments by David Lebovitz
Originally published in 2007, this revised and updated edition of cookbook author and blogger, David Lebovitz’s classic cookbook features new recipes and fresh and stunning photography. Packed with flavor, personality and technique, ice cream aficionados will learn how to make the classics (Chocolate-Peanut Butter, Vanilla with Berry Swirl) to inventive (Labneh Ice Cream with Pistachio-Sesame Brittle, Candied Bacon). There are some boozy selections too– like Negroni Slush and Spritz Sorbet and Gimlet Sorbet. If you’re looking for the definitive ice cream cookbook, this one could be it.
8. People’s Pops: 55 Recipes for Ice Pops, Shave Ice, and Boozy Pops from Brooklyn’s Coolest Pop Shop by Nathalie Jordi, David Carrell, Joel Horowitz
Brooklyn trio, Nathalie Jordi, David Carrell, and Joel Horowitz brought the cutting edge ice cream flavor movement to the humble childhood popsicle. They were a mainstay at various outdoor food markets in Brooklyn. They are the perfect refreshing antidote to the sweaty, crowded affairs. In this volume, they share their out-of-the-box flavors like Raspberries & Basil, Peach & Bourbon, and Cantaloupe & Tarragon. Learn how to improvise and pair ingredients, balance sweetness, and explore fruits (and vegetables and herbs!) There is also a chapter devoted to shave ice plus recipes for grownup boozy pops. Just make sure to keep them away from the little ones!
9. N’ice Cream: 80+ Recipes for Healthy Homemade Vegan Ice Creams by Virpi Mikkonen , Tuulia Talvio
We didn’t forget about you, our vegan friends or anyone looking to cut some calories. If you’ve ever had ice cream made with plant-based milks, you know how equally delicious vegan frozen treats can be. Saveur Award-winning Finnish author Virpi Mikkonen and Tuulia Talvio, have authored a gorgeous book of 80 decadent, easy, and healthy vegan ice cream recipes. These delicious recipes include creamy ice creams, soft serves, and milkshakes; fresh sorbets and popsicles; party fare like ice cream cakes, sauces, and more. It may seem impossible but treats like Dreamy Chocolate Sundae and Mint Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches are dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free.
10. Coolhaus Ice Cream Book: Custom-Built Sandwiches with Crazy-Good Combos of Cookies, Ice Creams, Gelatos, and Sorbets by Natasha Case, Freya Estreller, Kathleen Squires
When you can’t decide between ice cream or cookies for dessert, we thank goodness for the invention of the ice cream sandwich. So what could be better to buy than an ice cream sandwich recipe book? No one does them better than Coolhaus – especially when their food truck is outside waiting for you after a disappointing night out. Buy this frozen dessert cookbook to learn how to make ice cream flavors like Blueberry Cobbler, Nutella Toasted Almond, Lychee Martini, and cookies like Peanut Butter with Cap’n Crunch, Pumpkin Pie, Double Chocolate Sea Salt. Sandwiched among the treats are tips on ice cream making, profiles of major and up-and-coming architects, and amusing tales of the owners’ forays into the ice cream business.
the Best Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Recipe Cookbooks right now
Those are our picks on what to buy when you’re in the market for a new recipe book for ice cream or a frozen dessert cookbook. What’s your favorite? And more importantly, what’s your favorite flavor?
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Crediting her training as a cultural anthropologist at Wellesley College, Julie has immersed herself in various industries in the last 15 years including fashion design, event planning, and fitness. Julie lives in New York where she loves trying every ramen and dumpling restaurant with her husband and three children. She finds joy in bold prints, biographies of fierce women, kickboxing. And spending way too long finding the perfect polish color to express her mood.
Join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter. And see luxury in a new light.