Brown Butter Ice Cream

Several scoops of browned butter ice cream in a small white bowl.

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This 3-ingredient Brown Butter Ice Cream is scoop-shop quality made right at home. Upgrade creamy vanilla ice cream with crunchy toffee bits and the caramel-like, rich and nutty flavor of browned butter, for a gourmet frozen treat that is anything but ordinary.

Makes 1½ quarts ice cream.

Prep Time30

Total Time4 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brown butter ice cream, browned butter ice cream, butter ice cream

Servings: to 10

Calories: 525kcal

Author: Tara Teaspoon

Ingredients

6 tablespoons salted butter
1½ quarts premium vanilla ice cream or homemade vanilla ice cream, about 6 cups
½ cup toffee bits plus more for garnish, optional

Instructions

In a saucepan brown the 6 tablespoons butter: Melt butter over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Butter will boil and foam and then the milk solids will start to caramelize and settle to the bottom.
Once the milk solids are dark golden brown, immediately remove from heat and pour into a heatproof bowl to cool, scraping the pan to get all the browned bits. Let the butter cool completely (you can chill it in the fridge for a few minutes to speed the process).
When the butter is cool, quickly scoop frozen store-bought or homemade vanilla ice cream into a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer. Add the cooled browned butter. Using the paddle attachment, blend quickly until ice cream is just soft (like a thick milkshake or soft serve).
While ice cream is soft, mix in toffee bits. Then quickly transfer ice cream to a container or loaf pan. Sprinkle with extra toffee bits for crunch on top. Cover and freeze until solid, about 4 hours or overnight; then scoop and serve.

Notes

Note: Place a loaf pan in the freezer to chill before getting started so it is nice and cold when you are ready to fill it with ice cream.

To Make with Homemade Ice Cream: Make homemade vanilla ice cream and just before removing the ice cream from churning, stir in the cooled browned butter and toffee bits, if using. Transfer to an ice cream container or loaf pan as directed in the recipe above and refreeze.

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