Homemade butter pecan ice cream is smooth, creamy, and delicious! Made with a rich custard base and studded with buttery pecans, this ice cream is guaranteed to taste better than your favorite store bought brand.
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I’ve always thought of butter pecan as a more… mature flavor. There are no sprinkles, no chocolate, no bits of candy weaving throughout, just a smooth buttery ice cream and toasted pecans.
Butter pecan ice cream might sound a bit boring, but trust me, it’s a classic flavor for a reason! It’s sweet without being too much, and the pieces of buttery, salty pecans add such a nice contrast of flavor and texture.
I love this ice cream recipe because it uses a custard base, meaning it has eggs in it. The combination of eggs, sugar, and cream create a custard that thickens up to form the silky smooth base for the ice cream. The end result is a super creamy ice cream full of crunchy, buttery pecan pieces.
Enjoy this ice cream in a bowl, waffle cone, or as an ice cream sandwich smushed between two pecan chocolate chip cookies. However you eat it, I guarantee you’ll be going back for a second scoop!
Ingredients
For the ice cream
- Butter
- Light brown sugar
- Coarse kosher salt
- Heavy cream
- Whole milk
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Scotch whiskey
For the pecans
- Butter
- Pecan halves
- Coarse kosher salt
How to make butter pecan ice cream
- To make the ice cream base, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt. Whisk in 1 cup of the cream and all of the milk. Continue to stir occasionally until warm.
- Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a large mesh strainer on top.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm brown sugar mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
- Stir the mixture with a rubber scraper constantly over medium heat, being sure to scrape the bottom as you stir.
- Once the mixture thickens and coats the back of the scraper, pour it through the strainer and stir into the cream.
- Add the vanilla and scotch and stir.
- Transfer the mixture to a large zip top freezer bag and place the bag in a bowl filled with ice water. Let chill until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the buttered pecans. Toss the pecans with the melted butter until well coated, then sprinkle with salt.
- Spread evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and lightly crisp, about 10 minutes. Stir the nuts once halfway through cooking. Let the pecans cool and chop coarsely.
- Freeze the chilled cream mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the pecans in the last few minutes of churning. Place in an airtight container and store in the freezer for several days.
Top tips
How to temper eggs for ice cream
If you added hot milk to egg yolks all at once the heat would cook the eggs and you’d end up with scrambled eggs. That’s not ideal for ice cream.
Tempering the eggs means bringing their temperature up slowly to match the rest of the ingredients to prevent curdling. To do this, slowly stream the milk into the whisked egg yolks while continuing to whisk constantly.
Once you’ve slowly added about half the cream you can start to pour a little more quickly. If you’re new to tempering eggs, start slower than you may think to make sure you’re not going too fast.
Transferring the custard
The custard mixture can be quickly cooled by placing it in a zip top freezer bag and placing that bag in a bowl of ice water. I find it easiest to get the mixture into the bag by placing the bag in a 4 cup glass measuring cup and folding the edges outwards over the edge of the glass.
When transferring the mixture from the bag to the ice cream maker, simply snip one corner off the bottom of the bag and let it flow into the ice cream maker while it is running.
The best ice cream scoop
My ice cream scoop doesn’t have any markings on it, but I believe it’s an old Pampered Chef scoop. I love that it has a special liquid in the handle that uses the warmth of your hand to help melt and scoop the ice cream. It also doesn’t have or need a release lever, so it works for both left and right handed people.
I found a similar ice cream scoop that has mixed reviews, but I think the most important thing to remember is you can’t put these scoops in the dishwasher. You need to wash them carefully by hand to protect the materials that make it so useful.
How to store butter pecan ice cream
Always keep homemade ice cream in the freezer, but its ok to let it sit out for 10 minutes or so to soften up before scooping. I recommend enjoying this ice cream within 3-5 days of making it. You can improve how long it stays fresh by pressing clear plastic wrap against the surface before covering your container to help prevent ice crystals from forming.
Tips for customizing homemade butter pecan ice cream
- Swap the pecans for another type of nuts, like walnuts or almonds
- Sandwich a scoop of ice cream between two pecan chocolate chip cookies to make homemade ice cream sandwiches
- Swirl in fudge sauce or caramel sauce before the final freeze
- Serve alongside a warm brownie or blondie
FAQ
I used to use the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment for my mixer, but the bowl started leaking and I replaced it with this Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker (affiliate link) and I’ve been very happy with it.
Yes, you can leave out the scotch from this recipe, or swap it with bourbon. I think it adds an extra boost of flavor and richness, but the ice cream will still taste great without it. If you don’t want to purchase a whole bottle of scotch, one of the mini bottles you’d get on an airplane has plenty for this recipe.
More frozen treat recipes
- Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Salty Caramel Ice Cream
- Cherry Crisp Ice Cream
- Brown Sugar Grape Nut Ice Cream
- Goat Cheese and Honey Ice Cream
- Butter Pecan Ice Cream
- Strawberry Sorbet
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Butter Pecan Ice Cream
Ingredients
Ice Cream
- 5 Tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¾ cups whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon scotch whiskey
Pecans
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups pecan halves
- ¼ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- To make the ice cream base, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar and salt. Whisk in 1 cup of the cream and all of the milk. Continue to stir occasionally until warm.
- Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a large mesh strainer on top.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm brown sugar mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then pour the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
- Stir the mixture with a rubber scraper constantly over medium heat, being sure to scrape the bottom as you stir.
- Once the mixture thickens and coats the back of the scraper, pour it through the strainer and stir into the cream.
- Add the vanilla and scotch and stir.
- Transfer the mixture to a large zip top freezer bag and place it in a bowl of ice water until chilled, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the buttered pecans. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Toss the pecans with the melted butter until well coated, then sprinkle with salt. Spread evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and lightly crisp, about 10 minutes. Stir the nuts once halfway through cooking. Let the pecans cool and chop coarsely.
- Freeze the chilled cream mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the pecans in the last few minutes of churning. Place in an airtight container and store in the freezer for several days.
Notes
by David Lebovitz
Lisa @ Je suis alimentageuse says
I love Mad Men! I blew through all 6 seasons over the past 6 months, I don’t want to spoil anything, but Betty Draper’s character goes through a lot of developments =) Hope you like the rest of the series, it’s probably my favourite show because it’s so beautifully shot, written, and executed. Also this ice cream looks delicious haha. My bewilderment on facebook still stands, how did you get such perfect scoops?
Lindsay Moe says
I can only imagine how much Betty will change, she starts out as such a child! I forgot to mention I also freeze my formed scoops for a few minutes before taking pictures, that way they don’t get so melty.
madscar says
This is amazing! I love it:)
Maritza says
Is there really only 1/4 cup of sugar in the whole thing? Or is that a typo?
Lindsay Moe says
1/4 cup is correct!
DDG says
It should be 3/4 cup of brown sugar not 1/4.
Lindsay Moe says
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have updated the recipe accordingly.