Hello Butter Pecan Ice Cream Bars!

from Unsplash phots Nathan W

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Adapted from Maria Emmerich’s recipe

Ingredients and Directions:

Make Brown Butter: Take 1/2 cup of butter (salted or unsalted) and melt it in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir or whisk it occasionally and let it cook until it begins to froth. As it begins to froth, get a little more interested in it and whisk it more often until you start to see brown flecks appear and eventually watch it turn a deep rich golden-brown colour. At this point remove it immediately from the heat and set aside.

Now in a blender place: 4 oz. of cream cheese (softened to room temperature),

4 oz. of pecan pieces (coarsely chopped) and divided equally into two – save 1⁄2 for

later

1 cup of almond milk (unsweetened, of course!) You could also use coconut milk or a combination of heavy cream and nut milk – obviously your macro data will vary depending on what you use),

1 teaspoon Vanilla and 2 tablespoons of high proof edible alcohol – vodka or gin work well, the browned butter you made above, and a sweetener of your choice, to taste. (To keep these bars lower in carbs choose a sweetener like a sucralose ‘skinny’ flavour, stevia, xylitol or an eryithytol blend, monk fruit liquid or....)

Blend this mixture together in a bullet or full size blender. When it’s smooth toss in the other half of the pecans and pulse once to preserve larger pecan chunks. Taste and correct sweetness at this point.

Pour the mixture into an 8x8 inch square pan lined with parchment or saran wrap to ease removal, or into popsicle molds and put it in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

Pop them out of their pan or mold after letting them soften for 5-8 minutes.

Enjoy!

PS. In case you're wondering, the alcohol in these bars acts to keep the mixture from freezing solidly, producing a slightly softer ice cream experience. You can leave it out, and as it doesn't really add anything to the flavour, the only thing you'll sacrifice is the texture of the frozen mixture.