Butter Brickle Ice Cream

There’s a reason some ice cream flavors have been around for generations, and butter brickle ice cream is no exception. Our delicious butter brickle ice cream recipe features delightful bits of homemade butter brickle toffee, which is made from just brown sugar and butter. The ice cream itself is a luscious custard that tastes even better with the butter brickle in it. Once you make this recipe, you may never want to go back to store-bought ice cream again!

Ingredients for Butter Brickle Ice Cream

 Toffee:

• Brown sugar, butter: These ingredients team up to make a wonderfully delicious homemade toffee that’s tasty even on its own. If you prefer a shortcut method, a packaged toffee may be used in its place. For the most accurate butter brickle flavor with a purchased toffee, choose one that includes butter and brown sugar as the main ingredients.

Ice cream:

• Heavy whipping cream and 2% milk: This dairy duo turns into cream that freezes into ice cream when the other ingredients are cooked with it. It’s the fat content in the heavy cream that does most of the work.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract adds a light vanilla note to the fragrance and flavor of the ice cream.
• Sugar: Sugar makes the ice cream sweet, but also helps it stay soft enough to scoop.
• Egg yolks: The fat and protein in egg yolks benefit the ice cream by making it stay creamy and soft after it freezes. Egg yolks are what sets a custard ice cream apart from other ice creams. The yolks also add a little flavor and give it a pleasing mouthfeel.

Directions

Step 1: Make the toffee

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then set it aside. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and butter. Cook the mixture over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 300°F (hard-crack stage), stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat. Immediately pour the hot toffee mixture onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let the toffee mixture stand until set, or about one hour. Break it into pieces. Store it between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.

Step 2:  Heat the main ice cream ingredients

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

In a large heavy saucepan, combine the cream, milk, vanilla extract, sugar and salt. Heat the cream mixture over medium heat until bubbles form around the side of pan. Stir as needed to dissolve the sugar.

Step 3: Add egg yolks

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, then pour all of the yolk mixture back to the cream pan, whisking constantly. Cook over low heat until the mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and the temperature reaches 180°, stirring constantly. Do not allow the liquid to boil. Immediately transfer the liquid to a bowl.

Step 4: Chill the ice cream mixture

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Place the bowl in a pan of ice water, keeping the water outside of the ice cream bowl. Stir gently and occasionally for two minutes. Press waxed paper onto the surface of the ice cream mixture. Refrigerate it several hours or overnight.

Step 5: Freeze the ice cream

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Fill the cylinder of the ice cream maker two-thirds full, then freeze the ice cream according to the manufacturer’s directions. (Refrigerate any remaining ice cream mixture until you’re ready to freeze another batch.) Transfer the mixture from the ice cream maker to a freezer container; sprinkle in the toffee crumbles. Freeze the ice cream until firm, four to six hours. Repeat this entire step for any remaining mixture.

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

Recipe Variations

• Add pecans: Butter brickle isn’t butter pecan, but it can taste like it! Add some chopped pecans while you add the butter brickle toffee.
• Serve with caramel sauce: A homemade salted caramel sauce pairs with the butter brickle for a decadent delight.
• Add chocolate sauce: A lovely, simple chocolate sauce brings out the buttery brickle flavor of the toffee bits in this ice cream.

How to Store Butter Brickle Ice Cream

Store butter brickle ice cream in a freezer-proof, airtight container in the freezer. To prevent freezer burn, cut a piece of wax paper, parchment paper or plastic wrap to cover the surface, then place the lid on the ice cream container. It’s also nice to store the ice cream in small portions so you don’t have to let a full container soften a bit before enjoying a scoop or two.

How long does butter brickle ice cream last?

Butter brickle ice cream lasts 3 to 6 months in the freezer. Don’t leave it out on the counter too long each time you wish to enjoy some, as some ice may crystallize a little on the previously melted areas as it refreezes.    

Butter Brickle Ice Cream Tips

Abbey Littlejohn for Taste of Home

What is butter brickle ice cream?

Butter brickle is an ice cream named after butter brickle toffee candy that’s more than a century old! The Fenn Bros. Ice Cream and Candy Co. is credited with inventing butter brickle candy in South Dakota. However, the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska is where the ice cream version may have originated a few years later. The butter brickle part of the ice cream is the toffee; the toffee tastes a lot like the toffee in a certain famous chocolate-covered toffee candy bar. The Fenn Bros. made butter brickle candy until the 1970s. The candy formula was sold to Leaf, which later produced the Heath Bar for 20 or so years. Hershey has owned the formula for nearly 30 years.

What could I use in place of heavy whipping cream?

Heavy whipping cream is an important ingredient in this recipe, but there is still good news: Heavy cream can be used in place of heavy whipping cream. They’re both the same as far as containing at least 36% milk fat. It’s the milk fat that matters for making ice cream. By contrast, regular cream or regular whipping cream have up to 36% milk fat. Read the labels to find the purest products, as some of them may have chemical additives.

What does butter brickle ice cream taste like?

Butter brickle ice cream tastes similar to vanilla ice cream, thanks to the vanilla extract. The toffee bits in it make it taste more buttery, giving it a nice candy crunch inside.