Pistachio Ice Cream

If the last time you tasted pistachio ice cream was in a frostbitten grocery store spumoni, it’s time you upgraded. Homemade pistachio ice cream has none of the cloying sweetness or garish green food coloring of many commercial iterations. The two-ingredient pistachio paste—just sugar and raw pistachio nuts—is easy to make in the food processor and creates deeper pistachio flavors than prefabricated syrups or extracts. We like the nuttiness that almond extract brings to the ice cream base, but you can swap in vanilla extract if you prefer. Use whole milk and heavy cream: Low-fat dairy will not produce equally luscious results.

Customize your pistachio ice cream recipe by adding a handful of dark chocolate chips along with the roasted pistachios before churning it in an ice cream machine. Dig in immediately or transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to three days. Press a layer of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the ice cream to prevent ice crystals from forming. Pistachio ice cream is a lovely accompaniment to warm chocolate soufflés and a stellar replacement for store-bought vanilla ice cream in your next hot fudge sundae.