One of the things going around on Instagram right now is people making ice cream out in the snow. It sounded fun, so I pitched the idea to Charlie. I didn’t have to ask him twice!

To speed up the process, I opted for a recipe that didn’t involve adding eggs and heating everything up on the stove. Simple is the key, as things like this are more about the activity than the outcome.

I tossed the ingredients (heavy cream, powered sugar, vanilla) in a quart container and grabbed one of the metal mixing bowls while Amanda helped Charlie get his snow gear on, then we headed outside.

It took a lot of whisking and longer to freeze and thicken up than I expected, and certainly longer than the standard four year old has in them, so we took breaks to play in the fort and taste the icicles.

Eventually Charlie got cold and we went back inside. I moved the bowl up to the porch to keep freezing while I made dinner. I went out and whisked every 15 minutes or so.

By the time we ate dinner, it had set up nicely.

Admittedly, it tasted more like frozen whipped cream than ice cream, but Charlie was jazzed to share a dessert that we made together out in the snow. He put rainbow sprinkles on his, Amanda put peanut butter and chocolate on hers, and I put chocolate on mine.

Perhaps in a couple years we’ll try it again with a frozen custard recipe.

Still, it was fun, novel, and a good way to do something together. If you have a young one at home and snow on the ground, give it a try.