Made with Crunch® bars, this homemade ice cream is easier than you think to whip up. This recipe is made with an ice cream maker and is ready in minutes. Enjoy it as soft serve consistency or freeze for scoop-able hard ice cream. This post is sponsored by Ferrero. All views expressed are that of our own.
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Served in a waffle cone, this Crunch Ice Cream features rich vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge swirls, and chunks of Crunch Fun Size bars chopped and mixed throughout. This classic ice cream flavor is delicious to try in your ice cream maker.
The weather is warming up and no-bake treats are in high demand. Since we love making homemade ice cream with our stand mixer (via an attachment), we decided to make some with one of our favorite candy bars–Crunch bars! We picked some up at Stop & Shop in a a 10 ounce Fun Size bag, to both snack on and use in this recipe.
We love Crunch bars because they are yummy alone, or baked into a snack or recipe like this refreshing ice cream. Made with chocolate and crisped rice, they are super versatile and the perfect size for enjoying anytime of the day.
Making homemade ice cream
If you have never had homemade ice cream, it is a delicious, and easier to make than you think. This particular candy bar ice cream features a vanilla ice cream base, a chocolate fudge swirl, and classic Crunch bars.
For this recipe, I used my stand mixer, which also has an ice cream maker attachment available. It comes in a few pieces which are easily attached to the stand mixer. However, there are some tips you should know before making ice cream in a stand mixer.
Homemade ice cream base recipe
Most ice creams start out with a vanilla base. To make it, it requires very simple and easy to find ingredients. You can pick them all up at Stop & Shop.
- Half & Half
- Heavy Cream
- Vanilla extract
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Mix-ins like ice cream fudge & Crunch Fun Size bars.
Stand mixer ice cream tips
The ice cream bowl is typically insulted with water on the inside. It needs to be frozen for as long as possible. We keep ours in the freezer for at least 3 days before using. It needs to be ice cold to help the ice cream come together.
Use a rubber spatula when working with the frozen bowl. The ice cream maker bowl has a special coating that can easily scratch if you use metal on metal.
Quality vanilla extract is a must. If you do not use quality vanilla extract your vanilla flavor base will be weak. Sometimes, I even use fresh vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean pods.
Fold in toppings once the ice cream is soft serve consistency. You never want to add them to the start or they will interfere with the science of making ice cream.
As for freezing, I use a metal loaf pan lined with parchment paper for easy cleanup. You can also use a storage container that is freezer-safe with a lid.
Serving
This ice cream scoops nicely right out of the freezer. I added two standard-sized scoops to waffle cones and served it to the kids.
You could also enjoy it in a waffle cone bowl, alone, or as part of an ice cream sundae.
Overall, this candy bar ice cream was easy and delicious. I cannot wait to try it with Butterfinger® or Babe Ruth® bars!
Homemade Nestle Crunch® Bar Ice Cream
Equipment
- Ice Cream maker/attachment for stand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups half and half
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbsps. vanilla extract
- 5 ounces Crunch® Fun Size Bars
- 6 tbsps. chocolate fudge sauce
Instructions
- Whisk together your ice cream ingredients until fully incorporated.
- Add ice cream maker paddle to freeze bowl, lower motor head and lock it in place.
- Turn stand mixer to "stir" (lowest) speed. Slowly pour mixture into the ice cream maker (frozen bowl).
- Churn for up to 20-30 minutes, or until ice cream is soft serve consistency. Turn off the machine, and lift paddle.
- Add in chopped candy bars.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Swizzle bottom of parchment paper with 2 tablespoons of chocolate fudge sauce.
- Pour in 1/3 of the ice cream.
- Repeat swizzle again, and add another 1/3 of the ice cream.
- Add the remaining ice cream and swizzle the top. I added another 1/4 cup of crushed candy bars to the top.
- Freeze for 8 hours or until hard ice cream consistency.
Oh. My. Goodness. This is just so BOMB! Love how there are such chunky bits of the crunch bar in this ice cream. Yum!
YUM!!!! This looks sooo good!!!
can’t tell you how much you tempted me with this ice cream photos. literally drooling over my screen. Fabulous job of capturing the essence of ice cream:)
Oh wow, I am mad I didn’t think of this myself. I am dying to try this with Snickers!!
This is absolutely delicious! I love that it’s such a crowd pleaser for the whole family
Help. I made this. Fresh is amazing but frozen taste like ice. What did I do wrong?
Hi, probably because it wasn’t covered right? Not sure as I have not experienced this.