This smooth and creamy Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe is rich and decadent, and great for special occasions. The BEST Butter Pecan incorporates brown butter, tempered eggs, dairy, brown sugar, and toasted pecans for the ultimate dessert experience!
Brown the butter. Place butter in a pan on the stove over medium heat. Let it melt, and when it starts sizzling, stir with a spatula. Let butter continue to cook while stirring frequently. You'll see some brown bits start to form on the bottom of the pan. Let this continue for a minute or so, and then remove the pan from the heat.
Temper the eggs.
Add the whole milk to the same pan with the butter, and place back on the stove over medium-high heat. Stir and wait for the mixture to reach 165 degrees on a digital thermometer.
Combine the eggs and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. When the milk/butter mixture reaches 165 degrees, take a small measuring cup and pour some of the mixture into the eggs, whisking vigorously as you do so. Continue adding about one cup of the mixture in the eggs, and don't stop mixing.
Pour the contents of the bowl into the saucepan and place back on heat. Continue heating until it reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat and let cool.
Continue with process.
Combine the ice cream ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the tempered egg mixture (the browned butter, whole milk, eggs, and brown sugar), the heavy cream, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use. Make sure this is WELL CHILLED!
Toast the pecans. Use a non-stick skillet over medium heat, and add the chopped pecans. Toast until just browned. You will smell it when they start browning. Be careful to avoid burning! Remove pecans and cool. Then store in the freezer (in a freezer bag) until ready to use.
Churn. If using a KitchenAid attachment, start the mixer with the attachment so that's turning BEFORE you pour the liquid in. Then carefully pour in the whisked mixture as it's turning. Let it churn for about 25-30 minutes, or until the ice cream starts rising to the top of the bowl and the mixer slows down slightly.
Use a rubber scraper to pour the ice cream out of the bowl into a freezer safe container. Stir in the toasted pecans and mix well to combine.
Freeze the ice cream until ready to serve. You'll want to keep it in the freezer for a couple of hours to firm up.
Notes
Tips for using a KitchenAid Attachment:
Place bowl attachment in freezer. You’ll want to be sure to store the bowl in the freezer for AT LEAST 15 hours before using. Since we have an extra freezer in our laundry room, I keep ours in there all the time. That way we can make ice cream on a whim!
Run mixer in advance. Attach bowl to the KitchenAid mixer and add the attachments. Start mixer on the lowest setting BEFORE adding ice cream mixture. This will prevent the bowl from freezing up.
Add liquid while mixer is running. Then carefully pour the liquid into the bowl attachment while it’s running.
Let it slow down slightly. The ice cream is done when you see it expanding to the top of the bowl and the mixer starts to slow down.