Two Vanillas

I suppose I should be ashamed that I've got an ice cream blog but I've never posted a recipe for just plain vanilla. Because vanilla shouldn't be overlooked! It's perfect for vegan ice cream sandwiches or for topping your apple pie. So rise up, vanilla! Your day is here!

I'm providing two different vanilla recipes. One is "premium," like all fancy and stuff, and the other is easy and basic and cheaper because vanilla beans can be expensive. Of course, you can use any non-dairy milk in these, even though I've listed soy milk in the recipe. You could even use vanilla-flavored milk for a crazy vanilla experience.

Fancy Pants Vanilla

2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
2 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
1 vanilla bean
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer and soy milk together in a saucepan. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the milk. Drop the bean shell into the milk too. Bring to a slight boil, then lower the temperature and simmer very gently for about 30 minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean shell. Stir in the sugar, and bring to a boil again. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.

Lazy Vanilla

2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
2 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
¾ c. sugar
2 T. arrowroot
2 t. vanilla extract (choose a high-quality brand; none of that imitation stuff either!)

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, and sugar together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Stir in vanilla extract.

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.