Sweet and salty. Can anyone tell me a better combination?

It’s my first summer on the East Coast and I am thrilled to say I have now experienced fresh, ripe, juicy Georgia peaches. I can’t seem to get enough of them!

I was inspired by all the peaches around here to make a peach ice cream because there’s just nothing better than a bowl of ice cream after a hot, sticky walk home from work. Two years ago I received an ice cream maker for my birthday and became an ice cream making addict! I love picking (sometimes crazy) flavor combinations, churning it up and eating my very own homemade ice cream! Here’s one of my favorites: Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt!

I am totally bummed not to have my ice cream maker with me here in DC – but I really wanted to try to make some anyways. I ended up completely cheating and basically just froze the base overnight then let it melt a bit when i was ready to eat it. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest ice cream I’ve ever made but it sure did taste delicious!!

But I also love some kind of crunchy something in my ice cream. Plain vanilla or chocolate is just boring! It’s got to be moosetracks with those chocolate caramels in it, or frozen yogurt with chocolate chips. Well, this sweet delicious peach ice cream needed a salty balance and some crunchy goodness, so I added crushed pretzels and boy, what a perfect combination!

I also decided to try a vegan twist on this. I love a rich, creamy, milk-based ice cream – but thought I would see what I could do with coconut milk instead!

Vegan Peach Pretzel Ice Cream
Recipe slightly adapted from Gluten Free Goddess
Makes 1 quart of ice cream

Ingredients:

4 cups peaches, washed, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 14oz can coconut milk
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 cups whole pretzels, lightly crushed

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine half the peaches, the coconut milk, the coconut oil and the brown sugar. Heat for about five minutes over medium heat allowing the peaches to soften and the sugar to melt. Remove from heat and cool.

2. Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the remaining peaches and the vanilla to the mixture, stir and pour into a 9×13 glass dish. Refridgerate for two hours or until very cold.

3. Churn the mixture in your ice cream maker per manufacturer’s instructions. During the last 2-3 minutes of churning, add the crushed pretzels. Alternatively, transfer the cold mixture to a large tupperware and freeze overnight – this method won’t make the softest, creamiest ice cream but it works if you don’t have an ice cream maker. But it does make it more difficult to stir in the pretzels – you may just have to sprinkle them over each serving.

4. Eat right away or transfer to a container to freeze for later use!