Bi-Rite Creamery's Smooth and Mellow Chocolate Ice Cream

This may be the best version of a milk chocolate ice cream that I've ever had. It's definitely chocolate-forward, and plenty rich, but it really lets the milkiness of lower cocoa chocolates shine. Should you want to branch out to peanut butter chocolate swirls, rocky roads, or chocolate brownie chunk ice creams, this should be your base.

Bi-Rite Creamery's Strawberry Balsamic Ice Cream

This is a bright, fresh, and impressively fruity ice cream that rises above the strawberry pack. A touch of balsamic vinegar adds sweet complexity and some of the acidity lost by cooking the fruit.

Bi-Rite Creamery's Cara Cara Orange Cardamom Ice Cream

This ice cream is full of flavor and subtle all at once. Steeping cardamom pods in cream brings out all their layers of flavor, which are heightened by the citrus and bitter notes of the orange zest. Lots of ice creams are best served alongside some other dessert; this is fantastic enough to ride solo.

Beer Caramel Ice Cream

Really good caramel ice cream comes from playing chicken with your sugar. Don't let it intimidate you while melting it; the sugar should be the color of dark stained wood. I let it smoke, then slowly count to 3 before plunging in butter and cream. Those last three seconds are where those beautiful smoky flavors develop.

Scooped: Apple, Browned Butter, & Sour Cream Ice Cream

The time has come for us to end this ice cream series, October being halfway to Halloween. We wanted something to complement fall's palette of desserts: crumbles, crisps, cakes, and quickbreads, filled with apples, pears, walnuts, and cinnamon. With that in mind, apples and sour cream were a no-brainer, a lusciously tart rejoinder to rustic late-harvest food.

Italian Crema Ice Cream

Made of nothing more than sugar, cream and eggs, The Ice Creamists present a traditional Italian crema ice cream comprised of an irresistibly rich, eggcellent custard that's good enough to write bad puns.

Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream

Don't hesitate to use real Oreos in this recipe, but if you'd like to go all the way, follow my Fauxreo recipe for a 100% homemade version. There is a gluten free variation with the Fauxreo recipe, so it may be used to make this ice cream gluten free as well.

Maple Rosemary Ice Cream

Use grade B maple syrup if you can; it has a more pronounced flavor that stands up to ice cream all the more. Serve this with warm pears (poached, caramelized, or in cobbler) and some toasted pecans.

Gingerbread Ice Cream

Spicy gingerbread cookie crumbs thicken and flavor this satisfying winter ice cream.

Malted Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

Seek out high quality milk chocolate for this recipe; Valrhona and Callebaut have very good versions. Freezing the malted milk balls before adding them to the ice cream will keep the temperature down and prevent melting during the final minute of churning.