Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream: The Flavor of Fall

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream: A Delicious Fall Treat You Need to Try

Discover how to make delicious pumpkin spice ice cream with a high-protein twist! Perfect for fall, this easy recipe uses cottage cheese for a creamy, guilt-free dessert.

Are you an ice cream enthusiast who enjoys this delightful treat all year round? Or are you more of a summer-only ice cream connoisseur? Perhaps you're someone who could care less about indulging in a cold, creamy scoop?

Personally, if I could eat ice cream year-round, every day of the week, and even for breakfast, I would never tire of it. Yes way… I could! (How do you like that 80s slang? It's all coming back to me now.) My love for ice cream began in the 80s, of course. The decade of decadence, as I’ve heard it called, and if decadence meant ice cream galore, then I was all in.

It all started when I went off to school and made my first best friend—what we called a BFF back in the day. We were inseparable: recess, lunch, after-school playdates, and even my first sleepover were all spent with my bestie. 

Her parents were what I would now call ice cream connoisseurs. Day or night, no matter the season, their freezer was always bursting at the seams with at least ten different ice cream flavors.

Legit, they never ran out of ice cream. Lucky gals we were, that is for sure. And so began my love affair with this delicious, refreshing, sweet, and tasty treat. 

We would make ice cream sundaes or fill our bowls with several different scoops of ice cream. You never knew what sort of concoction we would create.

Sometimes it was an all-Rocky Road day; other times, we had Neapolitan or Chocolate with Peanut Butter chunks (my fav). And then there were those days when we just went with classic vanilla topped with Hershey's syrup.

One of our more adventurous combinations included vanilla ice cream, Hershey's syrup, and big blobs of peanut butter plunked in for good measure. If we were feeling particularly daring, we might even add cookie dough to the mix. I’m telling you, we could have given Ben & Jerry’s a run for their money.

Once we had our bowls filled to the brim, we would go out and sit on her back porch after school, eating our ice cream and listening to the church bells. 

This became our routine for many years to come. If you were ever curious about how I became an ice cream lover, now you know.

Fast forward to today, and my love for ice cream hasn’t waned one bit. However, my taste buds and culinary curiosity have expanded. 

After a recent attempt at perfecting a cottage cheese bread recipe (which, by the way, is still a work in progress), I decided to take a left turn and try something entirely new—cottage cheese ice cream.

Yes, you heard that right. Cottage cheese in ice cream. I know it sounds unconventional, but when you’re an adventurous home cook like me, sometimes you just have to dive in and give it a try. After all, you never know what you might create.

As the cool vibes of fall begin to nip at our heels, I’ve been getting excited for all things autumn. And what better way to welcome the season than with a pumpkin spice treat? Enter my latest creation: Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream, made with cottage cheese.

Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream Recipe

Here’s how you can make this unique, high-protein dessert at home:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin spice

Instructions:

1. Measure out the ingredients and place them all into a small food processor.
2. Puree the ingredients until the mixture becomes thick and creamy, resembling the consistency of ice cream.
3. Transfer the mixture into an airtight container—I used my trusty Lock & Lock—then place it into the freezer until it hardens.
4. Serve and enjoy your homemade Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream!

I have to say, this pumpkin spice ice cream was pretty tasty. 

I know, I know—cottage cheese as a dessert, Cara? Well, a gal had to try. You never know unless you’re adventurous enough to give it a shot. And let’s be honest, I tend to live life on the more daring side, especially when it comes to kitchen experiments and recipe creation.

My mother might cringe at some of the things I share with y'all, but she has told me that being fearless isn’t always a good thing. However, I’m not afraid to make mistakes and start over—like that time I covered our backsplash with paper napkins or when I started an online lotion business from scratch. But that’s a story for another day.

Jumping into new projects without hesitation is just part of who I am. 

So, whipping up a batch of pumpkin spice ice cream was a piece of cake—or should I say, a scoop of ice cream?

If you’re all about fall spices and love the flavor of pumpkin, then I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. Not only is it delicious, but it’s also a high-protein ice cream, which is a win-win in my book. Who doesn’t love adding a bit more protein to their diet, especially when it’s in the form of a tasty treat?

And in case you were wondering, I did manage to convince my husband to try this delectable creation. It took a bit of arm-twisting and a flat-out, "I need an opinion before I share this with others," but he finally gave in.

When the results were in, he said, "That is tasty and somewhat resembles Dairy Queen’s Pumpkin Pie Blizzard." I was over the moon! Now, I don’t have a reference point since I can’t have the crust in the Blizzard (gluten-free life), but I was thrilled with his feedback.

Of course, I couldn’t resist a little playful banter, replying, "What an awesome comment, dear!" To which he responded, "No need to get a big head." Who, me? Never!

All that arm-twisting was worth it because it turns out I did create a pretty tasty treat that some of you may enjoy. So go ahead and give it a try, and let me know what you think.

Whether you’re a fan of classic flavors or love trying new things like this pumpkin spice ice cream, there’s always something exciting to discover. And who knows? Maybe you’ll stumble upon your new favorite dessert in the process.

So as fall approaches, why not embrace the season with a scoop (or two) of this delicious, high-protein pumpkin spice ice cream? It’s the perfect way to indulge in the flavors of autumn while treating yourself to something a little out of the ordinary.

Here's to more experimenting in the kitchen my friend. 😉

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Ciao,

Cara