With temperatures rising and summer around the corner, ice cream in a bag is a great activity for children to burn off energy and enjoy a sweet treat! 

One of the things I love most about ice cream in a bag is that there are so many variations. Below you will find the ingredients and tools I used; feel free to customize this any way you like. 

Ingredients: 

  • 1/2 cup of Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup of Half & Half
  • 1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tbsp of Sugar
  • 1/3 cup of salt
  • 3-4 cups of Ice Cubes
  • Optional : Chocolate Chips for Topping

Materials

  • Whisk
  • Measuring Cups & Spoons
  • Mixing Bowl
  • 1 Large Ziploc Bag
  • 1 Small Ziploc Bag

Let us get started!

In a large bowl, pour in ½ cup of whole milk and ½ cup of half and half. As stated earlier, there are lots of variations when it comes to ice cream making. You can use 1 cup of whole milk if that is all you have, or you can substitute half and half with heavy whipping cream. There are even versions using plant-based milks like almond milk.

Once you have your milk and half and half, add in the ½ tsp of vanilla extract. Lastly, add in the 2 tbsp sugar and give the mixture a quick stir with a whisk.

Give your mixture a quick taste, if you find that your mixture is not as sweet as you would like, add more sugar to taste.

Pour the mixture into your small Ziploc bag. It should fill a little under half the bag. Seal the bag tightly, removing excess air as you go.

Now to prepare our large Ziploc bag: Add 3 to 4 c of ice cubes into the bag, then add 1/3c of salt on top of the ice.  Give the bag a quick shake to distribute the salt.

Now, here is the fun part!!

Place the small bag with the ice cream mixture into the large bag with the salt and ice. You want to make sure you securely seal the large bag so ice does not go flying out. Once the bag is sealed, begin to shake it vigorously for 5 to 7 minutes.

After about 5 minutes of shaking the mixture will look something like this:

Give the bag another vigorous shake for a few more minutes, and now you have ice cream. You can enjoy your ice cream right from the bag or transfer it to a bowl. Be sure to add toppings!

I hope you and your kiddos enjoy making this fun treat. Please share with us how it went for you and what changes, if any, did you make. You can post any questions or comments below, or you can send me, Chantel, an email at cmcgee@kckpl.org.