Creamy, slow-churned ice cream infused with the flavor of cotton candy that you can make at home with only 5 ingredients. Great for celebrating warmer weather!

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About Cotton Candy Ice Cream

If you’ve never made homemade ice cream, you’re about to be surprised.

Surprised by how easy it is to make.

Surprised by how delicious it tastes.

Surprised that this cotton candy ice cream is like having the best of summer carnivals all wrapped up in a chilly ice cream.

And for those that already know the ropes of making ice cream at home, I promise this easy recipe will soon become one of your new favorite ice cream creations.

How does an ice cream maker work?

To keep it short and sweet, ice cream makers are designed to freeze a dairy-based mixture while simultaneously churning it. This allows the ice cream mix to aerate (like whipped cream) while also keeping the ice crystals small. The combination of these two actions working together is what creates the creamy, cool dessert we all know and love.

What type of ice cream maker should you use?

When picking an ice cream maker for your homemade creations, there are two main types that are best for recipes like this one:

• Stand Alone Ice Cream Makers – These can range from classic, compressed, or soft serve. These ice cream makers typically work by chilling a removable bowl or surrounding the churning bowl with ice. If you’d like some suggestions, check out this article: 10 Best Ice Cream Makers.
• Attachment Ice Cream Mixers – Big brand stand mixers (like KitchenAid) sometimes offer ice cream maker attachments. This is how I made the ice cream for this recipe and it’s my preferred method. I liked that it was one less appliance in my house and it stores a little better than a stand-alone ice cream maker.

When ice cream melts, can you refreeze it?

The short answer to this is yes, you can refreeze it, but it can also be a bit complicated. When chilling ice cream that’s melted, be sure to keep in mind:

• You’ve lost air. Part of what makes ice cream thick and creamy is air. When ice cream melts, that air dissipates, leaving you with a liquid. The consistency will never be what it once was.
• It becomes grainy. Freshly churned ice cream is made of super tiny ice crystals, but when you freeze the melted ice cream, the crystals that form from freezing will be of varying sizes; they’ll almost certainly be larger than they were after churning. This will lead the texture to no longer be smooth and instead be sharp or grainy.
• It could be unsafe to eat. This will depend on how long the ice cream was allowed to stay out and how warm it got, but as a general rule, any time a dairy product is allowed to sit at or near room temperature, bacteria could form. If you have melted ice cream that’s warm to the touch, it’s probably safe to just throw it out.

How do you add the cotton candy flavor?

Whenever I make this recipe, I use this blue cotton candy syrup. Ultimately, any brand of cotton candy flavored syrup you can find (whether it be labeled just syrup, or made for snowcones, etc) will work for this recipe.

If you have a different brand that you’re unsure of, you can always taste test the ice cream mixture before churning and adjust the flavoring as desired.

How long is homemade ice cream good for?

Once prepared, this cotton candy ice cream can be stored in the freezer in a sealed container for up to two months.

Can you use a dairy substitute?

This recipe calls for heavy whipping cream and whole milk, and unfortunately, I can’t recommend using any substitutions. You need the high fat content from these ingredients in order for the ice cream mixture to thicken.

If you need a recipe that allows dairy substitutions, check out this one: Almond Milk Ice Cream.

notes & tips for this cotton candy ice cream

• If you like the ice cream scoop in the video, it’s a Zeroll brand scoop. They have heat conductive fluid sealed within the handle which makes your grip on the scoop warm the head of the scoop. This makes it so the scoop cuts through and rolls up ice cream better. You don’t even need to heat or wet the scoop first!

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How to make cotton candy ice cream

This next part is only a photo tutorial of the recipe steps. If you’re looking for the full recipe measurements and instructions, scroll down to Recipe Details.

Step 1 – In a medium bowl, whisk together the following ingredients: sugar, milk, heavy whipping cream, cotton candy syrup, and vanilla. Whisk well until the sugar has dissolved.

Step 2 – If using food coloring, add a few drops and whisk them into the ice cream mixture.

Step 3 – Pour the ice cream mixture into bowl/attachment if your chosen ice cream maker.

Step 4 – Churn until creamy!

Step 5 – Transfer ice cream to a container. If you’d like firmer ice cream, freeze it for a few hours.

Step 6 – Serve and enjoy!