Dance Party Ice Cream in a Bag
This simple ice cream in a bag is also a fun activity — you’ve got to shake it to make it! A family dance party means you can easily make ice cream while having a great time doing it. We’ve done a version of this activity at our Community Dinners for years, making whipped cream to serve for dessert, and it’s always a hit.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- ice
- Mix-ins, as desired: Chocolate chips, chopped fresh berries, nuts or crushed candy
Instructions
- Combine the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract in a small (sandwich-sized) zip-top bag. For extra security, we recommend double-bagging!
- Seal the bag tightly, getting rid of as much air as possible.
- Fill a gallon-sized zip-top bag halfway with ice. Add 1/4 cup kosher salt to the ice.
- Place the bag of ice cream ingredients on top of the ice and salt. Cover with more ice to fill the gallon bag.
- Seal the gallon bag securely. Now comes the fun part: Shaking! It will take about six to eight minutes of vigorous shaking to “churn” the ice cream. That’s why we recommend doing it as a family during a dance party — you can pass it around and take turns while you jump and dance to the music. Consider having gloves available in case anyone gets cold hands.
- Once the ice cream has thickened, carefully remove the smaller bag from the larger one. It will probably have salt on it; you’ll want to rinse the bag thoroughly with cold water before opening it to make sure you don’t accidentally get salt in your ice cream.
- Scoop the ice cream out into a bowl. It will probably be somewhat slushy; a little stirring will even out the texture. Add any mix-ins you like and serve!