As a resident of a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, I would be remiss without sharing our family's favorite gourmet ice cream dessert that was adapted from the recipes of our hometown ice cream expert, Jeni Britton Bauer.

The Jeni's ice cream brand began in Ohio and, though now available nationwide, still feels like an Ohio specialty. After becoming obsessed with the ice cream in her scoop shops, I finally bought the Jeni's cookbooks and dove into making ice cream on my own. The following Instructable gives you instructions on how to make a classic yet sophisticated milk chocolate ice cream (using a recipe I adapted from Jeni's original at-home recipe to make it just how our family likes it) in a buttery, gourmet ice cream cone for the perfect summer treat.

Making ice cream and waffle cones do require some specific equipment, so feel free to vary this instructable to meet what you have in your kitchen. Have an ice cream maker but not a waffle cone iron? Just make the ice cream, it's amazing! Have a waffle cone iron but not an ice cream maker? Buy a pint or use this easy ice-cream-in-a-bag recipe. (Although who are we really kidding here? Who would have a waffle cone iron but not an ice cream maker? That would be absurd.)

I made this instructable while I was making ice cream and fresh cones to take to a neighbor's BBQ and they were a total hit. Hopefully you'll be the star of your next potluck (or family dinner) with this dessert.

Step 1: The Ice Cream - Making the Mixture

Making successful ice cream is a science. There are specific guidelines for fat content, etc. that if skewed will make your ice cream go horribly wrong. So if you are someone who likes to use a recipe simply as a guideline and go a bit rogue, I don't recommend making too many changes or being too liberal with your own guesswork before getting some practice under your belt and reading up on ice cream science. Like I mentioned before, this recipe was adapted from the Jeni's cookbook. We made changes for two reasons. First, I like to cook with my (young) children so we simplified some of the steps and ingredient quantities slightly to make it a bit easier to manage. Second, we changed the chocolate ratios to give what we found to be the milkiest version yet.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar
2 T light corn syrup
1 cup whole milk
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup evaporated milk
2 T whole milk
1 1/2 T corn starch
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 oz 60% bittersweet chocolate
1/4 t salt

Tools:

Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
2-quart saucepan
Spatula
Whisk
Small bowl
1-gallon Ziploc bag

Begin by combining the sugar, corn syrup, 1 cup of milk, heavy cream, and evaporated milk in a 2-quart saucepan. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a rolling boil while stirring regularly. Use a spatula to keep sugar clumps from forming on the bottom or edges of the pan as the mixture is heating. Once boiling, whisk in the cocoa powder while continuing to let the mixture boil for 5 minutes. Continue whisking to try your best to get the cocoa powder mixed in completely with no clumps. In my opinion, this is the hardest part of the whole recipe and ultimately a few small clumps of chocolate will taste just fine - so don't get too worked up if you can't melt it perfectly. After the 5 minutes of boiling, reduce the heat. Mix 2T of milk with the corn starch together in a small bowl and then whisk it into the mixture. Turn the heat back up and boil the mixture for another minute or until you see the mixture begin to thicken. Turn off the heat and drop the bittersweet chocolate and salt into the mixture, stirring slowly until the chocolate has melted completely and a homogeneous mixture is formed.

Carefully pour the mixture into a gallon Ziploc bag and place it in a large bowl of ice water to chill for at least 30 minutes. Check back in 15 minutes to make sure there is still ice in the water and add more if needed.

This recipe will make ~1 quart of ice cream.

Step 2: The Ice Cream - Freezing the Mixture

Once the mixture has been chilled, it's time to churn the ice cream. I used the Cuisinart ice cream maker HERE, but any 1.5qt ice cream maker should work fine.

Tools:

Ice cream maker
Scissors
Freezer safe container (approximately 1.5 quart-sized)
Parchment paper

Remove the Ziploc back of the ice cream mixture from the ice water bath. Squeeze the chilled mixture away from the corner and cut the corner of the bag off so you can squeeze the mixture into the freezing chamber of the ice cream maker without trying to push it through the zipper portion of the bag. Follow the instructions to start up your machine and churn for about 30 minutes. Put your empty storage container in the freezer to get it cold to help avoid having your ice cream melt as you transfer it to the container after churning. Once you can see that the ice cream has begun expanding and almost puffing up out of the top of the mixing paddle, turn off the machine and transfer the ice cream into the storage container. Gently press a piece of parchment paper on top of the ice cream before closing up the container and popping it into the freezer.

For best results, let the ice cream freeze/harden for at least 4 hours before serving.

Step 3: The Cone - Preparing the Batter

Ingredients:

1/4 cup heavy cream
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1/4 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
5 T unsalted butter (melted)
2/3 cup flour

Tools:

Small mixing bowl
Whisk
Spatula

Whisk the cream and egg whites together. Then, mix in the sugar, vanilla and almond extract, cinnamon, and salt. Once combined, mix in the melted butter. Finally, add the flour and mix just until there are no lumps.

This recipe will make ~8 cones.

Step 4: The Cone - Making the Cone

Tools:

Waffle cone iron (I bought and use the Brentwood waffle cone iron which I highly recommend. It even comes with the shaping tool needed to make perfect waffle cones.)
Cone shaping tool
Dishtowel
Small spatula

To begin, preheat the waffle iron. I set the heat to medium, but you may need to experiment with this a little to see what heat setting works best on your machine. Pour a small amount of batter onto the griddle surface as shown in the images and close the lid. After about two minutes, lift the lid to check the color of the waffle. Once it begins to turn a golden color, use the spatula to remove it from and place it on the dishtowel.

The shaping part needs to be done right away or the cone will crack, but be careful because the waffle will be hot, hot, hot! Set the shaping tool on top of the waffle as shown. Using the dish towel, begin wrapping the cone around the tool. Keep the waffle snugly against the tool and continue to wrap until the waffle is completely wrapped around the tool. Let the waffle cool slightly on the tool (1-2 minutes) before removing to ensure it will keep its shape.

While this recipe generally makes 8 cones, feel free to use more or less batter into the iron to change up the cone sizes.

Step 5: The Cone - Taking It Up a Notch

Feel free to stop with just the cones - they are delicious on their own - but if you want to take it one step further follow the directions below.

Ingredients:

Vanilla candy melts
Sprinkles

Tools:

Small bowl
Parchment paper

Put sprinkles into a small bowl and set aside. Microwave the candy melts (or melt in a double boiler) until it is liquidy and smooth. Carefully dip the top of the cone into the candy coating and after removing it, keep the cone upside down over the coating for ~20 seconds to let the excess drip off. Dunk the cone into the sprinkles and coat to your desired sprinkliness, or skip this step for a slightly more elegant result. Lay the cone gently on the parchment paper for ~15 minutes to allow the candy to harden before using.