Cherry Bourbon Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

In a heavy saucepan, whisk together sugar, salt, whipping cream and half-and-half. Split vanilla bean down the center and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife and add the seeds into the cream mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 10 to 12 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat and cover for one hour. This will really infuse the vanilla flavor.

In a large metal bowl, whisk egg yolks until slightly thickened and pale yellow in color. Gradually whisk 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the yolks. Add yolk mixture into the remaining cream mixture, whisking constantly. Cool for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Whisk in bourbon and cherries, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours. Pour into your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to churn the ice cream.

For soft serve, serve right away or put it into a freezer safe airtight container and place it in the freezer for up to one month.

Note: I didn’t measure out the ice cream, but the recipe almost filled a 6.3 cup container. I put the amount of 8 servings per recipe. So the calories are if you used 8 servings, which is a little more than a 1/2 cup.