I had my heart set on making a different flavor ice cream each week of the summer and, for the most part, I did just that. This particular flavor was something Jeff and I dreamed up. It’s inspired by the great state of Georgia–a place where each of us have lived, though not together. You start with a base of sweet tea ice cream. I used these ginger peach tea bags from The Republic of Tea. From there, you mix in pie crust nibs that have been painted with melted butter, dusted in cinnamon sugar and baked. Sprinkle in a generous amount of candied pecans and then swirl with a ginger peach ribbon and, well, just try not to finish the whole thing in one sitting.

Sweet tea ice cream with cinnamon sugar pie crust nibs & candied pecans

Ingredients

For the ice cream:

3 cups heavy cream
2 1/4 cups whole milk
9 tea bags
8 large egg yolks
1 cup sugar
Peeled and diced peaches (optional)

For the pie crust nibs:

refrigerated pie crust dough
4 T. melted butter
3 T. cinnamon
3 T. sugar

For the candied pecans:

2 cups pecan halves
1 egg white
1 T. water
1/2 c sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. vanilla

Instructions

To make the ice cream:

Combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream, the milk and the sugar in a heavy saucepan and cook over medium heat until warm. Add tea bags, cover and remove the saucepan from heat. Allow to seep for one hour.
Remove the tea bags and squeeze them out. Return cream/milk/tea mixture to heat and bring to a simmer.
Place remaining 1/2 cups cream in a freezer-safe bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
Combine egg yolks in a small bowl and whisk until thickened.
Temper the egg yolks by drizzling 1/2 cup of the warm cream/milk/tea mixture into egg yolks, whisking constantly as you go. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of warmed cream/milk/tea mixture.
Add egg yolk mixture back to the cream/milk/tea mixture on the stove. Cook--stirring constantly--until mixture is thick and coats the back of a rubber spatula.
Pour custard through mesh strainer into cold cream. Stir will and refrigerate overnight.

To make the pie crust nibs:

Combine cinnamon and sugar and stir to combine. Unroll refrigerated pie crust dough and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over buttered pie crust. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes until light golden brown. Cool completely. When cool, break pie crust up into small bits. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to freeze ice cream.

To make the candied pecans:

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a large plastic bag and shake to combine.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg white, water and vanilla. Add pecans and stir with a rubber spatula to ensure that all of the nuts are equally coated in egg white mixture. Pour nuts into plastic bag and seal. Shake bag vigorously to coat the nuts in cinnamon sugar.
Spread the nuts on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and place in a preheated 250° oven. Bake for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Cool completely. Store in an airtight container until you are ready to freeze the ice cream.

To bring it all together:

Freeze ice cream according to ice cream freezer manufacturer's instructions.
When ice cream is done, stir in pie crust nibs, candied pecans and peaches (optional).