My kids have been making their own ice cream the last few months. They found this fun idea in a book and have conjured up their own recipes and additives. The unusual part of this recipe comes after the mixing. They place the ingredients in a small plastic zip lock bag, double bag it then seal it shut, then place the small bag into a gallon sized bag containing ice and rock salt and seal it up securely. Then they go outside and run around the cul-de-sac holding the bag to keep the ingredients agitated. They make the ice cream in relay fashion, passing the bag back and forth so that only one kid is running at a time while the rest of them take a break, panting and cheering on the runner or they toss it back and forth. About the time they get good and sweaty, the ice cream has formed, so they can come inside and enjoy their frosty treat.
I do have some wacky kids.

Kids DIY Ice Cream!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 5 Tbsp rock salt
- 2 to 3 cups of ice
- 2 sandwich bags
- 1 gallon sized bag
Instructions
- Place milk, sugar and vanilla into one of the sandwich bags and seal shut.
- Bag it again with the second sandwich bag so that salt cannot infiltrate the ice cream.
- Place the ice cubes and rock salt into the gallon sized bag and throw your double bagged ingredients into the ice.
- Agitate by shaking, running or tossing the bag. Condensation will be plenty so if you are making ice cream indoors, make sure you are over the sink.
Cute idea! My son and I tried doing the ice cream in a bag thing but it made a total mess. Your way would probably be less mess to clean up
The condensation is the messy part. I was really surprised at how much it was dripping. I told my girls that I thought we were leaking but they assured me that I was very wrong and there were no leaks. They were right! 😉 Make sure you double bag the ingredients – we’ve had salty ice cream and it’s not as fun to eat 😉
We did this years ago at Girl Scout Day Camp as the campers dessert after lunch. The kids had a blast. My kids who are now older still like it
It’s delicious. Even I enjoy it, Loraine! I like that it’s more icy than creamy. Yum!
What a brilliant idea! It has the added bonus of getting your kids outside for some fresh air and exercise. I will save this idea for future grandkids. Thanks for sharing!