Have you ever wondered what to do with those conversation hearts that are so popular around Valentine’s Day? Well, I’ve got just the recipe for you! I’ll show you how to get the most out of the conversation hearts all at the same time as creating a delicious Ninja Creami ice cream!
It’s that time of year! February is the perfect time of year to create pink, heart, love, and romance related recipes. This year is even a little more special because the Super Bowl is right around the corner. With the Super Bowl this year, a little romance is added into the Super Bowl with the love story of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Now, you don’t have to be big into football, Taylor Swift, or romance to enjoy this recipe. But, why not knock out two events with just one recipe?
If you’re a Taylor Swift fan, you’ll know that this recipe is named after her song “Lover.” Whether you are looking for a fun Super Bowl, Taylor Swift, or Valentine’s Day recipe, or none of the above, you should still run and get some conversation hearts so that you can make my Ninja Creami Lover ice cream!
My recipe for making Ninja Creami Lover ice cream has a sweet, cotton candy ice cream base with conversation hearts mixed in. Usually, I’m not a fan of conversation hearts. Sure, they are cute and make for a fun Valentine’s Day treat, but if I’m being honest, the flavor and texture is not great. They don’t have much flavor and can be chalky. So, what exactly are you suppose to do with them? Add them to ice cream!
I wasn’t sure how the conversation hearts were going to taste or what the texture would be like in the ice cream. After several attempts, I made the perfect ice cream base that compliments the conversation hearts! The end result is a sweet cotton candy ice cream with little chunks of sweet candy mixed in. The conversation hearts actually taste good in the ice cream! I know, it’s hard to believe! But, even the texture of the hearts works really well with the homemade ice cream.
This is a sweet recipe since it’s cotton candy flavored with sugary candies mixed in. Afterall, cotton candy is basically just sugar. If you want to cut back on the level of sweetness, you can reduce the amount of sugar added but I would not reduce the amount of cotton candy oil used as it is what really adds the flavor.
The pink coloring comes from the red food coloring. I used liquid food coloring but you could use powdered or gel food coloring if you prefer. The food coloring is optional. If you don’t want to add it, don’t. The ice cream will be white instead of pink, but will still taste great!
Tips for making Ninja Creami Lover Ice Cream:
Lover ice cream tastes like homemade cotton candy ice cream with crunchy bits of sweet candies. The ice cream base is sweet and creamy. The red food coloring turns the ice cream pink, but the ice cream is not cherry, strawberry or any pink flavor.
Conversation hearts are little heart shaped candies that have fun little sayings on them that are inspired by all things love. They don’t have a lot of flavor and can sometimes be chalky in texture. In my opinion, conversation hearts are purchased as a novelty candy and not so much as a candy that everyone loves to eat.
Since this recipe has candy mix-ins, eating the leftovers can be a challenge. If you freeze the leftovers and then process on ice cream again, the candy pieces will get pulverized by the paddle. Instead of having a smooth ice cream with candy pieces in it, you will end up with a slightly grainy/chalky ice cream with no chunks. So, for this recipe if you plan on having leftovers I would recommend thawing the leftovers on the counter or in the microwave until it’s soft enough to scoop, or add food grade vegetable glycerin to the ice cream base before freezing. See the note in the recipe card for instructions on how much to add.
If you want to cut back on the calories and fat that are in the half and half, you can use all milk if you would like. However, the lower fat in the dairy, the less thick and creamy the ice cream will be and it may have ice crystals in it.
I did not need to use the re-spin cycle for this recipe. The texture after the first spin was not smooth, but it was not sandy. Instead, it was very thick. I simply added the cut up conversation hearts and used the mix-in button. I did not add any additional liquid with the mix-ins. If you add unnecessary liquid with the mix-ins or during a respin, the consistency will become almost fluffy or like soft-serve.
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Ingredient substitutions for making Ninja Creami Lover Ice Cream:
The full ingredient list is found at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Milk– I used whole milk in this recipe. You can use a dairy-free substitute like unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened oat milk, or lower fat milk if you prefer but the lower the fat content, the less creamy the result will be.
Half and Half– If you don’t have half and half, you can use a mixture of ¼ heavy whipping cream and ¾ whole milk.
Sugar– White sugar was used. You can use a sugar substitute that is a 1:1 ratio.
Vanilla Bean Paste- I prefer to use vanilla bean paste because it adds a deeper vanilla flavor and I find that it tastes less like alcohol. You can substitute the vanilla bean paste with vanilla extract.
Guar Gum– If you don’t have guar gum, you can use about a tablespoon of cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of vanilla instant pudding mix (reduce or omit the vanilla bean paste in the original recipe), or xanthan gum.
Cotton Candy Extract/Oil- Lorann-I would highly recommend getting the cotton candy flavored oil if you want to have cotton candy flavored ice cream. I have not found a substitute for this oil.
Red Food Coloring– Optional
Conversation Hearts-Conversation hearts are easy to find around Valentine’s Day but are more difficult to find throughout the rest of the year. You can substitute with your favorite sweet candy like sweet tarts or smarties candies. Oreo sells cotton candy flavored cookies which work really great in ice cream too.
Directions for making Ninja Creami Lover Ice Cream:
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the milk, half and half, sugar, vanilla bean paste, , cotton candy flavoring, red food coloring, and guar gum into a small blender and blend until all ingredients are fully combined. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container.
- Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours. Your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid getting a bump on the top of the frozen mixture, freeze with the lid off of the container.
Process the Ice Cream
- After 24 hours, remove the pint container from the freezer.
- Place the pint container into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and then process on “ICE CREAM.”
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking, pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. If the ice cream looks more like dippin dots, (little balls of ice cream), re-spin without adding liquid. Since I was going to be adding mix-ins and the texture was very thick and not sandy looking, I did not respin. Instead, I just moved on to the mix-ins process.
- Dig a hole in the center of the ice cream and pour in the conversation hearts that have been cut in half. Process on mix-ins.
- Your ice cream is ready to eat! Top with more conversation hearts and enjoy!
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Recipe
Ninja Creami Lover Ice Cream
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Ingredients
Ice Cream Base
- 8 Fluid Ounces (236 ⅗ ml) Whole Milk
- 6 Fluid Ounces (177 3/7 ml) Half and Half
- ¼ Cup (50 g) Sugar
- ½ Teaspoon (½ Teaspoon) Vanilla Bean Paste
- ¼ Teaspoon (¼ Teaspoon) Cotton Candy Flavoring (Loranns Oil)
- 5-6 Drops (5-6 Drops) Red Food Coloring (Optional)
- ¼ Teaspoon (¼ Teaspoon) Guar Gum
Mix-Ins
- ¼ Cup (59 ⅐ g) Conversation Hearts (Cut in half)
Instructions
Make the Ice Cream Mixture
- Pour the milk, half and half, sugar, vanilla bean paste, , cotton candy flavoring, red food coloring, and guar gum into a small blender and blend until all ingredients are fully combined. Pour the mixture into a Ninja Creami pint container.
- Freeze on a level surface for 24 hours. Your freezer should be between 9 and -7 degrees Fahrenheit. To avoid getting a bump on the top of the frozen mixture, freeze with the lid off of the container.
Process the Ice Cream
- After 24 hours, remove the pint container from the freezer.
- Place the pint container into the outer bowl of the Ninja Creami and then process on “ICE CREAM."
- If the ice cream is dry or crumbly looking, pour in a tablespoon or two of milk and then re-spin. If the ice cream looks more like dippin dots, (little balls of ice cream), re-spin without adding liquid. Since I was going to be adding mix-ins and the texture was very thick and not sandy looking, I did not respin. Instead, I just moved on to the mix-ins process.
- Dig a hole in the center of the ice cream and pour in the conversation hearts that have been cut in half. Process on mix-ins.
- Your ice cream is ready to eat! Top with more conversation hearts and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only.
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