5 Ingredient Pumpkin Ice Cream - vegan & gluten free

Less than two weeks till Halloween! Do you have your costume figured out? I think I'll go crazy and wear a fancy shirt. I don't expect any trick-or-treaters for either candy or Unicef in my neighborhood, but that doesn't mean we won't want pumpkiny goodness.

And this ice cream? It definitely qualifies as pumpkiny goodness. The fact that real, actual, honest-to-goodness pumpkin, rather than just pumpkin spices, means you can really taste the pumpkin. Does that also mean we can count it as a vegetable course? hmmm. I'm leaning toward "yes."

For the first time I experimented with using one can of full-fat coconut milk and one can of light coconut milk. It's good! It might not be quite as creamy as using only full-fat, but Mr Official Taster hasn't noticed, and I think it's dreamy delicious. Lower fat + pumpkin? I think that equals a firm "yes" on the vegetable question. Sweet.

5 Ingredient Pumpkin Ice Cream - vegan & gluten free
adapted from MindBodyGreen

As I mentioned above, you can use either two cans of full fat coconut milk OR one can full fat + one can light coconut milk.  Do you have a good spice cabinet but no pumpkin pie spice? Make your own! 

2 15-ounce cans of coconut milk, well shaken (see note)
1 C pumpkin puree (either canned or fresh)
1/2 C maple syrup
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract

and a bonus, "optional" ingredient

splash of bourbon

Add the first five ingredients to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally, and then whisk more frequently as the mixture warms up until it's fully combined and no lumps remain (a boil isn't necessary). Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate at least a few hours or overnight. 

Transfer chilled mix (plus a splash or two of bourbon, if using) to your ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.