Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream

Although we do have an ice cream maker, by the time we purchase enough ice and salt to run it, it costs almost more than it is worth to make ice cream at home. However, homemade ice cream tastes so good . . . probably because it tends to strain the budget which makes the unattainable more desirable! I did find a basic method for making ice cream that didn't require an ice cream machine and froze to the perfect texture to scoop into cones.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake Ice Cream
16 ounces fat-free cream cheese
2 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup hazelnut spread like Nutella
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces toasted and skinned hazelnut, roughly chopped

Combine everything except the nuts in a mixing bowl and beat to combine and cream. Stir in the hazelnuts, pour (it will be runny!) into a sealable container and freeze from 4-6 hours.

*You can use full-fat cream cheese, too. I just like to cut back where I can in our diets.

**To toast and skin the hazelnuts, spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. The nuts burn easily so keep tabs on them. When they are hot through and starting to brown a bit, place the nuts in a fine-meshed strainer and stir them around with a wooden spoon. The grating against the strainer mesh will dislodge a lot of the skin and it will fall through. The nuts don't have to be completely skinned. Just remove what comes off easily. You can also place the toasted hazelnuts on a rough dish towel and rub the skins off that way, too.