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Homemade Ice Cream in a Baggie

Let your kids use a little muscle to make their own ice cream!

By Catherine Fialla June 7, 2022
Looking for a cool treat on a hot summer day? Let your kids use a little muscle to make their own ice cream. You can even turn this into a science lesson and talk about physical changes of the ingredients from liquid to solid.

For each serving of ice cream, you'll need:
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
You'll also need:
  • 1 sandwich size baggie
  • 1 gallon size plastic bag
  • 4 cups ice
  • 1/4 cup salt (coarse Kosher salt or rock salt works best)
Here's what you do: 
  1. Pour the milk, sugar and vanilla into the sandwich size baggie. Mix together and seal tightly.
  2. Pour the ice and salt into the gallon size bag. Place the sealed sandwich size baggie into the gallon bag and seal.
  3. Shake! Shake! Shake! It should only take about 5 minutes of shaking. You will be able to feel the ice cream through the bag and will be able to tell when it is ready to eat.
  4. Grab a spoon and enjoy!
*Note: You may want to let the kids shake their ice cream outside. All the shaking can cause water to leak out of the bags and it can get a little messy. No doubt, though, it will be fun!