I finally pulled the trigger on the ice cream maker I’ve been wanting for a long, long time — just in time for summer. It’s only a little Cuisinart — nothing fancy — but I’ve already used it a handful of times and I’m pretty much obsessed.

The first ice cream I made was a chocolate coconut milk with almond butter swirl that honestly, didn’t come out as great as I’d hoped. The texture was kind of grainy and it froze so hard that it was nearly impossible to scoop.

So for the second batch, I went back to my roots, so to speak. I grabbed a bottle of Half Acre Hearths Ablaze Stout from the fridge and got churnin’. A perfect way to celebrate Chicago Craft Beer Week, running May 16th through the 26th, dontcha think? (More on that in the upcoming days — hold tight.)

The recipe I followed came from Saveur — I just swapped out the suggested beer for a local craft brew. The consistency and texture is perfection, and the stout comes through strong.

My second attempt at making ice cream was much more successful than the first, and I plan on adding even more successful recipes to my roster. I have a feeling my little Cuisinart is going to be getting a lot of exercise this summer.

What are your favorite ice cream recipes? Share them below — I’d love to give them a try.