My favorite flavor of ice cream is Coconut Almond Chocolate Chunk from Ben & Jerry’s; it’s only available in their stores, and isn’t expected to be available in grocery stores anytime soon.  When I was on their web site, I discovered that they had published a cookbook that contained the recipes of most of the Ben & Jerry’s flavors, so I immediately purchased it so I could make my favorite flavor at home.
 
Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book is casual and fun.  There are colorful drawings throughout, and the recipes are quick and easy.  It looks almost like a children’s cookbook, and is written so that anyone--child to adult--can understand and follow the recipes.
 
In addition to ice cream recipes, there are also recipes for refreshing sorbets—mostly fruit, but even one for beer, brownies—which can be used as an ingredient in ice cream or eaten alone, cookies for ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, sundae sauces, and a few specialty desserts.   Every recipe I have tried so far from this book has been quick, easy, and good. 
 
The book also has a history of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, helpful hints and notes on ice cream ingredients, and even a butterfat chart.  This book contains a complete index, which is helpful when looking for specific items.
 
One thing that is missing from this book is a recipe for an old-fashioned cooked custard ice cream base; all of the recipes are uncooked.  While the uncooked bases are good, it would have been nice to have at least one recipe for real custard.  Also there are no photographs.
 
If you’re interested in making ice cream fast, this is a great and inexpensive book.  Even if you don’t plan to use their recipes for your ice cream base, the book has lots of good ideas for flavoring and preparing ice cream.  I would recommend this book as an addition to your cookbook library; it’s a great excuse to purchase a new automatic ice cream maker and eat ice cream every day of the summer!

Purchase Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book from Amazon.com