Root Beer Ice Cream

here are certain things that will always take me back to my childhood. When I hear a sprinkler switch on I’m immediately barefoot racing through the grass as a little girl. When I smell a campfire, I’m on summer break sitting next to the firepit as the fireflies light up the night sky. I could go on and on and tell you so many on those childhood summer moments that bring me back in a heartbeat but without a doubt one of my favorite summer memories is of my mom’s homemade Root Beer Ice Cream. I think it was probably planned on her part but we never had Root Beer Ice Cream until school was over and the weather was hot. But, man, when she would make it in that old ice cream maker, we would all come running. While there are songs and sounds and smells that will always take my back to childhood summers, nothing will ever take me back in quite the same way that Root Beer Ice Cream does. That’s why as a mom, I’ve followed my own mother’s tasty tradition and come up with a Root Beer Ice Cream recipe that I know has already started to create the same nostalgic feelings with my boys that my mom’s version did with me.

I have always assumed that everyone had Root Beer Ice Cream made from A&W® Root Beer as part of their childhood experience. However, as I’ve recently talked to my other mom friends about traditions and flavors that just scream summer, I’ve discovered that I was a truly fortunate child who had a mama that thought outside the box, got creative and wasn’t afraid that turn that crank on the old ice cream maker. While A&W Root Beer was a part of our childhood that was always tasty, there’s just something about it turned into ice cream form that should be a right of passage for every child in my mind. This year, as A&W Root Beer celebrates their 100th anniversary (you know they are good if they’ve been around that long!), I figured it was only fair to share with all of you how I’ve taken my mom’s old recipe, given it a little makeover and used it to create some of the same memories with my children that my mom created with me. Available in the soda aisle at you local Walmart, A&W Root Beer is the root beer of my childhood and the one that makes this Root Beer Ice Cream truly amazing.

Even better, you can go in store and stock up on A&W Root Beer for both drinking and creating my Root Beer Ice Cream or you can even use Walmart’s Grocery Pickup for those busy summer days when the kids are in their wet swimsuits and you just don’t feel like parking the car and heading in the store but still want the great taste of A&W Root Beer.

Either way you do it, once you have this classic taste of my childhood in your hands, you’ll be ready to create a cool treat that I can guarantee will help your own family create tons of fun summer memories. Let’s make it!

This Root Beer Ice Cream takes the classic flavor of A&W Root Beer and turns it into a creamy summer treat that is the stuff memories are made of! Knowing that I love making my own ice cream, a few years ago my mom gave me an ice cream maker attachment for my blender so I don’t make this the old school way she did but the recipe can totally work with any ice cream maker because the base is the same. To create my ice cream base, I first (of course) pulled out my A&W Root Beer from Walmart.

Then I whisked together my egg yolks and sugar in my blender. Next, I added my whole milk to a sauce pan and heated it until it was hot and bubbles were beginning to form around the edges but it was not boiling.

Once my milk was ready, I SLOWLY poured it into my egg and sugar mixture to temper my eggs (do not do this step too fast or it will scramble your eggs and you’ll have to start all over). Once my milk was added to my egg mixture, I poured it back in my sauce pan and heated it over medium until I got those small bubbles around the outside again.

As soon as the bubbles formed, I poured the mixture into a large bowl and added in my whipping cream and vanilla. Then, it was time to add the good stuff! I measured out three cups of my A&W Root Beer and poured it directly into my ice cream base.

After stirring it all together, I transferred my root beer ice cream base to an airtight container and refrigerated it overnight. The next day, I pulled out my ice cream maker attachment, poured in the ice cream base and allowed my root beer ice cream to churn until it was thick and creamy.

Of course I grabbed some cones and dipped up some of my root beer ice cream as soon as it was made because that’s how mom did it and I’ve always thought there is just something magical about that first scoop of ice cream that comes out of the maker.

After giving the kids a cone and grabbing one myself, I put the rest of my ice cream in a pan, covered it and stored it in the freezer for later. As my boys watched the root beer ice cream begin to melt down their hands and took that first lick, their faces lit up just like mine used to do as a child. The creamy ice cream paired with the unmatched taste of A&W Root Beer was as perfect of a combination today as it was when I was a child.

And it was no surprise that as they enjoyed their cones filled with Root Beer Ice Cream they began to create their own memories that are years in the making.

I hope that in (many) years, they will mimic me and make this Root Beer Ice Cream for their own families as they continue on a tradition of Root Beer Ice Cream that has flavored my childhood and now flavors theirs.

Now it’s your turn to discover the taste of A&W Root Beer that’s been 100 years in the making! Head to Walmart today and look for a variety of A&W Root Beer options in the soda aisle.

Then stock up the easy way in store or with grocery pickup so that you can create your own summer memories that taste like A&W Root Beer! From freezer pops to root beer ice cream to classic root beer floats, I challenge you to join in the celebration this summer and give warm summer days an unforgettable way to cool off!

Want more inspiration and ideas to make this summer sweet with A&W Root Beer? Check out these fun recipes featuring this classic flavor of summer. Then tell me, what’s your favorite treat to make with A&W Root Beer from Walmart?