Mary Lou's Lemon Ice Cream
A simple family recipe made the old-fashioned way: stir, freeze, repeat
The Dinner Bell is a love letter to food, family, and memory. It’s where I share heritage recipes, revive forgotten dishes, and pair them with stories and sips from my California kitchen. I recreate the original, zhuzh up the flavor when needed, and offer adaptations for the way we eat today. Don’t miss a bite. Subscribe and join me at the table every week.
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This Sunday, I'm excited to share a refreshing Lemon Ice Cream recipe straight from Mom Baker's treasured recipe box, lovingly crafted by her daughter Mary Lou.
The recipe is SO simple, I was a little concerned it wouldn't work—but it did! After several hours of patience, I finally had soft-serve lemon ice cream and was joyfully surprised.
The experience of making your own ice cream is like a walk in nature. Someplace deep in your soul, that innate curiosity and creative feeling is sparked, and suddenly you're a kid all over again—running around, rolling in the grass, investigating bugs, listening to birds, lying flat on the ground with eyes closed, soaking in sunshine. These moments can be hard to find when you're an adult with grown-up responsibilities.
But this ice cream-making project took me to the deepest part of myself and resurrected cherished memories: cranking an old-fashioned wooden machine surrounded by ice and salt in the backyard of my childhood home, in my great-grandparents' Indiana garden, or at my grandparents' Wisconsin home encircled by cornfields. Such pure joy. So many treasured memories.
It's time to make this a regular practice—it's good for your mental health and makes your soul happy. Just like making Christmas cookies as an adult: you make a mess, get silly, and don't worry about how they look or even taste. It's the experience itself that creates the memory.
This handwritten recipe with minimal direction was a delightful project from start to finish. I followed it to the letter and decided to forgo modern ice cream-making tools like the wonderful Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker or KitchenAid Stand Mixer attachment. The traditional process was fun but took nearly 8 hours, so I've ordered a modern Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker to try an updated version too—stay tuned for a comparison in an upcoming post!
Mary Lou’s Lemon Ice Cream
Serves: 4
Prep: 15 minutes
Time in Freezer: 7 to 8 hours
Equipment
Large stainless steel bowl
Spoon/whisk to break up ice crystals
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp lemon extract
1 pint of milk
Instructions
Combine sugar, lemon juice, zest, and extract, then mix until well incorporated.
Add milk, stir until sugar is completely dissolved, then transfer to the freezer.
Every hour, remove from the freezer and break up the ice crystals using a large spoon, whisk, or fork, mixing thoroughly until you achieve a smooth, soft consistency.
This old-fashioned method produces what I’d consider a soft-serve texture. Don’t expect the firmness of commercial ice cream unless you incorporate mix-ins with more structure, such as chocolate chip cookies, blueberry jam, or other ingredients with fiber or gelatin that can create a more substantial texture.
This lemon ice cream falls somewhere between traditional ice cream and sherbet. It has dairy, so it's not a sorbet, but it's lighter than classic ice cream. The flavor is absolutely delicious, and I wouldn't change the ingredients at all!
The traditional freezer method requires patience and diligence, checking and stirring every hour to prevent ending up with just lemon ice crystals. The result serves about 4 people and begins to melt after just a few minutes, so have your spoons ready! While time-consuming (nearly 8 hours), it's a perfect excuse to curl up with a good book between stirring sessions.
I'm eager to see how using an ice cream maker affects the texture and consistency. My Cuisinart arrives tomorrow, and I'll be testing the same recipe with it. I suspect it will produce a creamier texture that holds up longer before melting. I'll update you all with the results soon!
Tips for the Traditional Method
For a more intense lemon flavor, try spinning the zest into the sugar using a food processor before adding the other ingredients. This better integrates the aromatic oils from the zest throughout the mixture.
If you prefer an even creamier texture, you might try substituting some of the milk with heavy cream.
The bright yellow hue and perfect balance of tangy and sweet make this ice cream an instant mood-lifter, especially as temperatures here in the desert have already climbed into the 90s, making it feel more like summer than spring!
Special Diets
(Substitutions can affect taste, texture, and moisture content)
Gluten-Free: This recipe is naturally gluten-free
Dairy-Free/Vegan: Try substituting the milk with full-fat coconut milk or rich oat milk (though the texture may be slightly different)
Sugar: Replace with a similar amount of honey or maple syrup
I picked up a pink ice cream scoop during a family excursion to Morro Bay in 2005, when my niece was little and loved ketchup. She's 21 now. Yikes, how the time flies! But I still have my ice cream scoop, and it reminds me of this trip and my ketchup-loving niece. She still loves French fries, but has outgrown her ketchup phase. Isn't it amazing how kitchen tools can hold such precious memories? You can find this fabulous Spring Chef Ice Cream Scoop with Soft Grip Handle (Professional Heavy Duty Sturdy Scooper, Premium Kitchen Tool for Cookie Dough, Gelato, Sorbet) in Pink Lemonade (the color I have) on Amazon now.
Serving Suggestions
This lemon ice cream is wonderfully versatile, and that trusty pink scoop has served up countless delightful servings. Try it:
In a sugar cone with fresh berries scattered on top
Between two thin ginger cookies for an elevated ice cream sandwich
Alongside a slice of warm blueberry pie for the perfect sweet-tart contrast
Topped with a drizzle of honey and crushed pistachios for an elegant dessert
In a small bowl with a shortbread cookie on the side for afternoon tea
For a refreshing twist, try adding a sprig of fresh mint or a few lavender buds as garnish—both pair beautifully with the bright lemon flavor.
This lemon ice cream pairs beautifully with several of the recommendations in Friday's Pairings & Pours. You can even use the ice cream to make an Ice Cream Float, a Boozy Ice Cream Shake, or just enjoy it with a Lemon-Lavender forward Whiskey Sour.
Missed Friday's full pairing guide? View it here →
Share & Connect
Enjoyed these recipes, stories, or both? I’d love to hear your planned May celebrations or your favorite ice cream memory in the comments below.
And stay tuned for next week when I'll share my results using this same recipe in a modern ice cream maker!
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This is really a great memory of the time when I was a little girl. There wasn’t a supper without home made ice cream and then you would add all the extras such as fruit chocolate hot fudge cookies and more. Of course when I was little we used old wooden pail that you hand mixed and of course all of us kids would fight over who got to go first!
And then sitting on pops swing with this delicious desert was the best of the whole day
What a great memory Thank you
Wow 8 hours! That is dedication but I bet the results are worth it. I’m a sucker for lemon anything and am looking forward to your ice cream machine version!