FROZEN YOGURT ICE CREAM

I made this recipe using frozen strawberries.   I first thawed the three cups of berries before I cooked them with the sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan.   Because I used frozen berries, I didn't need to mash them with a potato masher as they were quite soft.  You can substitute other berries or fruit such as peaches in this recipe.  I decided to use half and half instead of whole milk and I used a bit less than half of cup of sugar as these strawberries by themselves are pretty sweet. 

INGREDIENTS

3 cups pitted fresh cherries or strawberries

2 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar (more or less depending on sweetness)

1/4 cup whole milk or half and half

1 1/2 cups full fat yogurt        

2 tbsp almond liqueur

DIRECTIONS

Place the pitted cherries or strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the berries in the pot which will release some of their moisture. When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Place contents in a blender and pulse until smooth.

Mix fruit purée, milk, and yogurt together in a bowl. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour; the longer the mixture chills the better you can chill overnight.

Right before processing in an ice cream maker, add the almond liqueur if using. The alcohol in the liqueur will help keep the frozen yogurt smooth, but it is not necessary. Process the mixture in your ice cream maker for 25 minutes.

You can eat it right away (it will be rather soft) or put it in the freezer for a few hours to harden up a bit.

Makes a little more than 1 quart.