Food and Recipes Desserts Ice Cream Snow Cream 5.0 (3) 3 Reviews When it snows in the South, a fresh batch of snow ice cream is just minutes away. By Sheri Castle Sheri Castle Sheri Castle is an award-winning professional food writer, recipe developer, and cooking teacher with over 25 years of experience. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on January 8, 2025 Save Rate PRINT Share Total Time: 5 mins Yield: 4 cups Jump to recipe Never Lose A Favorite Recipe Again With MyRecipes, your personal recipe box, you can save and organize your Southern Living favorites and thousands more in one place. In the South, a snow day means one treat is surely coming soon: snow cream. Once in a great while, it snows big-time in the deep South, and it's a big deal when it does. Instead of immediately digging out the driveway, we dig out our warmest jackets and boots from the back of the closet, and head out to play. In places where measurable snow is a novelty, a snow day can turn into an unexpected vacation day where we get to hunker down, or head out to frolic—or both. A snow day is as much a frame of mind as it is a weather event, and on those days, there's only one thing most Southerners want to eat: a big bowl of homemade snow ice cream. Freshly fallen, fluffy snow works best. Be sure to scoop the snow from a part of the great outdoors that's clean enough to eat off of, of course. If you're an experienced snow cream maker, you know that the best way to get good snow is to place a large metal bowl outside in an open area. As it snows, the bowl will collect, and you're one step closer to your frozen delight. Who Invented Snow Cream? Evidence of snow being incorporated into desserts dates as far back as 2700 BC, with record of Persian desserts made with snow and honey popping up around 500 BC. From Ancient Rome to China, snow-based desserts made their mark, with a visit to the latter rumored to have inspired Marco Polo to bring the idea for cream-based frozen desserts back home to Venice. While different varieties exist, the basic snow ice cream recipe of milk, sugar, vanilla, and fresh snow has become a favorite over the years, particularly in Southern states where snowfall is less common. Credit: Brennan Long/Southern Living What's in Snow Cream? Just four ingredients are needed to make snow cream, and one of them is right outside your door: Evaporated milk, half-and-half, or cream: Adds a creamy, dairy element to the ice cream.Granulated sugar: Sweetens the mixture. Feel free to adjust if needed.Vanilla extract: Adds a classic vanilla flavor to the mix.Snow: The star of the show—mixes into the other ingredients for an instantaneous frozen dessert. To lessen the ingredient list to three, replace the dairy and sugar with a can of condensed milk for an even quicker mix. The Best Snow for Making Snow Cream While of course you should use clean (not yellow) snow for making snow cream, we do have some additional tips for choosing the freshest snow: Place a metal bowl outside to catch a clean batch of snow.Use fluffy—not packed—snow for best results.Wait a few hours into the snowfall to start collecting for the cleanest snow. The first round of snowflakes contain the most pollutants from the atmosphere. How To Make Snow Cream Snow cream is easy and fun, and a great opportunity to get the whole family involved in the kitchen. Just whisk to combine milk, sugar, and vanilla, then pop it in the fridge while you grab a batch of snow. Stir in snow until the mixture resembles an extra-thick milkshake, and enjoy immediately. Variations for Snow Cream Just like making traditional ice cream, a variety of mix-ins can be added to snow cream for an even more exciting effect. Flavor the milk mixture: Whisk extracts, food coloring, cocoa, zest, spices, or other flavorings as desired into the milk mixture for even distribution. For the adults, try making a batch with a splash of rum, bourbon, or cooled espresso.Fold in mix-ins: Sprinkles, crumbled cookies or cake, cubed brownies, marshmallows, graham crackers, jam, shredded coconut, and more can be folded in to the finished snow cream before digging in. Can I Make Snow Cream Ahead? Snow cream is best served right after making, when it's at its creamiest. Transfer leftover snow cream to mason jars, cover, and pop back outside into the snow to keep for a few hours until everyone is ready to dive back in again. More Snowy Day Dessert Recipes You'll Love The best way to warm up on a cold, snowy day, is by getting that oven going. Cookies, blondies, banana bread, cinnamon buns, and more make perfect snow day treats. And of course, don't forget to make a big batch of hot chocolate: Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Glaze Best Brown Butter Blondies Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Best-Ever Brownies Cast-Iron Skillet Brownies Ginger Loaf Cake Editorial contributions by Katie Rosenhouse. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 cup milk, evaporated milk, half-and-half, or cream 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 tsp. vanilla extract 8 to 12 cups snow Directions Combine milk, sugar, and vanilla: Whisk together the milk, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stick it in the refrigerator while you go get the snow. Bring in more snow than you think you'll need, because it often melts more than you expect. Add snow to milk mixture: Stir snow into the milk mixture until it reaches the consistency of an extra-thick milkshake. The amount needed depends on the snow: it takes less wet, heavy snow than light, powdery snow. Serve: Enjoy immediately. It's fine to hand everyone a spoon and eat straight out of the communal bowl. Frequently Asked Questions Is it safe to use snow for snow cream? Clean snow is safe to use. Note that the first round of snow contains the most pollutants from the atmosphere, so it pays to wait a bit before collecting your fresh batch. Is snow cream a Southern thing? Snow-based desserts date back thousands of years, but modern iterations using fresh dairy, evaporated or condensed milk, along with sugar and vanilla to flavor the mixture, is a tradition that many Southerners grew up enjoying. What is the flavor of snow cream? This snow cream is flavored with vanilla extract, but don't let that stop you. Feel free to use any extracts or flavorings you prefer. Save Rate Print Additional reporting by Katie Rosenhouse Katie Rosenhouse Katie Rosenhouse is a pastry chef and food writer with over 15 years of experience in the culinary arts. She's worked as a pastry chef in some of the finest restaurants in New York City, as a culinary instructor, and as a recipe developer. learn more