Pumpkin Ice Cream With Maple Pecan Sauce

It's time for all thing pumpkin! Came across this recipe in The Washington Times. It called for breaking up gingersnaps & adding them to the ice cream when it is almost firm. I prefer to serve them on the side. Better to make the custard ahead of time - it needs a 3 hour minimum chill time (preferably overnight) before processing in ice cream maker. Once churned, eat it quick - it gets grainy when stored beyond a few days in the freezer. Actually it has the best mouth feel after about an hour in the freezer after being churned.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• For the ice cream

• 1  egg
• 1  egg yolk
• 2  cups half-and-half
• 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄3 cup light-brown sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
• 3⁄4 cup canned pumpkin

• Pecan-maple sauce

• 3⁄4 cup pecan halves
• 3  teaspoons unsalted butter
• 4 1⁄2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1⁄8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. For the ice cream:.
2. Beat together egg and egg yolk in medium heatproof bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine half-and-half, granulated sugar, light-brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. Pour about 1/2 cup of the mixture into the eggs while beating constantly. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over low-medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in pumpkin.
4. Strain the pumpkin mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a container. Cover and chill for 3 to 24 hours. Pour pumpkin mixture into an ice-cream maker. Process according to manufacturer's directions. When ice cream is almost firm, stir in gingersnaps.
5. To serve, spoon 1/2-cup pumpkin ice cream into each of two bowls. Top with pecan-maple sauce.
6. Freeze leftovers in a covered container.
7. For the Pecan-maple sauce:.
8. Place pecans in small skillet. Heat over medium heat for 30 seconds shaking skillet constantly, until pecans are toasted. Remove immediately.
9. Combine butter, syrup and salt in a small pot. Heat over medium heat for 1 minute or until butter melts. Stir in pecans. Simmer for 1 minute to flavor pecans.