Some of my fondest memories as a child involve my grandparents.

That’s probably the case with most people who are lucky enough to grow up with at least a set of grandparents.

Summers with my grandparents were special.

When I got old enough to help with chores, and when sleeping late wasn’t cute anymore, those summers became a little different but I cherish them just the same.

Most of my fondest summer memories have something in common – an ice cream freezer.

I love ice cream – all kinds of ice cream – but there’s nothing better than homemade.

It doesn’t freeze worth a darn but when is there ever any left to freeze?

The ice cream freezer my grandparents had was ancient. The outside was wood and the canister was beaten up from years of use.

The motor was old and loud. The whole contraption looked to be 100 years old but it cranked out one fantastic bowl of ice cream after another.

If you don’t have an ice cream freezer, they’re only about $20 and well worth the investment.

I think it’s pretty safe to assume cold weather is behind us and with Memorial Day right around the corner, what better time that to dust off an old favorite?

Homemade vanilla ice cream is the classic standard so I’m not going to give you another recipe for it. Odds are the one you have came from your grandparents. That automatically makes it the best one ever. That’s how I feel about mine.

So, today, let’s try a classic twist on a classic original: Chocolate homemade ice-cream.

You’ll need:

6 eggs

3 c. sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 qt. chocolate milk

1 1/2 pt. whipping cream

2 tsp. salt

Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar and beat five more minutes. Add salt and vanilla and blend in one quart chocolate milk. Do not use low fat chocolate milk. Lighter milks, like skim or 2 percent, makes the ice cream too light and gives it an ‘icy’ texture. You want to use whole chocolate milk. You can also use whole milk and chocolate syrup if you prefer.

Pour the mixture into your ice cream freezer canister. Don’t forget the rock salt and ice!

Pour in the additional quart of chocolate milk and the whipping cream in the canister and crank up your ice cream freezer. Churn until freezer shuts off, about 25 minutes.

As with any other recipe, this can easily be ramped up to suit your tastes. Throw in a couple cups of chocolate chips, marshmallows, pecans or anything else and develop a special recipe that will make new memories for your children and grandchildren the way my grandparents did for me.

 Tiffany Cannon is a field editor for Taste of Home Magazine and owner of 2ate9 Bakery and Catering in Demopolis. She can be reached via email at tiffany@2ate9.com