Ingredients

• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups ginger cookies or graham crackers, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, pumpkin purée, ½ cup brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt until smooth.
2. Pour the milk and the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar into a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat until tiny bubbles just begin to appear around the edges; do not let it come to a boil, then remove from heat.
3. Slowly drizzle about ½ cup of the hot milk into the yolk mixture while whisking constantly until fully combined. Immediately pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
4. Return the saucepan to low heat. Stir continuously until the base thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3–5 minutes.
5. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove any bits of cooked egg.
6. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
7. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. (Alternatively, chill it using the “cool only” setting on your ice-cream maker if available.)
8. Once chilled, pour the base into the ice-cream maker and churn on the ice-cream setting until thick and the consistency of soft-serve.
9. During the last 2 minutes of churning, add all but ¼ cup of the chopped ginger cookies; churn just until evenly distributed.
10. Transfer the ice cream to a shallow container or loaf pan. Sprinkle the reserved ginger cookies on top. Press plastic wrap or wax paper directly against the surface and freeze for at least 4 hours, or until firm. Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before scooping and serving.