1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon sticks

2 cups heavy cream

5 egg yolks

1 bag pecan pieces

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Ice Cream: 

Warm milk, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of cream in a saucepan over low heat.  When mixture is warm, remove from heat and let sit at room temperature a bit to steep.  

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream mixture into a bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.  In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks.  Gradually add the warmed milk mixture to the egg yolks, stirring constantly - you don't want to make scrambled eggs.  Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.  Bring the heat up, stirring constantly with a heat proof spatula.  Make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the pan.  Heat until the mixture coats the spatula - this should only take a few minutes.  

Pour the mixture through the strainer into the bowl with the remaining cream.  Add the cinnamon sticks back to the mixture.  Stir to combine.  Lay a piece of plastic wrap right on top of the ice cream base and put it in the fridge overnight to chill.

Remove the cinnamon sticks.  Pour the base into your ice cream maker and let it go according to the instructions for your machine - mine took about 20 minutes.  Put ice cream in a separate bowl and freeze until ready to use.  

When ready to serve - scoop into individual dishes and top with crunchy cinnamon pecans.  

Crunchy Cinnamon Pecans:

Melt the butter and sugar in a saute pan over medium heat.  When butter has melted and sugar has dissolved, add the pecans and cinnamon.  Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until pecans are just toasted and fragrant.  Pour out onto parchment paper to cool completely.