Ice Cream Sundae Cookies

Why yes, as a matter of fact these cookies are as amazing as they sound. Seriously. Everything you love about a big ice cream sundae all baked up and delicious. And portable. Which was important since these were the lovely treats I sent to my friend Lisa for her birthday last week. Ice cream and shipping don't mix quite so well, which make these cookie an excellent option when you want need want ice cream without the mess. The perfect cookie base flavored with vanilla and loaded up with crushed sugar cones, white chocolate chips and M&Ms, then topped off with a chocolate drizzle. Super simple and delicious, these cookies deserve a chance in your oven. And your cookie jar. And your belly.

Snickerdoodle and Cream Ice Cream

Because making ice cream during a polar vortex/snow storm/nor'easter makes complete sense. But seriously, ice cream is welcome in this house no matter what the weather is like. It's the cure that ails you in my family and this snickerdoodle ice cream loaded with chunks of snickerdoodle cookie pieces is definitely one that will cure my winter blues. Creamy, sweet and deliciously speckled with cinnamon, this ice cream is awesome even without the chunks of cookie. Don't be afraid of making ice cream. I know a lot of people have an ice cream maker collecting dust in the back of a pantry or cabinet. Bring it out! You'll be shocked how easy this is--people will be wondering what brand started making a snickerdoodle flavor.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Is it ice cream?  Is it cake?  Better still, is that fluffy buttercream frosting?  I had a flashback to a time when my mom made these amazing cupcakes in ice cream cones. I can't remember if it was for a birthday party, a school treat, or just because, but I remember thinking they were so awesome. My mom was pretty creative with cake and had a talent for decorating cakes that I just failed to get the hang of (my sister inherited that gene).  But as I remembered these cupcake cones, I knew they were something that even my lack of skill could pull off.  Tasty vanilla cupcake batter is poured into ice cream cones (the flat bottomed cake cones) and baked up to golden and fluffy.  Topped high with chocolate buttercream made to look like soft serve ice cream and dusted with confetti style sprinkles, these cupcakes not only brought back memories, but also brought smiles to my friends faces when I shared these at a party.

Strawberry Ice Cream Topping

For the first few weeks of our summer CSA, Dave and I got some very lovely, very sweet strawberries that we enjoyed just rinsed and sliced and in smoothies.  But they were so farm fresh that I was afraid we wouldn't be able to enjoy the whole pint (or two) before they turned.  So I looked for a way to use them without adding a ton of sugar or masking their natural sweetness.  And what better way to enjoy strawberries than on top of vanilla ice cream?  Just a little slicing and a few minutes on the stove top, and this strawberry sauce is exact what you want to top your ice cream sundae.  Dave hasn't touched the chocolate syrup or hot fudge since I made this.  And rightfully so.

Homemade Shamrock Shake

A few days early, but Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I didn't make any overtly Irish food this year because Dave and I are finally going on our honeymoon (only 3 1/2 years late) in May and we'll be headed to Ireland!  I'm looking forward to trying some different foods straight from the source, so I didn't want to ruin it by making my own, likely inaccurate, version first.  So to pay homage to the holiday, I whipped up a couple of frosty, creamy, minty dessert in just the right shade of green. This recipe is a great knock-off of the fast-food version of a shamrock shake, taking a thick and creamy vanilla milk shake and giving it a touch of mint and green for a little festive treat.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

I'm a year-round ice cream eater.  I don't care how cold it is outside or how cold I complain that I am, if I want ice cream, I'm going to eat ice cream.  Additionally, ice cream is generally the cure for what ails you in my family.  Sore throat?  Cough medicine, plenty of fluids, and ice cream.  Headache?  Two ibuprofen and ice cream, with sprinkles.  When my dad broke his leg and my mom took a photo of him in his cast to send to us, he was conspicuously eating something out of a bowl.  Immediately my then-three-year-old niece said it must be ice cream (it totally was).  Because ice cream has healing powers.  Apparently.  I bought some ice cream, deciding vanilla would be a good choice because a) Dave loves vanilla; and b) I could turn it into any flavor milkshake I wanted.  So when I offered Dave a milkshake after spying some leftover pumpkin in the fridge, I had an ulterior motive.  Of course Dave accepted the offer and when I asked if he wanted a special flavor, he's ears perked.  He surprised me at wanting to try a pumpkin pie flavored milkshake, but we were both glad he did.  This milkshake tastes eerily similar to it's pie counterpart, tasting exactly like the creamy pie goodness, with a dash of graham cracker crust and a perfect dollop of whipped cream.

Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

I promised you I would do something delicious with those cookies.  And here it is.  Creamy, delicious homemade vanilla ice cream studded with chocolate cookies that would give any other cookies and cream ice cream a run for it's money.  I made this while Dave was away on a business trip.  It was the first day of a week-long trip.  I emailed him to tell him that while I made ice cream and it was freakin' awesome, there may not be any when he got home because I might need to eat it all (I was good--there was plenty left to share with him by the end of the week).  The custard for this ice cream cooked up beautifully and the ingredients were so simple.  This is the kind of recipe that convinces you to buy an ice cream maker if you don't already have one or to go hunting for the one you own but haven't used in ages.

When the World Peace Cookies failed on me, I knew the only thing they'd be good for was cookies and cream ice cream, but I was uninspired and couldn't bring myself to make it a priority.  And then Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker slapped me in the face with this gorgeous recipe and practically forced me to make it immediately if not sooner.  Seriously, I think she posted the recipe at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week I had this wonderful treat.  Rarely am I inspired by a recipe to make.it.right.now.  But resistance was futile.  And I had ingredients in my fridge and cookies in my freezer that called out to be crumbled into a delicious frozen dessert to counter the hot summer weather.  Although my ingredients were light cream and skim milk, I still used them and would you believe the results were still undeniably creamy and just as good as I imagine their heavy and whole counterparts would be?  Another slight change is that when I added the cookies, I took about 2-3 cookies and crushed them to finer crumbs rather than chunks.  I stirred these crumbs into the ice cream base before layering them in my container alternating with the bigger chunks.  I just love that speckled look of cookie crumbs taking over the lovely vanilla ice cream.  If you haven't made homemade ice cream yet, start with this recipe.  It's easy and the results are magical.  You'll never buy store-bought cookies and cream ice cream again.