Keep your cool while you create fun, memories and a delicious treat!

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via Tumbler, Island Oasis

Ice cream is the perfect antidote for the dog days of summer... the sun's scorching rays and the oppressive humidity. Today happens to be such a day... Today also happens to be the first day of summer, and the longest day of the year!

Ice cream is as fun to make as it is to eat... It's a good way to get the kids involved and keep them busy on a long, hot day... I found this picture on Pinterest and followed it to adelynSTONE where I came across this recipe for ice cream that requires some salt, light cream, sugar, vanilla and some baggies... Really it doesn't get any easier. So what are you and the kids waiting for?!



Ice cream without an ice cream maker
via adelynSTONE


We simply love our ice cream ball that was a gift to us a few summers ago... It comes with recipes for creating many flavors. We tend to stick with the basics, vanilla and chocolate... though I have a hankering for coffee flavored ice cream... toss in a few mini chocolate chips, perhaps? I think our ice cream ball will be working overtime today!



Ours was ordered through LLBean but you can find them all over the place these days. You'll need to order some rock salt that you'll place in the outer rim, then you'll fill the metal barrel with your cream, sugar, vanilla and whatever flavorings (or chocolate chips!) you'll need. In less than half an hour you'll have a fabulous bowl of ice cream! The kids will do the work for you, they simply need to shake or roll the ball for 20 minutes and voila! How fun is that?!


Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with Brownie Bits  from Annie's Eats
image via Pinterest, original source unknown

I wanted to experiment one day... to keep our fun, cool, summer treat low cal and I emptied part of  a container of lowfat (1%) chocolate milk into the drum... We shook, we rattled, we rolled... and what resulted was something akin to a fudgesicle! We ate our creation from bowls, but the mixture could easily be transferred into a fun mold.


candy cane ice cream
via Sophistimom


Candy cane ice cream has to be one of my favorites... Boy I sure wish I had some candy canes lying around. Perhaps I should remember to put some aside for the summer... Next time! This recipe is from Sophistimom.



peach ice cream

Sometimes I'm feeling kind of cheeky, I mean peachy... sometimes fruit ice creams are refreshing. This great recipe from Annie's Eats requires a bit of stove top time, but I think then can be adapted to the ball, ziplock, and of course any standard ice cream maker.


Post image for Rolo Ice Cream
via My Baking Addiction 

My Baking Addiction 
gives us Rolo ice cream... Hello Lover!!
This recipe requires the stove top as well... Turn up the AC girls! 



via Mike's Table

I'm a huge frozen yogurt person... I adore it! I recently came across this recipe for Cherry Frozen Yogurt via Mike's Table (notice the bits of chocolate in it!) It also has a bit of cognac in it... I can keep it in the recipe, right? The cognac cooks off with the cherries!

And of course you can make your ice cream even more fun by creating mini ice cream sandwiches simply by adding a spoonful of your ice cream in between your favorite cookies and you can dress them up a bit by rolling them in sprinkles, jimmies, mini chocolate chips or whatever you desire. Tip, you'll want to place your sandwiches in the freezer for at least a half an hour prior to serving... an hour would be best!

via The Entertaining Kitchen

CHIPS AHOY! Wiches recipe
via Kraft Foods


Ice Cream Sandwiches


Nilla Wafer Nutella Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe: http://justjingle.blogspot.com/2010/10/vanilla-wafers-nuttella-holy-yum-batman.html by *Jingle*, via Flickr
via Mr Food

There are so many wonderful recipes out there! I hope you'll be inspired to keep your cool while you create!

XOXO,


Jessica