June 28, 2021

S'mores ice cream sundaes

June 28, 2021/ Rebecca Davis

Combine graham cracker no-churn ice cream, milk chocolate magic shell, and freshly scorched gooey marshmallows to make the best and easiest ice cream sundaes to celebrate summer!

Take me to the sundaes!

Before we get to the ice cream, I need to vent a little. I haven’t been making these posts as person lately because there’s so much kerfuffle on the internet about how people hate reading food bloggers’ life stories. But I guess if you’re reading this, you’re one of the people who is, at worst, neutral on the topic, so here we go! (If you’re here by mistake, there’s a “jump to recipe” button above.)

I need a break from the mental load. We all have one. It’s made up of the stuff that weighs on us and feels like quicksand because there’s no way to think ourselves out of it, though we can’t stop trying. It’s made up of the constant to-do’s and the guilt when they constantly don’t get done.

I’m stuck under the mental load of parenthood and all the ways in which it affects my identity. Lately I’ve been thinking about how I invest too much in both parenthood and my blog/food photography to feel really masterful at either. I suppose one can argue that there’s no such thing as “investing too much” in parenthood, but I really enjoy writing and taking photos and that work helps me feel like I’m something other than “someone’s mom.”

But I also feel guilty about the times I let Z play by himself in his playroom (that’s part of our kitchen, don’t panic) when I want to work on a new recipe or catch a specific light. I’m sure someone would argue that I’m selfish while someone else would point out that kids need to learn independence. And, frankly, both of those people are me. But really, who added “constant playmate” to a parent’s job description?

Anyway, it’s hard to feel productive or creative when so much bandwidth is devoted to pediatrician appointments and camp drop-offs and nap times and making sure all the little things are accounted for. But when I do focus on work, I wonder if I’m depriving M and Z of quality time that will have lasting affects on their development? Maybe that’s way too dramatic. It feels a little dramatic as I write this.

And then I worry (maybe that’s my actual full time job?) that I spend SO MUCH time thinking about parenting and work that I neglect all of the other import things. Like, when do I think about my marriage? And developing new friendships? And nurturing old friendships? And exercising? And did we give the dog his heartworm medicine this month? And what do we do about that front porch pillar that seems to be sinking?

And then my brain short-circuits and I have to cool it down with an ice cream sundae. What a transition!

If, like me, your brain is a funny place to live sometimes, you want to combine elaborate and easy. This ice cream sundae is sort of a three-part recipe, but each part is dead simple. So, it feels like you’re doing something tricky but also not.

We start with a straightforward vanilla no-churn ice cream base that has soaked graham crackers in it. Then, we top it with a two-ingredient milk chocolate magic shell and freshly charred marshmallows.

You might be wondering, why wouldn’t you just combine the milk chocolate bits and charred marshmallows in the actual ice cream? And you absolutely CAN do that! BUT, frozen marshmallows bear no resemblance to fresh gooey ones. And why have plain chocolate bits when you can spend 30 seconds melting them with coconut oil and pour it over for some ice cream magic? And some of the magic shell probably won’t freeze, so you get the gooey marshmallows AND the gooey chocolate, which feels very much like the real s’mores deal.

ALSO, leaving the graham cracker ice cream alone makes it adaptable to soooo many other flavor combinations. Cheesecake ice cream? Yup. Key lime pie ice cream? Yup. PB&J on a graham cracker ice cream? You bet. The possibilities are endless.

So what are you waiting for???

A couple of notes:

You can let the graham crackers soak for as little as an hour or you can forget about them overnight. As long as the cookies are completely mushy, you’re good to go.
When making no-churn ice cream, i’m a big proponent of throwing everything together and whipping it in one step, but in this case, whip the cream/graham cracker mixture first and then fold in the condensed milk.
DON’T FORGET THE SALT! S’mores are a sweet affair to begin with. A nice pinch of kosher salt in the ice cream base before freezing cuts the sweetness just a bit.
For charring: if you don’t have a kitchen torch (but they really are super fun to use and you can get one at Target), roast your marshmallows over a fire or in the oven, but WATCH THEM LIKE A HAWK. Marshmallows can catch on fire under a broiler, so I set the temp to about 400/425 depending on your oven and move a rack up to the top third.
For the magic shell: I like to use filtered coconut oil because it doesn’t taste like coconut. Virgin is fine to use if that’s what you have, but it might taste faintly of coconut.

S’mores ice cream sundaes

Time: At least overnight, but about 15-20 minutes of active time
Yield: about 5-6 large sundaes

For the ice cream:
8 full sheets of graham crackers (or one package if they come three packages to a box)
1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 small can)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large pinch fine kosher or sea salt

In a large bowl, mash the graham crackers into tiny bits. I use my hands for this because the bits don’t have to be uniform. Pour the cream over the bits and stir to combine. Cover and leave in the fridge until the graham crackers have turned to mush, about 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Once the graham crackers have softened, remove the large bowl from the fridge. Using a hand or stand mixer, whip just until the cream makes stiff-ish soft peaks (see photo above), about 45 seconds.

Add the condensed milk, vanilla, and salt and fold gently with a spatula.

Transfer to a freezable container and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight.

For the magic shell:
6 oz milk chocolate (chips, chopped up bars, whatever)
2 Tbsp coconut oil (see notes above the recipe)

Marshmallows to taste

Combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir well. Repeat in 10 second bursts until fully melted. (Mine usually melted within 30 seconds, but it’s really hot here, so my chocolate and coconut oil were already soft.)

Let cool for 10-15 minutes while you char your marshmallows (see note above).

Assemble sundaes with ice cream, magic shell poured over and topped with marshmallows and an optional pinch of flaky sea salt.

April 05, 2021

Candy pretzel no-churn ice cream

April 05, 2021/ Rebecca Davis

No-churn vanilla ice cream with Easter candy and pretzel mix-ins is the easy, fun cooking project that you can do with your kids to use up that holiday haul! #Easter #icecream #icecreamrecipe #nochurn #dessert #sweetandsavory

If the Easter Bunny left you a LOT of candy this year (or you stocked up on post-holiday sales), this Candy Pretzel No-Churn Ice Cream is a fun way to use it up. AND, it’s so easy that my (newly) 6-year-old can make it mostly by himself!

Take me to the ice cream!

I’m obsessed with no-churn ice cream. Most recipes you’ll find are basically the same— a carton of heavy cream, a can of sweetened condensed milk, a pinch of salt (but not in this recipe because we’re using pretzels), some vanilla extract, and whatever mix-ins you like. Some recipes use a bit of cream cheese, but I prefer it without.

*There are two ways to make the ice cream base: You can whip the cream first and then fold in the condensed milk, OR you can combine them and whip the whole mess together. Obviously, it’s faster to do the milks together, but you risk over-mixing. Whipping the base too much can lead to a buttery texture in the final product, which is a little gross.

Whipping the cream on its own lets you see how thick it’s gotten, so you’re less likely to overdo it. If you’re a newbie or just worried, use this method.

I usually dump them both together and whip until I see tracks in the mixture that stay put for a few seconds before melting back into the gloop. Just note: When you mix the two liquids together, you WON’T achieve a stiff peak like you would with cream alone.

My favorite part of this particular recipe is the pretzel-Rolo concoction. You basically melt a Rolo (or any other chocolate and caramel candy) in the oven for 3 minutes and then smoosh another pretzel and some sprinkles on top. They’re like a chocolate-covered pretzel with a caramel sprinkle bonus! And much less messy to make!

Also, if you’re like us, you always have some stale pretzels in the back of the cabinet that no one really wants to eat. This is a great way to resurrect them.

Candy pretzel No-Churn Ice Cream

Time: 20 minutes + 8 hours of freezing
Yield: About 5 cups of ice cream

10-15 Rolo candies (or other chocolate and caramel candy)
20-30 mini pretzels
2-3 Tbsp sprinkles
2 cups heavy cream (1 pint)
14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 small can)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 cups chocolate candy, roughly chopped (I used milk chocolate bunnies and Cadbury eggs, but use whatever you like!)

Heat the oven to 350.

Spread half of the pretzels on a parchment-covered sheet pan. Top with one Rolo or other chocolate and caramel candy. Melt in the oven for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from the oven and top each melted chocolate piece with another pretzel and glitz them up with some sprinkles. Put in the fridge to chill while you make the ice cream base.

*Combine the heavy cream, condensed milk, and vanilla extract in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. (See notes above for different methods for making the base.) Mix with the whisk attachment until you see visible tracks in the cream that stick around for a few seconds before melting back into the gloop.

Roughly chop whatever candy you’re using. Remove the pretzels from the fridge and roughly chop those too. Gently fold the chopped candies into the ice cream base. Pour the mixture into a metal or other freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 8 hours.

May 24, 2018

Dole whip popsicles

May 24, 2018/ Rebecca Davis

If Dole Whip isn't your favorite Disney park food, then what's wrong with you? For those of you who don't know, Dole Whip is basically pineapple soft serve. But's it's so so much better than that description implies.

I swear I'm going to tell you how to make it in a minute, but first I need to talk about some parenting challenges we're having. As always, skip to the next photo if you're only here for the food!

Lately, parenting has felt like being on a high ropes course. It's wobbly and scary and you rarely feel surefooted. Occasionally you reach a platform and feel like a badass who has everything figured out. But then you start the next leg of the course and feel even more wobbly because now you're tired and also annoyed at yourself for not learning enough from the earlier stages. And while you're taking all the necessary precautions, what if you prove the tragic exception?

The long and short of it is, M started preschool 2 months ago and isn't adjusting all that well. He's acting out a bit and having trouble sitting still and it's been hard to watch.

I want to chalk it all up to his being three and starting a new school (any school, for that matter), but words like "evaluation" and "sensory issues" have already been floated.

Maybe I'm just taking it too hard. To me, he's still the chubby cheeked baby with long eyelashes and a silly lisp, so to hear anything different is hard to accept. I'm sure most parents go through some form of growing pains the first time they get any negative feedback about their child. But oof, does it feel like a knife to the heart.

And I'm doing my best not to let the feedback make me feel distant or separate from M. At first, hearing about his behavior made me feel like I didn't know him at all. But some 3-year-old acting out doesn't make him a bad kid and the more empathy I can have for him while we all hang in there and try to figure this out, the more successful he'll be when facing challenges in the future.

But for now, it's just... rough.

Anyway, this recipe is a great one to make with kids. M loves adding the ingredients and pushing the button on the food processor and that's really the whole shebang. He also calls Dole Whip, Dole "Yip," and it kills me.

If you plan on eating this right away, then you get the true Dole Whip experience (well, a close approximation anyway). If not, and this recipe makes a lot so you won't likely eat it all in one sitting anyway, freezing it as popsicles is the most successful way to enjoy the leftovers. It freezes really hard, so trying to recreate that soft serve texture is nearly impossible later on. But the mixture makes oh-so-refreshing popsicles. Hang on to some for the first 90-degree day (here in CT, anyway) and thank me later.