Chocolate Ice Cream Cups

My middle child Simon recently emailed me a picture of a cup made out of chocolate; he mentioned that he'd like to try to make them (today is his first day home from  his freshman year at college) so guess what we did tonight! I figured out how to create an amazingly delicious edible ice cream cup. I also made some yummy chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream using my basic ice cream recipe and added chunks of cookie dough.  I'm not worrying about the raw eggs in the cookie dough, I've eaten enough of it in my lifetime and haven't gotten sick yet :) 

Ingredients
Melting chocolate/Almond Bark 
or Candy Melts
Small water balloons
Pam
Jimmies/sprinkles


Melt the chocolate  in a small shallow bowl according to package directions. Blow up water balloons and spray bottoms with pan. Place a non stick mat or wax paper on a baking sheet. Put a spoonful of melted chocolate on the non-stick mat, then dip the balloon half way into the melted chocolate, let excess drop off. Sprinkle with jimmies and place on top of wet chocolate ( on the non stick mat) Thus creating a base for your chocolate bowl. Finish dipping remaining balloons and place baking sheet in refrigerator to set. Once they are firm take out of fridge and pop balloons with a pin, carefully remove balloon pieces. Serve with your favorite ice cream.

Ingredients

Melt chocolate in bowl

Spoon chocolate onto non stick mat

Spray balloon with Pam and rub around

Dip in chocolate and let excess drip off

Set on top of melted chocolate spot

Throw some sprinkles on the melted chocolate

Ready for the refrigerator

Using a pin pop the balloon

Dig out excess balloon

Ready to fill with ice cream

Enjoy!

Vanilla Ice Cream

Here is a great and simple recipe for ice cream. I've added many different extracts, cookies, brownies, candy pieces and more to it and it never fails to turn out great! 

Ingredients 
3 cups half and half
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp REAL vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a blender and then pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.

Enjoy!

Thin Mint Ice Cream (lower fat version)

Since I already had some homemade thin mints in the house, AND I wanted to make a special dessert for my middle child whose home for spring break, I decided to make his favorite dessert, ice cream. Luckily Simon isn't picky so he's okay with the fact that I'm doing it the low fat way. After tasting the ice cream my daughter said "it tastes so fresh, almost like grass".  Lol, I'm hoping she meant that in a good way! The fresh mint is the secret to this delicious recipe.


Ingredients
3 cups fat free half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract (optional)
4-5 leaves of fresh mint, add more for stronger mint flavor
12 thin mint cookies, chopped
2 drops green food coloring (optional)

Mix half and half, whipping cream, sugar, food coloring, extract and fresh mint in a blender, blend until sugar is dissolved, 1-2 minutes . Transfer to ice cream machine and follow machine's directions. During the last 10 minutes of the blending process add cookies and finish mixing. Remove ice cream from mixing machine and transfer to a freezer proof container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Ingredients

Pour everything into blender except cookies

The fresh mint adds an amazing taste to the ice cream

Pour mixture into ice cream maker

Chop thin mint cookies

Add in the last 10 minutes of machine mixing

Transfer into container for the freezer.

Enjoy!

Low Fat Peppermint Ice Cream

I bought my hubby one of these for Christmas and yesterday was the first time that I've used it. He and Olivia made ice cream two or three times over the holiday break, but I never got in on the action. I wanted to make a low fat dessert since we were splurging and having prime rib for dinner, and this ice cream really finished off the meal nicely. We served it on top of these yummy fat free brownies. (I've never been able to find a recipe that tops the taste of this boxed mix) I can't rave about this machine enough, even though their was a low amount of fat in the recipe, the ice cream came out creamy and very tasty.

Ingredients
2 cups fat free half and half
1 cup skim milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup peppermint baking pieces, or other type mint pieces
1 tsp peppermint extract (optional, I didn't use it)

Mix all ingredients in a blender and then pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.

All the ingredients in the ice cream maker

Yumm, can you see the mint chips?

My father in law wanted 'just ice cream'

On top of a fat free brownie, what a lovely dessert

Enjoy!