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Tag: s’mores


s’mores ice cream cake

22
July

s'mores ice cream cake pleasure in simple things

It was National Ice Cream Day this past weekend and I was ‘jonesing’ for an ice cream cake!  I couldn’t let the day go by without celebrating!  Looking around the house, I had some s’more leftovers and decided to utilize them in an ice cream creation!

s'mores ice cream cake pleasure in simple things

In my house, ice cream desserts are always a big hit in the summer. This one is based on a favorite summer dessert and was inspired by the leftovers from our Fourth of July beach party.

s'mores ice cream cake pleasure in simple things

Unlike baking, the procedure for making ice cream cakes is totally forgiving and precision is not required – so feel free to alter the recipe based on the size of your pan or the ingredients you have on hand. I made a no-bake crust for this one, since I didn’t want to heat up the house with the oven on a hot summer day.

S’more Ice Cream Cake Recipe

  • 4 Hershey chocolate bars (1.55 oz. each), chopped into pieces
  • 1 qt. softened vanilla ice cream (made or purchased)
  • 2 packages (20 long) graham crackers, divided
  • 5 Tab unsalted butter
  • 2 Tab sugar, divided
  • Bag of miniature marshmallows

I know, this one is not for the faint of heart – although, in my defense, I did use low fat graham crackers and low fat ice cream! :)  (Come on, I nixed my original idea of putting a layer of melted Hershey bars over the graham cracker crust!)

Start by making graham cracker crumbs. (I put the graham crackers in a plastic zip-lock bag and used a rolling pin to crush the crackers and make the crumbs.) One package of the crackers will be used for a crust, and the other package for a ‘filling.’

Combine one package of the graham cracker crumbs (half your total) and a tablespoon of sugar with 5 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter. Pat this into the bottom of an 81/2” springform pan and pop this into the freezer while you prepare the ice cream.

Add the chopped chocolate bar pieces into the softened ice cream, mixing to combine. Take out the prepared crust and spread ½ of the ice cream mixture over the crust.

making s'mores ice cream cake pleausre in simple things

Mix the other half of the graham cracker crumbs with 1 tablespoon of sugar and reserve ½ cup of the mixture. Sprinkle all but the half cup over the ice cream mixture. Carefully spread the rest of the ice cream mixture over the graham cracker middle. Use the remaining ½ cup of graham cracker crumbs to sprinkle on top.

Cover the entire top of the cake with miniature marshmallows and freeze until very firm.

Adjust the oven rack on your broiler so that the cake can be as close to the element as possible and preheat the broiler. Put the cake under the broiler to brown the marshmallows as quickly as possible and then put back into the freezer. Even after being frozen, the marshmallows are gooey when you eat the cake!

melted s'mores ice cream cake pleasure in simple things
Let the cake sit awhile out of the freezer before eating – I think it tastes best just like s’mores – a little on the melty side!

Enjoy!  Hope you will experiment with your own ice cream creations!  Thank you for stopping by!

s'mores ice cream cake pleasure in simple things
Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

P.S.  If you are a s’more lover, you may also enjoy gourmet s’mores and s’more shooters!

Sharing with Crafts a la Mode and  Craftberry Bush.

Comments Off on s’mores ice cream cake | food & festivities, inspiration, recipe

dessert shooters

17
August

friday field trip

Target trips are very different with my daughter away and settled in her own apartment.  It had become a weekly routine when she was living at home for her and I to make a Sunday trip to Target.  Sometimes we would have a specific item in mind to purchase…most times, not.

So today I had a little gap between work and an appointment and decided to look around in Target without my daughter …and it wasn’t even a Sunday.

Walking through Target at this time of year is sad for me…no school supply lists to purchase from or dorm room items to choose.  Of course, most of the aisles are flooded with back to school items – I avoided all these aisles like the plague.  Instead, l looked at stationary products (love)…home items…then  finished up in the food section.

As I walked through the dairy aisle on this particular Target excursion, I was shocked to see a product I apparently totally overlooked – chocolate cream cheese!  What a great idea!  I know the stores carry many chocolate spreads now (thanks Nutella!), but I did not know about Philadelphia Indulgence chocolate cream cheese spread!

Target had a package of four individual tubs for $1.70…they had milk or dark chocolate.  I immediately thought of the strawberries back at home in my refrigerator.  What a quick and easy last minute dessert…to be able to just fill some fresh strawberries with this product.  Could I be this excited for a purchase that didn’t even amount to $2.!

I got home and immediately filled some strawberries with the chocolate cream cheese.  They needed more…I wanted to dip them in chocolate…well, wouldn’t adding that step ruin the whole point of being quick and easy?  Chocolate cream cheese on chocolate chip bagels….pretzels dipped into chocolate cream cheese…my mind wonders…okay, back to the task at hand!  Quick…simple.

Then, I had the perfect idea…’shooters’…I would make little shot glass-sized indivdual desserts.

A photo of  s’mores shooters.  A great single serving dessert made with Philadelphia Indulgence chocolate cream cheese spread.

As it turns out, this is the PERFECT way to use the package I bought since it comes in little cups that are the optimum size (1.25 oz. cups) to make this dessert.  It is a great way to indulge in a dessert without going crazy…a great dessert that is easy to create variations with little fuss.

I started with a s’more shooter – a nod to the Girl Scout’s  100th anniversary this year.  After that, I just couldn’t stop with the variations.  And, I went back and picked up the other two flavors.  Using the milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate product there really are infinite possibilities.

I started with a graham cracker crust.  I mixed a cup and a quarter of graham cracker crumbs with 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter.  (This will make about 12 desserts.)   I used this as my base and put 2 tablespoons in the bottom of a straight–sided clear glass shot/cordial glass.  Use a 2 ounce or 2 1/2 ounce size.  If you want disposable (Labor Day picnic?), 2 ounce clear plastic cups are inexpensive and readily available (this is the size used for jello shots).

The s’more one was layered as:  1 tablespoon of the graham cracker mixture, 1 tablespoon of fluff,  1, 1.25 oz tub of milk chocolate Philadelphia Indulgence chocolate cream cheese spread.  I garnished the top with a marshmallow that was cut in half and toasted.  (You can toast this quickly under your broiler.  Don’t put the shot glass under the broiler if it is not oven safe – toast the marshmallow by itself and then add to the top of the dessert.)

A photo of a s’more shooter…a dessert made with Philadelphia Indulgence chocolate cream cheese spread, graham cracker crumbs, and marshmallow fluff.

 Some of my favorite combinations:

  • 2 tablespoons of crumbs, 1 tablespoon of coconut, 1 tub of milk chocolate Indulgence, almond garnish
  • 2 tablespoons of crumbs, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 tub of milk chocolate Indulgence, peanut butter cup garnish
  • 2 tablespoons of crumbs, 4 or 5 raspberries, 1 tub of dark chocolate or white chocolate Indulgence, raspberry & mint garnish
  • 2 tablespoons of crumbs, 4 or 5 blueberries, 1 tub of white chocolate Indulgence,  blueberry & mint garnish
  • 2 tablespoons of crumbs,  2 or 3 banana slices, 1 tub of milk chocolate Indulgence, banana slice garnish

It is very easy to gauge how much cream cheese you need to purchase since each indivdual tub makes one serving or  ‘shooter’.

A quick, easy, and fun dessert…mission accomplished!

Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

 

3 comments » | food & festivities

gourmet s’mores

10
August

friday field trip

August 10th is National S’mores Day!  This week’s Friday field trip is to the campfire to officially celebrate National S’mores Day!

No one can not dispute that s’mores are an American icon.  For so many of us, they bring back floods of childhood memories…for me, memories from throughout my lifetime.

In honor of National S’mores Day, I am sharing some ‘gourmet’ s’mores combinations my family has enjoyed over the years at campsites throughout New England.  I hope you will try them and get inspired to come up with some of your own creations!  S’mores to me are all about camping and Hershey’s chocolate bars.  Both of these things bring back so many great memories from my childhood.  I am a second generation camper.  I camped my entire childhood; as did my children.  There are many traditions involved with camping…that’s what makes it such a treasured family experience.  Making s’mores has always been one of our traditions.   As my children got older and schedules became more complicated, we gave up our annual camping trips…but, not making s’mores.

A photo of one of my family’s ‘gourmet’ s’more flavor – adding peanut butter to the traditional s’more combination.

A photo of our ‘gourmet’ s’more….adding peanut butter.

Of course, the most important component of a s’more is the Hershey’s chocolate bar.  When I was a kid,  I got the chance to visit the Hershey’s factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania…it was a trip I never forgot…who could forget an entire town that smells like chocolate?!  The Hershey’s kiss shaped street lights in town gave an immediate sense of whimsy to the visit.  In the days of my childhood, it was still possible to view the huge vats of chocolate as part of the Hershey’s tour – very impressive…the image (and smell) are still very vividly etched in my memory!  Don’t miss the opportunity to visit Hershey’s if you are ever in the Hershey, PA area. ( I am not only in love with the Hershey’s products, but also in the great works they are involved in.   Check out their website www.thehersheycompany.com to learn more about Hershey’s social responsibility and the Milton Hershey school.)

A photo of my family’s ‘gourmet’ s’more…in this version a Cookies ‘n’ Creme bar replaces the regular chocolate Hershey’s bar.

A Hershey’s bar, a couple graham crackers, a just-cooked marshmallow…the components everyone immediately recognizes as a s’more.

A photo of creating the traditional s’more.

A photo of the Peppermint Pattie ‘gourmet’ s’more. A York Peppermint Pattie replaces the chocolate Hershey’s bar.

Now, I am not knocking all the traditionalists out there, but over our many years of camping, my family has  come up with many different variations of the standard s’more.  I would like to share some of our favorites with you…they are affectionately referred to by my family as the ‘gourmet’ s’mores.

My favorite is to substitute a Cookies ‘n’ Creme bar for the chocolate.  We also substitute the chocolate with a Peppermint Pattie.  Both are great variations.  The other popular combination in my family is to add peanut butter to the traditional combination of marshmallow and chocolate.

So, go find your perfect toasting stick.  Celebrate National S’mores Day.

Create a s’more…create some memories :)

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

6 comments » | food & festivities

     

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