Cinnamon Ice Cream

We had friends over recently and they introduced us to cinnamon ice cream, wow, it is SO SO SO good! I encourage you to try it!  Today was VERY warm outside and I wanted to have a dessert that could cool us down, too bad I didn't buy ice cream this week!  Then I remembered: Oh, I have an ice cream maker!  I will just make some then!  I decided to make a recipe without eggs so it would be ready faster.  Here is what I tried, and it was delish!

Indgredients:
1 cup of whole milk
1 and 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, pour into your ice cream maker and get ready to enjoy in about 30 minutes, freeze if you like it more firm.  Super easy, really tasty, ENJOY!

Mmmmmm Coffee

I am from the South, born and raised, a true GRITS (Girl Raised In The South- You know it :)  WORK IT! - That was for you Heidi- haha!)  And I do LOVE grits by way and so does Drew- it runs in the blood :)  Ok, anyways I will get back to my post about coffee :)  When I moved up here 9 years ago in the middle of the winter I was in complete shock about the weather. Salvation Army made some money off of me as it was the only place I could afford, and I needed a new wardrobe!  I quickly noticed that every where I went people were carrying little travel mugs and disposable cups filled with warm goodness.  I began to realize why so many people up here drank coffee, that is the only way you can stay warm!!  I decided to try some, DISGUSTING!!  OBVIOUSLY it must be an acquired taste- It is!

So I had to work my way into it.  The first drink I had that started to bridge the gap between non-coffee lover to now drinking it everyday BLACK (of all things) was a Vanilla Cooler from Caribou Coffee.  Just a hint of coffee flavor and icy deliciousness.  I started my coffee journey :)  I began trying different kinds of coffee, always with lots of sugar and creamer.  Eventually I married into an AMAZING family of coffee LOVERS.   My in-laws are a couple who have at least 2 pots on a day, 1 in the morning, 1 after dinner....maybe other times during the day as there is a "need".  My husband, and both my mother in law and father in law drink theirs black.  Oh the pressure!!  Just kidding, I still added my cream and sugar and didn't care in the slightest how others drank their coffee.  My sister-in-laws Juliet and Heidi are with me on the sweetness, in fact Heidi has her own blog where she has a very humorous post about a coffee experience, check it out: http://dearlylovedmist.blogspot.com/2011/10/4-cream-4-sugar.html

Anyways, I always heard the "black" drinkers talk about how good a cup of black coffee is with dessert.  I decided I would give it a try and see for myself.  I can remember how the dessert experience that evening went down.  It was October and I had made a fresh pumpkin pie.  I served us up some slices of orange colored wonderfulness and topped it with fresh whipped cream.  I poured my cup of black coffee and sat on the couch, weary of what was about to happen.  (Such drama for me- haha!  Obviously very momentous for me because I remember all the details.)  I took a bite of pie, and washed it down with a sip of medium-hot black strong coffee.  OH  MY WORD!  It was SO WONDERFUL.  The sweetness of the dessert paired with the strong taste of the coffee made the best combination!  What had I been missing?!  And a few days after that I found out I was pregnant with Emma, so I could only drink decaf, SO not the same intensity as regular.  The memory how good black coffee was with dessert was burned in my mind :)

I have really grown to love my coffee black- it was a process, took me years to acquire a taste for it.  If I am having black coffee with dessert I ALWAYS leave the sugar out, I just can't do sweet coffee with sweet dessert, I need something to balance and cut all the sugar.  However if no dessert is present you will catch me adding some heavy cream and sugar- it becomes my dessert.

I recently met a wonderful friend, Bonnie, her and her husband have both worked at Starbucks, and they have actually had us over for a coffee tasting, Morning Cup of Joe paired with a Cappucinno Cheese Cake (Recipe at:http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/cappuccino-cheesecake.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH)  - to die for!  I hope to have a coffee tasting of my own soon!

So I love most things that have to do with coffee now, and recently I made Coffee Gelato, AMAZING!  Here are some pics of the process and recipe.  It really is fabulous, and pretty simple to make!  If you like consuming organic dairy, this is a super cheap way to have organic ice cream.

COFFEE GELATO
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
30 dark roast coffee beans
pinch of salt
6 egg yolks, slightly beaten

Add milk, cream, 1/2 of the sugar and the coffee beans to a heavy sauce pan. Cook on medium-high, whisking constantly until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan.  In a separate bowl add the remaining sugar and egg yolks, whisk together until incorporated.  When the pan mixture begins to form the small bubbles take a ladle, fill it up with the milk mixture and pour it into the eggs & sugar and whisk quickly, then pour the egg mixture into the bowl.  Continue heating complete mixture, whisking constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and leaves a clear trail when a finger is drawn through it.  Remove from heat, and allow to cool to room temperature and place in the fridge, or if it is really cold take it out in the snow like I did :)  Cool in refrigerator at least 2 hours.  Pour through sieve once completely cooled and place mixture into an ice cream maker.  Follow machine's instructions and you will have GELATO in no time.  Very yummy!

I was cooking, so of course my helper came to my aid!

Original Recipe I  based mine off: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/coffee-scented-custard-gelato.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

Amazing Apple Crisp!

It is that time of year again.  Fall!  Cider mills, donuts, fresh crisp apples, cool mornings, pumpkins.... My favorite season!  We visited my favorite mill this past weekend and enjoyed spending time exploring the grounds with our family, taking in all the beauty of the orchard and of course eating some wonderful goodies!  When we got back to the cabin we finished the wonderful day with a perfect Autumn dessert.

I visited a friends house last week and enjoyed hot coffee and the best apple crisp I have had in a long time, thank you Holly for the inspiration!!  I HAD to make it for my family!  I did change it up a little bit because my mother in law is strictly gluten-free.  So I included the original recipe and then my GF altered version.  AMAZING!

Ingredients:
8 Small apples, peeled, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Crumb topping:
 1 cup of Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake Mix ( You can pretty much substitute this for flour in most recipes)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup gluten free oats
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Layer apples in 9x13 pan, sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.   Next make the crumb topping by putting all the ingredients, except pecans into a bowl.  Using your hands squeeze the mixture over and over until it becomes crumbly, starts sticking together and resembles coarse meal.  Last toss in the pecans.  Sprinkle the mixture over the apples.  Bake uncovered in the oven for 1 hour.  Or until starting to lightly brown on top.  Soooooo good!  Enjoy!!

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

I just HAD to share this latest creatio of mine with you.  Not very often do the words "CRACK ME UP" come out of my mouth when I am describing food, but these cupcakes "crack me up!"  The recipe I still need to perfect, so I am just sharing what they turned out like.  I got the idea from a cupcake cook book I got from my friend, all I remember saying when I saw this idea was "Oh that is hillarious!"  Just a fun cupcake idea to bring to a summer bbq, so make them while you can!!

I got the lemon & buttered popcorn flavored from the candy store at the mall.  It was actually the second candy store I had gone to in order to find the right color, I was DETERMINED to make these you see!  Also in the original picture I saw, they had taken yellow star burst candy or laughy taffy and made it in the shape of a slab of butter, such a cute touch!  I did not have that on hand, but thought it was an adorable finish.  Anyways just ideas for ya!

Chocolate Shake and Ice Cream Recipe

Well, I felt like chocolate ice cream last night.  Drew, of course jumped at the chance to "make ice cream".  I have a wonderful homemade chocolate ice cream recipe on here, but it requires melting chocolate (which I did not have) and eggs.  It also required heating up & cooling down the mixture.  I felt like making something fast, so I searched on the internet for a recipe that used cocoa powder and eggs and I found this Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe at bakedbree.com ~ Thank you for posting this fabulous recipe!!  It went super quick and I did change a few things to make it "my own".  I, or I guess I should say we (Drew and Andrew (my hubby) helped) whipped it up in our amazing Vitamix blender and then poured it into our ice cream maker.  We didn't have very much ice, so it was taking FOREVER for it to set up.  We ended up drinking it as shakes, and then today we enjoyed it as actual ice cream.  Both ways it is GREAT.  My homemade chocolate ice cream is more milk-chocolatey, similar to a Wendy's frosty, and this recipe is more rich, so it depends on your likes and the ingredients you have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 cups organic whole milk
3 1/4 cup organic heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put all ingredients into a blender, blend until thoroughly combined.  Pour into ice cream maker, follow machines instructions from there.  EASY!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Sundae

We had some wonderful friends over this week for dessert, it is always great catching up!  My friend Haley runs her own baking business with another friend of mine, Dana.  (Check out the delicious treats that TRUFFLES concocts, they do have gluten-free options and yes they ship!)  So as you can imagine coming up with a tasty dessert to impress the pro was a little challenging.  The first time I tried this whoopie pie was a few years ago, thanks Sarah for the inspiration!  (You are such a good baker and a wonderful wife to be making such treats for your hubby on a regular basis, I admire you! )

It turned out very tasty indeed!  Her post on my facebook page was "The dessert was AMAZING".  I was so thankful to hear her positive words, it was my first attempt at whoopie pies and you always wonder when it's a new recipe?!  I seem to always try new things out when entertaining, sorry to all my friends for being a part of my foodie experiments.  LOL!  Haley also told me of a whoopie pie making party she had attended before, sounds like so much fun.  I can definitely see that in my future :)

I made 2 kinds of whoopie pies, one with a regular store bought cake mix, and one gluten free version.  You can google cake mix whoopie pies if you are interested in that.  Just before serving I topped them with vanilla ice cream and homemade hot fudge.  Yumo!  And yet another addition to my dessert recipes that is chocolate peanut butter goodness! The  Original Whoopie Pie Recipe.

If you would like to make the pies from scratch and you are not interested in gluten free, use regular flour, minus the arrow root powder and increase the milk to 1 cup.
Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 Cup arrow root powder

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Just mix everything in a stand mixer. The batter is a little runny.  Add two tablespoons of batter to parchment lined cookie sheets, 3 per row 2-3 inches apart.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes till an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.  Spread 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter cream between 2 pies.  Top with ice cream & Homemade Hot Fudge. Makes about 15 pies

Peanut Butter Buttercream :  1 1/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter, 2 sticks (16 T) butter, softened, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, pinch of salt  Blend in stand mixer, if too thick add a few teaspoons of milk.

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Gluten Free Strawberry Lemonade Icebox Pie

I saw this beautiful picture of a pie in Martha Stewart Living.  I knew I just had to make it, but could I do it gluten-free so it could be blog worthy?!  You know I did!  I am soo glad I tried something new!  I was making a meal for my dear friend Whitney, who just had her second beautiful baby, last night and I thought it would be the perfect occasion to make this delicious looking treat.  I made a little extra of the filling to be able to make 4 cupcake size portions for their family and to make a complete pie for us.  Also, in case you ever need to make just 4 cupcakes for a friend I saved my muffin container from my Udi's chocolate chip muffins (which by the way are SOOO good) and it was the perfect way to transport the little dessert.

Anyways the pie was as good as it looked!  Imagine lemon bars but more "custardy" topped with sweetened strawberries & dollops of fresh whipped cream, yum yum yum!  The original recipe calls for a meringue on the top, but I did organic whipped cream because it is faster and I just love it in general.  The original recipe also uses a graham cracker crust, I came up with my own gluten-free version of that for the cupcakes and used a pre-made gluten free crust from Whole Foods for the pie.  I will put the recipe for the cupcake crust in here too.

I HIGHLY suggest this dessert it is SO simple and it is different, nice and light for summer.  I am excited to add a dessert that doesn't include chocolate, because as you will notice all my other desserts have chocolate in them, I was starting to appear a little biased.  :)

Ingredients:

1 gluten-free pie crust, pre-baked

Filling:
One 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (fresh is important it makes a world of difference in recipes)
2 egg yolks, 1 egg whisked

Topping:
2 cups strawberries, thinly sliced
1/4 cup agave nectar (any sweetener will work)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Fresh whipped cream, sweetened with agave

For the filling whisk together the ingredients, pour into warm pie crust.  Bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes until the center is set (If you are making cupcake style they cook faster, check around 20 minutes).  Let cool to room temperature, cover, refrigerate over night.  Just before serving mix the strawberries, agave & lemon juice and let set for about 30 minutes.  Spread on chilled pie top with lots of whipped cream.  Enjoy!!

For the homemade graham cracker style crust I used Annie's gluten free ginger snaps.

Gluten Free Ginger Snap Crust Recipe:
1 3/4 cups of Annie's gluten free ginger snap cookies, finely crushed (through a food processor or by hand)
6 Tablespoons of butter, melted
1/4 cup raw sugar
sprinkle of salt

Mix all ingredients together, press into pie pan (or cupcake cups if using).  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven & add filling.  Cook according to directions above.  Enjoy!!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my FAVORITE chocolate cookie recipe.  I am actually not a huge fan of chocolate cookies, but my SIL made these in the past and they tasted like gooey brownies, now I make them any time I get a craving.  Tonight I got such a craving and made them...... yummy, chewy, cocoa wonderfulness!  If you aren't doing gluten-free just substitute gluten-free all purpose flour, for regular all purpose flour.  They are awesome, hope you will try!

Ingredients:
1 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (melted)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder (it really intensifies the chocolate flavor)
5 Tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

Cream butter with sugars.  Add the rest of the ingredients, mixing the melted semi-sweet chocolate chips in last, then stir in the "milk" chocolate chips.  The batter will look dry compared to normal cookie batter, but bakes up perfect.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Pavlova

My mom and I made this dessert tonight.  I was inspired by a past issue of Martha Stewart Living in which they did an entire article on different meringues.  I thought "YAY desserts I can actually have!!"  The original recipe can be found at: http://www.marthastewart.com/317737/chocolate-pavlova  This is a fabulous naturally gluten-free dessert, our whole family was like WOW!!!  Definitely a must try, and different than the norm!


Ingredients:

• Meringue:
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• To make the meringue: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or use a sil-pat.  Mix whites, sugars, and salt in a mixer bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugars dissolve and mixture is warm, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 8 minutes. ( I put mine in a stand mixer and checked it after 5-8 minutes, super easy, it ends up resembling marshmallow cream.)  Beat in vanilla.
• 1. Sift cocoa powder over meringue, and fold until barely any streaks remain. Using a large spoon, spread meringue into a round, 8 inch circle. (Be careful not to spread out too much; meringue will spread more during baking.) Form a well in center, being careful not to spread meringue too thin
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• 1. Bake meringue until dry to the touch, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheet on wire rack. Meringue will keep, covered, for up to 1 day.
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• Whipped Cream:
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
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• Chocolate Cream Topping:
• •  4 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • Prepare an ice-water bath. Whisk yolks and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Bring cream, milk, salt, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Pour a third of hot cream mixture into yolk mixture, whisking until combined. Pour yolk mixture into pan with hot cream. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture coats the back of a spoon, 6 to 7 minutes.
  • Place chocolate in a large heatproof bowl. Pour hot mixture over chocolate. Whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth, reserve 1/4 cup in a separate bowl.  Place the bowl with rest of chocolate mixture then set in ice-water bath, stirring often, until cold & thickened.  Stir in 1/4 cup of whipped cream by hand to lighten mixture.

ASSEMBLE:

To assemble pavlova: Spread chocolate cream evenly in center of meringue, leaving a 1/2-inch border from edge. Spread whipped cream over chocolate cream. Garnish with reserved melted chocolate mixture (the 1/4 cup that was not cooled), and serve immediately.  Enjoy!!

Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

This smoothie was sooo good!  It is gluten-free & dairy-free, but you would never know it.  A super easy dessert for when you are craving something sweet, but don't feel like making a big mess or waiting for a treat to bake.

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup almond milk (you can use any milk here)
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 Tablepoons raw sugar (or to taste)
10 ice cubes

Put all ingredients into a good blender.  Blend until smooth. It fills two 10 ounce glasses.  We topped ours off with fresh whipped cream & a sprinkle of cocoa powder.  Enjoy

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Yet another delicious gluten-free dessert (where you don't even miss the gluten).  I made this with my mother in law this weekend, I found the original recipe in Better Homes and Garden magazine, under prize tested recipes.  I tweaked it a little to fit in our diet, with the ingredients I like to use.  This is a rich dessert, not super sweet, just right!  Tastes great with a good cup of black coffee!

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/4 cups Almond meal (Trader Joes)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 baking soda
2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil (Or butter)
2 Tablepoons agave (raw sugar, preferred sweetener)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk the oil, sweetener and melted chocolate.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until combined.  Press into a spring form pan, pushing up on the edges slightly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes, the surface of the crust will lose it's sheen and start to look dry.  Allow to cool, while finishing the filling.  Reduce the oven to 300 degrees. This is an Elana recipe.

Cheese cake filling:

Two 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1  cup creamy peanut butter (I use natural, just peanuts & salt)
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Peanuts (optional)

Beat one package of cream cheese with a mixer until smooth.  Add peanut butter, sugar and 1 egg, beat until combined; set aside.  Cube remaining cream cheese.  In a sauce pan stir chocolate over low heat until melted, remove from heat, stir in cubed cream cheese, milk & vanilla until smooth.  Stir in remaining 2 lightly beaten eggs.  Pour half of chocolate mixture onto cooled crust.  Carefully spread the peanut butter mixture over layer.  Evenly spread the remaining chocolate mixture on top.  Bake for 45 minutes, the center will look darker and wet, the outer 2 inches will be slightly puffed and dry when finished.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with peanuts.  Cool on a rack for 15 minutes.  Use a knife to loosen from the side, allow to cool an additional 30 minutes in the pan.  Remove the sides of pan, cool completely on rack, then refrigerate for 4 hours.  Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was at a local shop and almost bought gluten-free cookies this week, they looked sooooo good and I wanted a dessert right then.  However, I checked the price tag, $7.00!!!  NO WAY!  I do sometimes pay a little more for convenience foods, like peeled baby carrots occasionally, but not that much more!!  I just couldn't do it.  So I picked up a gluten/soy/dairy free package of chocolate chips instead.  I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free all purpose flour to make these cookies and they turned out amazing!  Not crumby at all, and soft in the middle, a fun treat for our family.  My poor boys, all they want is a nice hostess cupcake, and here I am making these gluten-free, bean flour desserts!  We are having a good transition though, and my goal is to make the best tasting desserts so they don't even like the taste of the processed junk.  Andrew (my former culinary-arts hubby) said, wow these are actually good, so I took that as a BIG complement!  (Also beware- the batter isn't as good as "normal" cookie dough tastes, but after baked the cookies are delish!)

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup raw sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips, gluten/dairy/soy free is what I used they are awesome!

Cream the butter & sugars.  Add the egg, mix until smooth.  Add the vanilla, baking soda, arrowroot powder,  salt, and last the flour.  Finally blend in the chocolate chips.  Drop the dough in mounds (about a tablespoon each) on a slightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes till the edges are slightly golden.
Remove from oven, let set on sheet for about 2 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.  Eat warm :)
Makes about 30 cookies.

Fudgy Brownies with Simple Nutella Ice Cream

We had friends over for dinner & dessert last night, it was a blast!  I experimented with a few desserts and tried it out on them, thanks Jess & Lloyd for being my "test subjects" :)  I have tried a gluten free brownie mix from the store, it was pretty good, but I liked this "fudgy" version better.  Anyways we thought the gluten-free desserts turned out great, so I am sharing the recipes with ya :)

Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond meal (or just buy raw almonds & pulse in a food processor or blender until fine)

• 1/3 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I used Red Mill)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup raw sugar, or xylitol
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients together.  In a sauce pan melt the butter & 1 cup of the semi-sweet chips, stirring until smooth.  Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5  minutes.  Mix in vanilla, then add chocolate mixture to dry ingredients.  Last add the 2 eggs separately and mix in the remaining 1 cup of semi-sweet chips.  Pour into a square 8x8 baking dish.  Cook at 325 degrees for about 35 minutes.  The brownies should be slightly puffed all over and a tooth pick should come out moist, but clean.  Allow to cool to room temp & serve.

The original recipe I adapted this from : http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/ghirardelli-fudgy-gluten-free-brownies/Detail.aspx

Simple Nutella Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 cups nutella (chocolate hazlenut spread)
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix in a blender until smooth.  Pour into ice cream maker, run for 40 minutes-following machine's instructions, serve immediately.  Really easy & tasty.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Balls

This a new favorite treat for me.  I first had these Christmas 2009, after my friend Ashlee told me about how good they were.  She was right, AMAZING!!  I tried the recipe and have been hooked ever since.  Great gluten-free dessert.

Ingredients:

2 cups creamy peanut butter (or crunchy if you prefer)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
3 cups crisp rice cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Place peanut butter and softened butter into a mixer, blend until smooth.  Slowly add the powdered sugar, then the cereal.

Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave for a minute, check then stir, possibly add 30 more seconds to melt.  The chips should look shiny when they're ready to be mixed smooth.

Roll peanut butter mixture into balls, using about a tablespoon each time.  Roll balls in melted chocolate with a spoon & remove, place on a baking sheet covered in wax paper.  Allow to cool and for chocolate harden.  
*Drizzle with melted white chocolate if you wish.
ENJOY!

Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

I encourage you to get an electric icecream maker.  I recieved one for Christmas from my inlaws- LOVE it (and them too)!  My 3 year old son has the best time helping us make ice cream and watching the motor go around.  By making your own ice cream you can control what ingredients go into the dessert you love to eat. 

Tonight we made homemade chocolate ice cream that was fabulous!  I am sitting here fighting the urge to get another bowl!  We have decided to make our own ice cream for a few reasons.  I am nursing and my little Emma is bothered by milk protein, unless it is from raw milk.  So we make ice cream using organic coconut milk (there is cococut milk ice cream at the store- it is amazing, but costs an arm and a leg!), organic whipping cream (its all fat, so no protein there), or organic raw milk.  Tonight we made it from coconut milk & whipping cream.  Here is the recipe:

3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup, 2 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 ounces milk chocolate chips
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar (or xylitol)
1/2 cup coconut milk

In a small saucepan gradually whisk together 2 cups of the whipping cream and the cocoa powder until smooth.  Place over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to scalding point(begins to foam up). Remove from heat. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate has completely melted and is smooth.

Meanwhile in a bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (about two minutes) with a whisk. Gradually pour the scalding whipping cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, making sure you keep whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. If any lumps do form, strain the mixture first before heating.

Return to pan, cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the back of a spoon (170 degrees F) (77 degrees C). Immediately remove the custard from the heat and continue to stir the custard for a few minutes so it does not overcook. At this point stir in the vanilla. Pour into ice cream maker cylinder. Add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and coconut milk to mixture.  Place cylinder in a large bowl with a icewater bath.  This will help cool the mixture down quickly (for about 10 minutes).  Put it in ice cream maker for 30 minutes, add ice and rock salt ( you can find rock salt at Meijer for sure, have yet to find it at Kroger) on the exterior of cylinder according to maker's directions.  Serve it soft serve style or freeze it to eat later!  ENJOY!

Adapted from the recipe on http://joyofbaking.com/ChocolateIceCream.html#ixzz1FyJPzV00