No-Cook Peach Ice Cream

I love this time of year, when we can go to our local orchard and get fresh peaches. I am not crazy about the summer months, I am more of a fall/winter girl. However, I do love all the fresh fruits, and vegetables that are a product of the summer. As soon as I saw this no-cook ice cream recipe, I immediately knew that I wanted to make it with peaches. I have been having those peach milkshakes from Chick-Fil-A all summer, and they are delish, but I wanted to make some ice cream for everyone to enjoy. We had some friends over for dinner on the day I made this, and they seemed to enjoy it- as did Heath. I think he has eaten the majority of it on his own. =) I adapted this recipe from Spork or Foon. I thought with all the half-and-half, that it would be too icy or watery. So I switched the amounts of heavy cream, and half-and-half, and I think it turned out great- so my recipe below reflects those changes. FYI- you can leave this recipe as is for plain vanilla ice cream, or add other fruits or flavorings to it. It seems to be pretty versatile. I made some more for my dad with bananas, and it was good as well.

~No-Cook Ice Cream~

1 cup of half and half
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups of heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 very ripe peaches (or if using bananas- use 2 very ripe ones)
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice (I didn't use this for my peach, but I did for the banana)

1.) Mix together the first four ingredients until combined, making sure the condensed milk is well blended with the other liquids. Chill until cold.
2.) Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze accordingly.
3.) Mash the peaches and add to the ice cream maker 2 minutes before it's finished. ( I went ahead and mixed the peaches in and skipped the refrigerating part, and it turned out fine.) 4.) Transfer ice cream to a freezer safe container, cover and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Ok...so this is really not the best picture in the world, but I can assure you- these are really good! I saw them on Mermaid Sweets, and decided they were just what my sweet tooth was calling for. They were chocolaty, gooey, crumbly, and a little salty all at the same time...SCORE! I will definitely make them again. Next time, I'll bake the bottom crust for a little less time, because it turned out a little too hard for my liking...but overall- delicious!

~Oatmeal Carmelitas~

Base

2 cups AP flour
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups butter or margarine, room temperature

Filling

1 jar caramel topping (1 cup)
3 tablespoons AP flour
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
½ cup chopped nuts (salted) (I left them out)

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.) Line 13x9-inch pan with tin foil and leave some hanging over the edge. Grease tin foil with butter or cooking spray.
3.) In large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking soda and salt.
4.) In the bowl of a stand mixer (or another bowl with hand mixer) mix together the butter and brown sugar until combined.
5.) Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until crumbly (do not over-mix or you will have a dough rather than crumbs).
6.)Reserve half of crumb mixture (about 3 cups) for topping. Press other half into bottom of pan and bake 10 minutes.
7.) In a small bowl mix caramel topping and 3 tablespoons of flour.
8.)When crust is done partially baking, sprinkle with chocolate chips or chunks and nuts.
9.) Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture.
10.) Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake 18-22 minutes longer until top is golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1-2 hours. Cut into bars.

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream...EVER!

I have been having so much fun with my new ice cream bowl attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. Heath has been after me to make him some chocolate ice cream with "only marshmallows" for a few weeks now, so a couple of days ago, I made it for him. I have read such great things about David Lebovitz and The Perfect Scoop, so it seemed like this would be the recipe to use. I knew this ice cream was going to be a dream not long after it had started churning. It was so smooth and creamy, and made up beautifully as soft serve, or frozen and scooped. I served it to Heath's parents after dinner that night, and they both really loved it (his mom is not even really a fan of chocolate). I am thinking now, of all the possibilities for add-ins to this recipe: peanut butter cups, crushed oreos, brownie pieces... Dangerous!

~Chocolate Ice Cream~ from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1.) Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

2.) Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk unto the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3.) Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

4.) Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin out).

Makes about 1 quart

Fudge Puddles

I first saw these yummy cookies at Mommy's Kitchen. As soon as I saw them, they immediately went on my pathetic little paper list (I really need to organize) of recipes to try. When I finally decided it was time for me to make them, I made a mental note to get all of the ingredients at the store. It seemed like every week when we got groceries, I would forget the stinkin' butterscotch chips for the fudge filling! I don't usually keep butterscotch chips lying around, so it just escaped me completely. I think 3 weeks passed before I finally got around to making them. In any case, they are the perfect combination of peanut butter cookie, and fudgy chocolate evilness! Go ahead and make them. You'll eat a couple while they're still warm and gooey, and then try to refrain the rest of the day from sneaking your sticky little hand back in and getting more. Before you know it, they'll be gone- and you can come back here and curse me for getting you into this mess!


Fudge Puddles aka Puddles of Yum

Ingredients:

* 1/2 c. butter softened
* 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
* 1/2 c. sugar
* 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 t. vanilla extract
* 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
* 3/4 t. baking soda
* 1/2 t. salt

1.) In a large mixer bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, and both sugars.

2.) Beat in eggs and vanilla.

3.) In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.

4.) Gradually add flour mixture to creamy mixture.

5.) Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. (Or if you are impatient, chill it in the freezer for about 15 min. This is what I did.)

6.) Remove from fridge and form into 1-inch balls. (I used my Tbsp. measuring spoon which worked out great)

7.) Grease a mini-muffin pan, and add 1 ball to each muffin cup.

8.) Bake in a 325 degree oven for about 15 min. or until very lightly browned.

9.) Remove from oven, and make an indention in the center of each cookie.

10.) Let them cool in the pan for at least 5 min. and then move to a cooling rack.


Fudgy Filling

Ingredients:

* 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1 cup butterscotch chips (can use milk chocolate chips if you don't like butterscotch)
* 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
* 1 t. vanilla extract
* chopped nuts or sprinkles (optional- as you can see, I omitted them)

1.) In a microwave safe bowl or saucepan, combine all of the ingredients except the nuts or sprinkles.

2.) Microwave for 1 min. Stir well. (I melted mine in a saucepan on the stove, and it worked well)

3.) If there are still unmelted chips, continue to melt in microwave for 15 second increments until all smooth.

4.) Fill each cookie cup with fudge filling immediately, and allow to set for about an hour or so before eating or serving. Trust me- it's hot!! I tried it.