Quick, Easy, Yum!

Let me preface this by saying that this is NOT a recipe. This is all about coming up with a dessert on the fly with what's available in the pantry/freezer right now. So, we're clear. I'm not claiming that this is a recipe, and I'm not claiming that it's in any way fancy. It's creative assembly, at best. Even so...it's pretty tasty. I give you (drumroll) the Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwich!

Seriously, don't underestimate this thing. All you need is a bit of ice cream, a couple of graham crackers, and voila: a tasty dessert in 2 minutes. This is the sort of thing that's super simple but also ridiculously satisfying. Unlike the ice cream sandwiches sold in cardboard boxes at the grocery store, home-assembled Graham Cracker Ice Cream Sandwiches retain the crispy, crunchy bite of a graham cracker. They're not at all soft on the outside, but the inside is quite creamy, of course. I used store-bought graham crackers (Publix brand) and Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, but I'm sure they could be greatly improved by making homemade graham crackers and sandwiching inventive flavors of homemade ice cream. I think salted caramel ice cream would be divine, and I'd also like to try a s'mores ice cream sandwich by making chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and popping that between the cookies.

Store-bought ingredients or not, these are fun and tasty. Give them a shot, and let me know what you think!

Make Mine A Double Scoop

Summer demands homemade ice cream, and I am happy to oblige. A few weeks ago I made this fabulous double chocolate ice cream for my Dad. My wonderful sister found the recipe on a fellow blogger's site, and it turned out just beautifully.  A ripple of peanut butter revs up the richness of this fantastically decadent treat, but you can leave it out if you'd rather stick with just the chocolate.  

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

courtesy of Joy the Baker

ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

pinch of salt

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (all-natural is the best!)

In a sauce pan over medium heat stir together 2 cups whole milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  Heat until the milk starts to steam but before it boils.

In a small bowl stir together the remaining 1/2 cup of whole milk and the cornstarch until no lumps remain.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the heated milk and chocolate mixture and bring to a low boil.  Boil until thickened.  The mixture will have the consistency of chocolate pudding.  (This is a good time to sample the beginnings of your creation!)  Remove from heat.

In a small sauce pan heat 1/2 cup heavy cream.  Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips.  Let sit for 1 minute then stir the cream and chocolate mixture until incorporated.

Stir the cream and chocolate mixture into the cooling chocolate ice cream base.  (Another perfect moment to pause and try a spoonful.  It's delicious.  In fact, it's so good you could simply chill it and serve as a pudding with a little whipped cream.) Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge until cool.

Once cool, follow the manufacturer's directions on your ice cream maker to churn.  Once the mixture has chilled and thickened in the ice cream maker slowly drizzle 1/4 cup of peanut butter.  (Notice the velvety texture of the all-natural peanut butter.  Also,  there's no pesky high fructose corn syrup.)

Transfer the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of peanut butter.  Cover with plastic wrap and press the plastic wrap so it touches the surface of the ice cream.  This prevents ice crystals from forming in the ice cream.  Freeze for at least two hours before serving.

Get ready for an intense chocolate experience.  This stuff is going to knock your socks off!  

I think the chocolate base of this ice cream would be tasty with other things in it as well.  Ever tried Ben and Jerry's Phish Food?  It has crunchy fish-shaped chocolate bits sprinkled throughout, gooey marshmallow cream, and caramel.  Some day I'm going to add all of those things to this ice cream along with some peanut butter chips and see how that works out.  :)

More on the muffins

Peanut Butter Muffins

ingredients:
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter (I use Trader Joe's all-natural peanut butter)
1 1/3 cups mik
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped, roasted peanuts (salted or unsalted)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Greaste muffin pans to make 16 muffins.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, beat the peanut butter and a few spoonfuls of the milk until smooth then beat in the remaining milk. Beat in the melted butter and eggs. Stir in the peanuts. Add to the combined dry ingredients and stir until just blended.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup about three-fourths full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 3 - 5 minutes, then remove.

**These are great with fresh butter, honey butter, and jams of all kind.

Tale of the Traveling Peanut Butter Muffins

Right now I'm on a five-day trip to Captiva Island, Florida with three young children (two 6-year-olds and a 4-year-old) so I decided to bake a snack for the trip before I left. I chose peanut butter muffins because they travel well, they're kid-friendly, and they are somewhat filling. Oh, yum! I made a good choice.
I'll post the recipe soon, but for now here are a few photos.



The batter was super good. I couldn't stop eating it!




I discovered that if I served a little blueberry jam on the side I ended up with a grown-up version of a PB&J. It was super tasty.

One thing I really like about the peanut butter muffins (aside from how easy they are to make) is their versatility. They aren't super sweet so they lend themselves to savory dishes as well as sweet spreads or toppings. They would be really good served alongside a curry dish or noodles with a peanut sauce. As a surprise element I might even throw them in a basked of mixed bread to serve at a dinner party.
They aren't flashy, but they're definitely good to have on hand. The kids loved them too!