Perfect Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

I don't know what it is about winter, but it always makes me crave ice cream despite how cold it is outside. Maybe it's the heavy cream that tempts my senses into thinking it will eventually make me warmer.... at least around the hips. ;) That's my theory.

Anyway, I have the perfect recipe for fresh strawberry ice cream. It is amazingly creamy strawberrily delicious. Yep. I'm excited. =D

I love me a good strawberry ice cream.

Plus I found out it gets better as it ages in the freezer. Mmmmm.....

 

Today I made some fresh pasta for my niece's birthday and was thinking (as I was licking an empty spoon) that I should have made her ice cream! What kid wants fresh pasta over ice cream?! Silly Aunt Sara. ;)

The key to amazing strawberry ice cream is amazing strawberries. I've said this before and I'll say it again. You can't expect to get amazing strawberry flavor in your dessert from dull or tart strawberries. It denies all laws of food physics. Just don't try it. Get good sweet delicious strawberries.

Oh, and if you are needing to clean out your automatic ice maker in your freezer, this is surely the way to do it. I used exactly one full binful of ice. Perfect!

I am trying to say lots of interesting things because I got so many yummy pictures...

Yup.

Mmhmm.

 

Ok. On with it already!

Perfect Strawberry Ice Cream

Serves 6...or just 1
Ingredients
1 pound fresh sweet strawberries, hulled and chopped into pretty small chunks
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 big pinch salt

Directions
Combine chopped strawberries, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup sugar in a mixing bowl, set aside in fridge for a couple hours (I did 2.5 hrs). In a large bowl, beat eggs for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Sprinkle in 3/4 cups sugar and mix well. Stir in the milk, vanilla and salt and mix well. Mash the strawberries pretty good so you don't have large chunks (keep the juice). You want pretty small chunks so they don't freeze and break your teeth. Add to the other mixture and mix well. Stir in whipping cream and refrigerate until chilled or overnight (I waited almost 24 hrs). I like to give it more time for the flavors to meld. I could definitely taste a difference after it had sat in the fridge overnight. Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. I have a good old fashioned (motor driven) ice cream maker and it churned for about 30 minutes. Then I took out the dasher and scraped it off, packed the ice cream down into the can, corked the lid and replaced it. I covered it with more ice and a little more salt (I used our water softener salt... it worked) and let it sit for about 3-4 hours to harden it. Dish out and enjoy quickly or store in freezer. (It melts fast) You'll want to eat it within about 5 days so it will be creamy and not crystalized. Enjoy!

{Original recipe I found on Food.com but I tweaked it a bit}

Peanut Butter Bars

There are certain things in this life that are just meant to be together.

Salt and Pepper
Jack and Jill
Yin and Yang
Macaroni and Cheese

Well, in the world of sweets you can bet your knickers that one of those pairings is
Peanut Butter and Chocolate
 Mmmm....
Who doesn't just love the combination of creamy peanut butter and rich chocolate?
{All of you who overdosed on Reese's cups and now can't stand to eat them don't count...}

Point being, it's pretty good and my husband, Ben, loves the peanut butter/chocolate duo. He requested I make some peanut butter bars... "the kind with oatmeal in the bottom".
And so it began.
I whipped out a ward cookbook and knew there was going to be a gem in there. Peanut butter bars are one of those desserts you can expect most people in your neighborhood to be able to make. Everyone has a different recipe and they are somehow all amazing.

Here they be in all their glory.

These are fabulous with their fudgy texture.

I just love ward cookbooks. ;)

Testimonial:

"Fact: I don't like peanut butter. Second fact: I would give my first born for these bars. Delicious!"  ~Jillian Rose

Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen. Need I say more?

This recipe is also very easy to make. Guaranteed success.

It is great because it makes a lot at one time so it would be perfect for gifts, parties, vacations, etc.

These bars are sweet so if you (like me) prefer desserts that are less sweet and more rich or "deep", for lack of a better term, then this may not be the recipe you are looking for but it is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients for cakey-doughy part

3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

3/4 cup White Sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup Salted Butter, softened

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 cups Flour

1 1/2 cups Oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (standard half sheet baking pan with sides ~ 10x16") with a sheet of parchment paper. You can use a smaller pan for thicker bars if desired. Beat together peanut butter, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and butter. Add vanilla, salt, baking soda, flour and oatmeal.  Press mixture into bottom of pan to spread (mine did not reach to all the edges). Cook for 10-12 minutes (I cooked for 10 min). They will look undercooked when you remove them so don't overcook them. Let them cool and top with more peanut butter (optional- I did not do this but probably will next time) and the chocolate frosting.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.

Ingredients for Chocolate Frosting

1 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Chocolate (I used semisweet chocolate chips)

1/4 cup Salted Butter

1/2 cup Milk

2 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (or until desired consistency, decrease for less sweetness)

1 tsp Vanilla

Bring all ingredients except powdered sugar and vanilla to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring. Place bottom of pan in cold water until mixture cools and thickens a bit. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix until thoroughly blended. Pour on bars before mixture hardens.

{Recipe from Brooke Johnson in Parish Canyon Ward 2012 Cookbook- Thanks Brooke!}

 

 Enjoy!

Cake Ball Ornament Party Favors

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Everywhere you go.

Take a look in the warm oven.

Preheating once again.

With cuppy cakes and macarons a glow!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Cookies are in store.

But the prettiest sight to see

are the cake balls you will bring

to your friend's front door!

Eh? Eh? Like my song? Yeah, I made it up all by myself.

I could go on (because I just do this kind of stuff) but then thought better. 

You're welcome. ;)

Anyvays, my little song wasn't just for cutesake. It was prepping you for this next post on cake balls. So, are ya ready?! 

{ =D  I smile big every time I use the interrobang only because it is named such. haha}

I've given you the low down on how to make some pretty dang tasty and good looking cake balls. 

{If you missed it, check out Making Cake Balls and Dipping Cake Balls}

I am going to give you a few more tips here and show you how to make cake ball ornaments... not real ornaments... more like real cake balls. :)

Like these.

Awww. Aren't they cute? {Rhetorical question}
Well you're in luck.... they're as easy as they look.
These make fabulous Christmas gifts or you could even make these for a cookie exchange and impress the ugly sweaters off of everyone (...overachiever). These happen to be gorgeous party favors for a Ladies Christmas Luncheon.



I also did red ornaments but didn't get a chance to take nice pictures of them. You'll see them later. These pictures don't really show you what they really look like, unfortunately. I gave the outside of the ornaments a metallic sheen to it.

Here are the supplies you'll need.
Undipped cake balls
Candy melts/ chocolate in your preferred colors
Reese's minis (NOT wrapped miniatures- see pic below)
Edible Gold Spray
Luster/Pearl Dust to match your melt colors
A soft brush
2 x 3" clear boxes
Shredded paper (I used Ivory colored)
Baker's twine in your preferred color
Candy cups



First, I want to chat with you about packaging.
THE best place to get your packaging online is from Paper Mart. They have the cheapest prices I have seen even compared to local stores around me. Their orders ship the same day and the whole company is just impressive. This is the only place I buy my packaging from. They have a HUGE selection too.

I bought these clear boxes and didn't realize they opened on the small end and not along the long edge {if that makes sense}. That made things a little more difficult to package so just keep that in mind when buying your boxes! The shredded paper comes in a huge box and will last you forever! {So you may want to buy a color that can be used in lots of different ways} I'm excited to use it!

The baker's twine is a good deal too. $10 for 240 yards, Cheaper than anywhere else I have seen it.

Ok! So. Step 1
Get your mini Reese's and edible gold spray out.
I used Chefmaster edible gold spray but I'm not sure I will use this product again. It did not really cover a lot of area and I ran out before I got the effect I wanted. Plus this can was $9. Not worth it in my opinion so I think I will try something different next time.
{If you know of any awesome options, let me know!}




I lined a baking sheet with parchment but I probably didn't need it at all. I wouldn't waste it next time.
Cram as many of the mini Reese's as you can onto the baking sheet allowing some space in between so the spray can get to it. Put the big side down.



I then took it outside so the overspray wouldn't get on anything, spray back and forth staying about 6 inches away from the mini. Spray all the sides so you get fairly even coverage and you get the desired affect.



Don't get too close. It will use too much and it doesn't look the best in my opinion.
See here below, on the left I sprayed too close and it didn't really look gold anymore, it was more yellow weird looking. Just lightly spray over and over until you get your desired shade of gold. 



Below: heavy spray. It kind of took away the shiny gold look.
It looks ok but not what I was going for.



Let them dry and set them aside for when it is time for dipping.
{When you wash your pans (and your clothes), the spray will come right off. It is water soluble.}

Ok. It's time for dipping.
Dip away. It's a normal cake ball.
A piece of trouble shooting advice though...
Have you ever gotten that sad rhino skin look on your cake balls?
Like thus.





Or thus.

It's annoying.
It's because of the chocolate melt. The melt that is touching the cake ball (that has been refrigerated) cools and hardens faster than the melt on the surface. This causes the melt to harden unevenly and part to start sliding off the cake ball causing ugliness. Boo.

Solution!
"Bounce" off the excess melt faster than you are probably doing it. Don't just let it drain off on it's own. I bounce the dipping tool against the edge of the bowl.
This does not allow the melt a chance to harden before the excess drips off.
The result?
Voila.




... and Voila (respectively).

 

See how pretty! These are the same 2 cake balls in the previous ugly pictures. Yes! You can save them. Yes! It's a technique thing. Just redip them and shake the excess off faster. That's it. Yep, nothing to fret about.
... just make sure your melt is not too hot and your cake ball is not too cold as well. This will exacerbate the rhino skin complication. :) Also, thicker candy melts seem more apt to having this problem. ie: Wiltons.

I use a double pronged dipping tool. It's me favorite. This is how I do it. Not too shabby.



SO! Once you dip the cake balls, allow them to harden ever so slightly before topping it with a gold reese's mini. If you put it on right away, it may slide off the side or smoosh down in the melt too much and look weird.

After much love you should get thus.





Yay! Now for the fun part. Don't allow them to loose their tackiness before doing this next step. It works best if they are slightly tacky....like sticky... not like shoddy. That reminds me of a funny story.
So get out your luster dust and brush now.



I am sending you to a link to unravel the mystery behind all the different types of food dusts out there. I found it highly educational and useful. Take a quick look before buying your dust please.
To get a metallic shiny sheen like quality to your candy melts or fondant, you can dust it with luster dust or pearl dust, same type of product. You can dust your cake ball with the powder as I did or you can mix your powder with a high alcohol liquid like vodka or lemon extract to make it more like a paint and get a richer more substantial metallic look.
So just dip your soft brush in the powder and go to town brushing it on the cake balls right on the pan they are sitting on. It goes a long way so be liberal with it and put on as much as you can. You can even go over it a second time if you want.
I used ruby red, yellow and leaf green luster dusts. You can even slightly change the end result on the color of your cake ball by using a different color of luster dust.... ie: brush red dust onto the yellow cake ball and you'll get an orangey sheen to your ball. :) Fun! Get out your color wheel and have fun!


You can sort of see the sheen of the cake ball in the picture below, more with the yellow. These pictures really don't do it justice. I'm really sorry. I didn't have time to play around with my camera to see if I could get better shots. Next time. :)



Allow the cake balls to completely harden. During this whole process you will want to handle the cake ball and reeses the least amount as possible so you don't rub off the powder and sheen. There's really no need to pick them up until you are ready to package them.

So now place all the cake balls in little candy cups. These are not cupcake liners. They are smaller. They are made for candy. They fit better for smaller cake balls like mine. I make my cake balls rather small because I find they have a more pleasing chocolate to cake ratio. I would say mine are about a tablespoons worth.

Finish your party favors or Christmas gifts by putting some shredded paper in the bottom of a box, delicately place in your ornaments and tie it off with some baker's twine. You'll see I tripled the amount of twine I use. I like to either double or triple it because it adds more character I think. :)

And there you have it. Christmas ornaments fit for your favorite peeps.
 TTFN.
{ That's "Ta Ta For Now" for all of you hermits that have never seen Winnie the Pooh}

Felicia's Sweet Crepes

Crepes are one of those amazingly delicious comfort foods that you really could eat any day of the week. For me it all started as far back as I can remember.

 

Crepes were our family's Christmas comfort food. Add in some maple sausage, bacon and hot chocolate and you got yourself a feast for the finest on such a special day. Combined with the magical feeling of family and Christmas, nothing gets better. Really. :)



 As of late, my grandma (Felicia as my grandpa would call her) has passed on the responsibilities to me to make the Christmas crepes for the family. You have to have the right recipe, the right pan and the right utensils plus you have to store them in the right way so they stay warm.
She taught me well.

And now I will share this with you.

I have tested other crepe recipes and settled on the fact that my grandma's are still my favorite. Maybe it's because they are the ones I grew up with. Or maybe they really are the best. Either way....they are fabulous and surely worth your time.

So here it is:

1- You need a flat griddle. I just bought a new one to claim as 'my crepe griddle'.

I bought the Nordic Ware Reversible Round Griddle (at Target for about $30) and I absolutely love it. It flips over and you can use it as a grill on your stove top because it has deep grill grooves on the opposite side of the flat griddle. Multi-taskers are the best plus it's non-stick. L-L-Love.

{You should see my grandma's. It looks like it is over a hundred years old and crossed the plains with our ancestors. Maybe it did. I claimed it as a part of my inheritance.}

2- You also need a ladle. If you want to use one of those fancy crepe trowels then go for it but it is not necessary.

The process:

You blend your ingredients in a blender. Check.

Put batter into a bowl. Check.

Use ladle to pour batter onto a hot griddle (my griddle was nonstick so I didn't even have to spray it or anything!). Check.

Use bottom of ladle to swirl the batter into a thin round crepe. Check.

Pour yourself a glass of OJ. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. (about 30 seconds)

Release edge of entire crepe using a hard plastic spatula and flip.

Tick. Tock. (about 10 seconds)

Taste test for quality assurance purposes.

Repeat above steps.

Flip onto plate and roll crepe. Check.

Store in casserole dish to keep warm.

Share.

Decorate. 

Eat.

 Enjoy.

BAM!

Thaaaaat's about it.

Yeah, I thought there were more secrets too...

The secret must be love. Awwwwww.

Crepes are actually really easy to make (no secrets about that). So give 'er a try.

And seriously, these crepes are so tasty just by themselves that you won't be able to help but perform a little quality control frequently as you are making them.

Crepes are also so fun because they are French! And who doesn't like to enjoy a little Frenchiness in their life every once in a while. I personally love France. My high school report card says I should speak French but that was a long time ago so now I will hang onto my love of French things by diving into the culture, making French foods and saying "Mais oui" for the fun of it. 

Lately I have been trying my hand at some French foods and desserts {that I will be posting about shortly} and it has been a really fun change to the normal cake pops, cookies, brownies and cakes. I am loving it! So much that maybe, just maybe, I'll have to dust off that old French book of mine and brush up on it just because I can.

Crepes are sweet and tender but most of all, they are part of a wonderful tradition that brings back warm memories. I named these crepes "Felicia's Sweet Crepes" because my grandma's name 'Felicia' comes from the Latin word for 'happy things' and these crepes have definitely created many happy memories.

Start some traditions and share some memories with your family using this recipe.

Felicia’s Sweet Crepes

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 ½ cups flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth.

Heat a round griddle until hot- stove tops will vary but mine is usually set right below medium.

Brush with butter if not using a non-stick griddle.

Dip ladle into batter and pour into the middle of the griddle. :) Adjust amount as necessary.

Quickly swirl mixture with bottom of ladle and spread batter into a very thin round crepe. If you accidentally created some bare spots while swirling just fill them with a small amount of batter.

Watch carefully lifting edge of crepe to see if it has browned to a light brown color.

Slide spatula under edge of entire crepe to release edge and then slide to the center. Flip crepe. Let this side brown for another 10 seconds or so until just starting to get brown spots. This side will not brown like the top.

When done, remove crepe to dinner plate and roll up (or wedge) and put in a covered casserole to keep warm. Place towel on top to keep heat in. Serve with anything. My personal favorite is powdered sugar.

Suggestions: powdered sugar, fruit, nutella, maple syrup, breakfast meats and/or eggs, sandwich fixings, brown sugar and butter, etc. The options are endless. May be eaten as a sweet dessert or as a savory snack.

If you are looking for a more savory taste to your crepes, I found this next recipe was good as well.

Savory Crepes

{By Erin Nesbit found on AllRecipes.com}

Yields: 8 crepes             

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

In a blender combine eggs, milk, flour, salt and oil. Process until smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brush with oil. Pour 1/4 cup of crepe batter into pan, tilting to completely coat the surface of the pan. Cook 2 to 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.