Creative Cooks

Two-Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bites
Prep time 3 hours Total time 3 hours Serves: 24

Ingredients

6 very ripe bananas
¾ cup mini chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the bananas into ½-inch slices and lay flat on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1-1/2 hours.
Remove frozen bananas from the freezer and let set out for about 5 minutes while you set up your food processor or blender. You want the bananas to softened just a bit, but still be frozen.
Place the bananas in the food processor and pulse/blend until smooth and creamy. Stir in ½ cup mini chocolate chips.
Grease a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop the banana ice cream into each cup, filling each one almost full, then sprinkle the top of each cup with a few more mini chocolate chips. Place the muffin pan in the freezer for an hour.
Remove the pan from the freezer and pop each bite out with a knife. Stack the banana ice cream bites in a freezer safe container with a lid, placing parchment paper between each layer of bites to keep them from sticking together.
When ready to eat, remove however many bites you want from the freezer container and let set out for a few minutes before eating.

Notes
Store bites in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Peach and Blackberry Swirl Frozen Yogurt
Prep Time: 5 m Cook Time: 1 h 23 m chilling time: 4 h Total Time: 5 h 28 m Servings: 8-½ cup servings


Ingredients

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
2¼ cups whole milk Greek yogurt
¾ cup granulated sugar
4½ teaspoons corn syrup or agave syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons peach jam
1 to 2 tablespoons blackberry jam


Instructions

Combine the heavy cream, yogurt, sugar, syrup, salt and vanilla in a bowl and whisk well to combine and dissolve the sugar.
Refrigerate or chill the mixture over an ice bath until it is very cold.
Transfer the mixture to a pre-chilled ice cream maker and churn into frozen yogurt.
Stir each jam to loosen it up a little. Spread half of the frozen yogurt into a 4-cup rectangular container. Dollop two small spoonfuls of peach jam and two small spoonfuls of blackberry jam over the yogurt. Using a knife or wooden skewer, swirl the jam into the yogurt. Repeat with another layer of the yogurt and the jams. Cover tightly and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Maple Pecan Nice Cream
Prep time 10 mins Total 10 mins Serves: 2

Ingredients

3 bananas, peeled, chopped and frozen
¼ cup milk
1 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Add the frozen bananas and milk to a blender and pulse until super creamy. Add more milk if needed, but not too much or the consistency will be too runny.
Add the maple syrup and 2 Tbsp pecans and pulse a few times.
Pour into a dessert glass and top with remaining pecans.

No-Churn Shark Ice Cream
Total: 5 hr 20 min (includes freezing time) Active: 20 min Yield: 12 servings


Ingredients

One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Pinch fine salt
1 teaspoon sky blue gel food coloring
2 cups cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon assorted blue and green candies, plus more for serving
Gummy sand sharks, for garnish

Directions

Special equipment: a 9-by-5-by-3-inch metal loaf pan; a long wooden skewer

Freeze a 9-by-5-by-3-inch metal loaf pan until chilled.
Whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla and salt in a medium bowl. Transfer half to another medium bowl and stir in the blue food coloring. Set aside.
Whip the cream in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until firm peaks form, about 2 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of whipped cream to each bowl of the condensed milk mixture and fold with separate rubber spatulas until combined. Divide the remaining whipped cream evenly between the bowls and fold to combine.
Use separate ice cream scoops or large spoons to drop scoops of each mixture into the chilled loaf pan, alternating between the colors. Drag a long wooden skewer through the mixture to swirl the colors, making sure the skewer reaches down to the bottom of the pan. Top with the candies. Cover and freeze until solid and scoopable, at least 5 hours and up to overnight.
Scoop the ice cream into serving dishes or cones and top with more candies and shark gummies before serving.

No-Churn Cotton Candy Ice Cream
Prep Time: 15 minutes Chilling: 2 hours Total Time: 15 minutes Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups whipping cream 35% heavy cream
1-10 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pouch cotton candy-flavored frosting mix can use a couple drops of liquid cotton candy flavoring
Red and blue food dye
Sprinkles

Instructions

Line a baking pan with parchment paper – unless you are using a glass container.
Whip the whipping cream for 4 minutes until it appears fluffy and cloud-like.
Stir in the vanilla and sweetened condensed milk and then separate into two bowls.
Using your food dye, dye one bowl of the ice cream pink and the other bowl light blue.
Fold the pink ice cream into the loaf pan. Smooth down with a spoon or spatula.
Drop spoonfuls of the blue ice cream randomly over the pink ice cream, and then use the spoon to swirl it in.
Freeze for 2 hours or overnight.
Scoop and serve!

(unknown to me when I set this up, today is National Avocado Day)



Avocado Ice Cream
Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Low Sodium Vegan
Active 10 m Ready In 1 h 40 m 8 servings

Ingredients

1½ cups avocado puree (see Tip), from about 3 ripe large avocados
1½ cups water
1⅓ cups sugar
¼ cup lime juice
⅓ cup tequila
Lime zest for garnish

Preparation
After making avocado puree, add water, sugar, lime juice and tequila to the food processor with 1½ cups of the puree; pulse until well combined. Refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour or overnight. Transfer the avocado mixture to the canister of an ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. If desired, place the ice cream in the freezer to firm up before serving. Garnish with lime zest, if desired.

Make Ahead Tip: Prepare through Step 1 up to 1 day in advance. Store ice cream, airtight, in the freezer for up to 1 week.

Equipment: Ice cream maker

Tip: To make avocado puree, peel and pit 3 ripe large avocados and process in a food processor until smooth. Measure out 1½ cups for the ice cream. Reserve any extra for another use.

Nutrition information
Serving size: ½ cup
Per serving: 224 calories; 6 g fat(1 g sat); 3 g fiber; 38 g carbohydrates; 1 g protein; 37 mcg folate; 0 mg cholesterol; 34 g sugars; 34 g added sugars; 68 IU vitamin A; 7 mg vitamin C; 8 mg calcium; 0 mg iron; 5 mg sodium; 225 mg potassium
Carbohydrate Servings: 2½
Exchanges: 2½ other carbohydrates, 1 fat

Corn Ice Cream
MAKES: 8 servings TOTAL TIME: Prep: 40 min. + chilling Process: 15 min. + freezing

Ingredients

2 cups 2% milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 can (14-3/4 ounces) cream-style corn
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large heavy saucepan, heat the milk, sugar and syrup until bubbles form around sides of pan. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly.
Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160°. Quickly transfer to a bowl; place in ice water and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in corn and vanilla. Press waxed paper onto surface of custard. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Strain custard, discarding corn. Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. When ice cream is frozen, transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving. Yield: 4 cups.

Fudge Ice Cream Tacos with Banana Peanut Salsa.
Prep time: 45 MINUTES + 6 HOURS FOR FREEZING/CHILLING cook time: 25 MINUTES total time: 1 HOUR 10 MINUTES + 6 HOURS FOR FREEZING/CHILLING yields: 12 ICE CREAM TACOS

Ingredients

Tres Leches Coconut and Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream***
8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup full fat coconut milk or heavy cream
2 (14 ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cinnamon stick (or ½-1 teaspoon cinnamon)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon coconut rum (optional)

Tacos
6 corn tortillas
Canola oil for frying
Granulated sugar, for sprinkling
12 ounces (about 2 cups) semi-sweet or milk chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Banana Salsa
2 firm, but ripe bananas, diced
¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
¼ cup toasted shredded coconut

Instructions

* Ice Cream
Add the chocolate and ½ cup coconut milk to a small sauce pan and set over low heat. Heat, stirring often until the chocolate is smooth and melted. Watch closely as you do not want the chocolate to burn. Once the chocolate is melted, remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Place in the fridge until firm, about 1 hour. Once the chocolate fudge is hard, remove it from the fridge and roll the fudge into half teaspoon size balls. Keep in the fridge until ready to add to the ice cream. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 cans coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon stick, vanilla, and coconut rum in a medium size sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a low boil and then simmer 15 minutes or until just slightly thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl, cover and place in the fridge until cool, about 2 hour hours or 30-45 minutes in the freezer, stirring often to prevent freezing.
* Tacos
To fry the shells, heat 1-2 inches of oil over medium heat in a skillet. Carefully add half of the tortilla (folded into a taco shape) and fry until golden (you will need to hold up the tortilla half the entire time using tongs.). Using tongs, carefully flip the tortilla to fry the other side until golden (continue holding the free edge to maintain the shape). Remove from skillet. I have found it helpful to take an old 1 inch thick book and slightly open it with the pages fanning down and the binding up. Then balance the taco shell on the binding until set. Repeat, placing second taco shell on top of the last to drain oil and set. Hopefully you can get 2 sets on top of your binding. It should only take a few minutes for the taco shells to dry and set. Next, sprinkle the tacos generously with granulated sugar. These can be stored in a bag with piece of tin foil wedged into the shells to help them hold their shape for a day or two.**Once the milk mixture is cool, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Fold in the chocolate fudge chunks. Grab your taco shells and fill each shell about ¾ the way full with ice cream. Place in an inverted cupcake tin to help the tacos stand upright. Freeze for 4-6 hours. To make the chocolate shell, combine the chopped chocolate and coconut oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until chocolate is almost melted. Remove from heat and stir until completely melted and smooth. Allow to cool 15-20 minutes before dipping the tacos. Once the tacos are frozen, dip them into the chocolate shell and quickly sprinkle with chopped peanuts or toasted coconut. Return to the freezer for 5 minutes or until ready to serve. Before serving, top each taco with banana salsa (below).
* Banana Salsa
Combine the bananas, peanuts and coconut in a bowl. Toss well. Serve immediately with the tacos.

***To make the ice cream without an ice cream maker, follow the directions through making the chocolate fudge balls. Then add 1 can of COLD full-fat canned coconut milk (drain off the coconut water from the top of the can before adding to the bowl, reserve the water for another use) and 1 ½ cups COLD heavy cream to a large bowl. Beat on high speed until whipped. Gently fold in 1 can sweetened condensed milk, ½-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (start with a ½ teaspoon, taste and add more if desired), 1 tablespoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon coconut rum until evenly combined. Fill tacos as directed above.