Stir Crazy: Ice cream stars in loaf and brownie cones
It really doesn’t matter whether it’s January or July, I want ice cream. I could eat it every day.
Good ice cream, though, not ice milk or anything “low” this or that. Honest to goodness, full-fat ice cream. A small cup makes me happy and I don’t feel guilty about the amount.
I’ve spent the winter waiting for White Cottage in Belleville to open. That happened Monday. I was there, ready to peruse the menu and see what flavors of homemade ice creams were on the menu.
So, I have ice cream on the brain, but the good kind; not the brain-freeze kind. The kind where I start looking for recipes that use ice cream, because it’s really too soon to start thinking of making it at home. That really should wait until June!
What I found was a really cool recipe that uses ice cream to make bread. How great is that? Make sure to use full-fat ice cream for best results.
The second recipe came via a friend who helped throw a birthday party for her niece’s 7-year-old daughter. Since the girl’s birthday is in January, they built a just-for-fun theme around summer and turned ice cream cones into a delightful dessert that was only slightly drippy.
Contact me at sboyle@bnd.com, 618-239-2664 and follow me on Twitter @BoyleSuzanne. Write to 120 S. Illinois St., P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427.
Ice Cream Loaf
2 cups (1 pint) of your favorite ice cream, softened on counter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour*
1 tablespoon sugar
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch pan. (up to 9-by-5 pans will work).
In a mixing bowl, mix together the softened ice cream and the self-rising flour, until combined. Do not over mix, just until combined.
Using a spatula, pour into pan and smooth out the top with the spatula. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
Remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack.
Tips: Don’t try to use a low-fat or low-sugar/no-sugar ice cream. Neither the results nor the flavor will be the same.
The bolder the ice cream flavor, the tastier the bread. With that said, also expect more of a bread-like flavor than a sweet cake-like flavor. It’s best served warm from the oven.
Enhance the flavor with mix-in ingredients such as M&Ms, peanut butter cups, sprinkles, nuts, dried fruit, or add a little bump in flavor with an extract.
*To make your own self-rising flour, for every 1 cup of flour add, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
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Brownie Ice Cream Cones
Brownie mix with all needed ingredients
24 ice cream cake cones (about 3 inches tall)
24 scoops ice cream
Colored sprinkles
Mix up the brownie batter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place the ice cream cones in muffin cups; fill cones half full with batter. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until brownies are set on top and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs; do not overbake. Cool completely.
Just before serving, top each with a scoop of ice cream and garnish with sprinkles. Yield: 2 dozen.
This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 6:07 AM with the headline "Stir Crazy: Ice cream stars in loaf and brownie cones."