Un-fried, "Fried" Ice Cream

I got together with the girls last week for another yummy dinner.  Mexican was the menu and I was in charge of dessert this time.  I had fried ice cream for the very first time not too long ago at a fantastic restaurant here in Cleveland called Momocho.  It is crispy, sweet, and although fried, the ice cream is still super cold and totally frozen.  It's a fun concept!  I wanted to try recreating the dessert tonight, but thought maybe I could make something similar without the added fat that frying would give.  I found this recipe at Christie Jordan's blog, Southern Plate.  It was so yummy and couldn't be easier!  We all loved the sweet and crunchy cereal topping paired with the french vanilla ice cream.  I totally sprinkled extra cruchies on my ice cream once I ate the rest off- it was the best part!  

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Unfried Fried Ice Cream
from Southern Plate

Container Vanilla Ice cream
3 Cups Honey and Oats Cereal*
3 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoons cinnamon

Scoop frozen ice cream out onto waxed paper lined baking sheets and place in freezer for at least an hour, or until hardened.

During that time, place cereal in gallon zipper bag and crush. Melt butter in microwave and stir in sugar and cinnamon, pour into bag with cereal and seal. Knead with hands until well mixed. Pour out onto lined baking sheet and place in oven at 350 just until toasted, about five minutes. Keep close watch as cereal will burn easily. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Roll hardened ice cream balls in mixture, pressing lightly as you do so. Place coated ice cream in 9×13 dish and return to freezer or serve immediately.

For serving, drizzle with honey and top with whipped cream and a cherry.

*Can also use corn flakes or cereal of your choice. Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc.
Yields about ten scoops of ice cream.

Kitchen Tip of the Day- How to Make an Iced Coffee or Enjoy Fresh Brewed Iced Tea at Home..... without melting your ice

When the summer months come around, aside from a nice "adult" cocktail there isn't much I want more then a wonderfully icy cold Iced Coffee with lots of milk or a glass of Fresh Brewed Iced Tea (no instant for me!)  The only problem is the heat factor.  Did you ever wonder how to make one of these at home without watering down your beverage or having to wait forever until it cools down enough to not melt your ice cubes?

When I mentioned my little trick to some friends the other night, they said right away I needed to share it on here.  It's quite simple really, and only uses one little piece of equipment-  One metal teaspoon.  Yep, that's it!

sorry about the spill... it is tricky to pour and take a picture at the same time...haha

Fill your glass all the way to the top with ice cubes.  Stick a metal teaspoon into your glass of ice.  Slowly pour your hot coffee or tea into the glass.  Metals are the best thermal conductors, because of this all of the heat from the beverage will be attracted to the spoon, leaving your ice cubes mostly in tact and will quickly cool down your once hot beverage.  Remove the spoon and enjoy!

Soft and Chewy Trail Mix Cookies

What an exciting weekend this past one was!  Early Saturday morning my beautiful sister gave birth to my very first nephew!  As with many births, especially those that begin with an induction, was a very long process.  Baby Neil was just so comfy in there he wasn't sure he was ready to come out.  So all day Friday and well into the early morning on Saturday my brother in law, my parents and I waited patiently for his grand arrival at the hospital.  Lots of magazines, chit chat, fidgeting and of course bad vending machine food helped pass the time.  I tried to make a good decision, but after 10 hours of hospital lighting it was increasingly difficult.  There were these cookies by Sunmade that sounded super yummy. They were Trail Mix Cookies, crunchy little cookies full of all the great stuff you would find  in a bag of trail mix.  Although they tasted great, they were anything but healthy.  So once I got home I was determined to recreate these guys in a more healthful way.

These cookies are pretty healthy, replacing the fat with applesauce, using only egg whites and full of lots of stuff to bump up your energy level but also satisfy those mid-day cravings.  They remind me a ton of a granola bar, but the nice thing is that they are small so there isn't a big commitment that a whole bar has.  You get to eat a cookie and not feel too bad afterwards.  Nice trade off!

I think I will be playing around with the recipe, replacing some of the brown sugar with white sugar to give more of the "crunch" that I like in a cookie.  But this recipe is definitely a keeper.

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Soft and Chewy Trail Mix Cookies
makes 3 dozen cookies
recipe adapted from allrecipes

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup sweetened coconut
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with silpats, parchment paper or grease with nonstick cooking spray.

Beat applesauce, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl, use an electric mixer to beat egg whites until they are frothy and begin to firm up. Fold egg whites into applesauce mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold into the egg mixture. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut and raisins. Drop by heaping teaspoons on prepared baking sheets.  These cookies don't spread out at all remaining in a mound after baking.  If you would rather have a flatter cookie, press down lightly with greased finger tips.

Bake cookies in preheated oven until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool.

I linked up!