summer

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | www.somethingswanky.com

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe

It’s Ice Cream Week on Something Swanky and Crazy for Crust!*

Click the links above to see all of our fun ice cream recipes from this week.

***Originally posted in July 2014

 

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | somethingswanky.com

I’ve mentioned before that my husband isn’t a big fan of mix-in type ice cream places (like Coldstone). He’ll eat there if I make him go (I mean, it is ice cream, after all). But then, as we’re driving past the Baskin Robbins on our way home, he’ll heave a not-so-subtle sigh and gaze longingly at the rear-view mirror.

I determined that our difference in opinion over ice cream shops is really the difference between liking hard or soft ice cream. He prefers hard scooped, I’d rather have something more along the lines of ice cream soup. I dunno… he’s probably in the majority there. But I can’t help it– I love soft, mushy ice cream full of big candy chunks and hot fudge.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | somethingswanky.com

However, he has totally turned me on to Baskin Robbins’ Chocolate Chip and Mint Chocolate Chip ice creams.

Because….. ohemgee.

I am so in love with the way their “chocolate chips” aren’t really chocolate chips at all. Instead, it’s full of a thin pieces of brittle chocolate that ribbon throughout the ice cream. And it takes chocolate chip ice cream to an amazing new level.

Just like the Stracciatella I mentioned last week, Baskin Robbins-style chocolate chip ice cream is achieved in the same way– by pouring chocolate (or in this case, Homemade Magic Shell) into the ice cream during the last 5 minutes of churning.

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Copycat Recipe | somethingswanky.com

This Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is SO easy and so yummy. Mint is one of my husband’s favorite ice cream flavors, but you could easily make this regular old chocolate chip ice cream by simply omitting the peppermint extract!

I use this Cuisinart ICE-21 Ice Cream Maker to make churned ice cream, and far I’ve loved it. It’s pretty inexpensive (only $49!), easy to use, and makes delicious ice cream in about 20-30 minutes. I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a simple, day-to-day use ice cream machine.

Enjoy!

Horchata is THE drink to make this summer! It combines rice, almonds, cinnamon, and a little natural stevia for a refreshing, family-friendly summer drink.

Horchata Recipe

Horchata is THE drink to make this summer! It combines rice, almonds, cinnamon, and a little natural stevia for a refreshing, family-friendly summer drink.

This post is brought to you by Wholesome Organic® Stevia.

Horchata is THE drink to make this summer! It combines rice, almonds, cinnamon, and a little natural stevia for a refreshing, family-friendly summer drink.

Hands up if you’re ready for summer vacation?! We SO are.

More than anything, I can’t wait for lazy summer afternoons that don’t involve waking up my napping toddler to rush out the door and drive 25 minutes to get to carpool. It may not sound very glamorous, but it’s what I’m looking forward to the most. Hands down.

Horchata is THE drink to make this summer! It combines rice, almonds, cinnamon, and a little natural stevia for a refreshing, family-friendly summer drink.

Speaking of lazy summer afternoons.. I can’t think of a better way to spend one than poolside with an ice cold glass of homemade horchata in hand.

And by poolside, I obviously mean the little round, plastic, blue monstrosity in my backyard that currently holds as many popsicle wrappers and dirt piles as it does actual “pool water.” But whatever.

Horchata is THE drink to make this summer! It combines rice, almonds, cinnamon, and a little natural stevia for a refreshing, family-friendly summer drink.

Back to ice cold homemade horchata.

Have you ever had horchata? And have you ever made horchata? I was shocked at how easy the entire process is. Really, the most important part is just remembering that you’ll need to start about 12 hours ahead of when you actually want to serve it.

Which isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Just start soaking the rice and almonds before you go to bed. By the time you wake up, here’s what you’ll have left to do:

Blend everything up.

And strain out the pulp. All you really need is a sieve and a cheesecloth. I actually didn’t even use a cheesecloth– I used a flour sack towel that I always have on hand. It does the job just as well.

This is what my setup looked like:

As you can see, I simply placed the cloth over the my pitcher and placed the sieve over it.

As I went through the straining process, things moved around a little bit, but nothing major changed. I eventually liked holding the sieve in my hand better than fitting into the top of the pitcher. And I actually switched to a slightly bigger sieve as well.

Overall, it was SUPER easy. Much more doable than I ever knew horchata could be!

One of the best things about making your own horchata is that you can control the sweetener. Instead of using regular sugar (you’d need about 1/2 a cup in this recipe!), I used 3/4 tsp of Wholesome Organic® Stevia.

Stevia has always been kind of a hit or miss thing for me. I really can’t tolerate most brands, quite honestly. But Wholesome Organic® Stevia doesn’t have that bitter aftertaste that a lot of other stevia sweeteners do. It has no calories and no glycemic impact, which makes it great for people who are watching their calorie intake or controlling blood sugars.

Horchata is THE drink to make this summer! It combines rice, almonds, cinnamon, and a little natural stevia for a refreshing, family-friendly summer drink.

It’s important to remember that stevia does not equal sugar cup for cup. You can use a LOT less stevia when subbing for sugar. I like about a teaspoon of Wholesome Organic® Stevia for every half cup of sugar. I think you have to play around with it a little, just to find out what YOU like best.

Enjoy this recipe (be poolside or otherwise ;)!

And be sure to visit Wholesome Organic® Stevia to say hi and grab a coupon.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

Super Skinny Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie Recipe

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

I’m going to be really honest with you… the weight loss thing isn’t really my strong suit in life. I haven’t quite cracked the code on that one.

Do I love Weight Watchers? You betcha.

I love to exercise too, believe it or not.

And I can whip up healthier versions of dessert recipes all day long (like Skinny Chocolate Donuts, Skinny Brownie Batter Dip, and Banana Pancakes).

But when it comes to actually dropping the pounds… not so much.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

However, I fully anticipate that I will one day eat my way through enough Halo Top Ice Cream to discover that it’s finally made me skinny.

At least that’s what I tell my husband every time I spend 5.99 on a pint ????.

Good man that he is, I never actually see him roll his eyes.

35 whopping grams of protein in this smoothie (with no powders), and it tastes like a milkshake!

Anyway. The point that I’m trying to make here is… I may not be very good at the actual losing of the weight. But I’m very, very good at breakfast on day one of a new diet. Ahem, er, “lifestyle change.” ????

Side note: how irritating is it that no one is allowed to “diet” anymore. The PC way to say diet these days is, “lifestyle change.” But… what if I just want to lose 30 pounds? Do I really have to change my mindset and my pantry for the rest of forever. Is that really totally necessary?? Is it???? *hysterics*

But back to breakfast on day one…

How about a ridiculously decadent smoothie WITH 35 FREAKING GRAMS OF PROTEIN that tastes like peanut butter cups? Works for me.

Enjoy!

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

Ice Cream in a Bag Recipe

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

Oh man, you guys! I can’t believe I haven’t posted this recipe yet!!

It’s practically pumpkin season (which I’m late posting for every year as it is), and here I am with two summer-y ice cream recipes left to post. Sometimes I just get so obsessed with making more and more and more recipes, that I forget what I’ve already got on hand. ???? *palm to the head*

Anyway. I don’t want to delay sharing this recipe any longer with you guys, so I’m going to jump on in!

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

Making homemade ice cream was on our bucket list for this summer, but I kept forgetting to put the ice cream canister in the freezer. And I knew the overnight recipe wouldn’t fly with this kid, because… you know. We’d have to wait. ????

But I’m glad we didn’t go that route, because we had so much fun making this ice cream in a bag recipe! Plus, it is absolutely DELICIOUS. I was really pleasantly surprised at how good this ice cream is. I mean… it’s cream and sugar, so how bad can it be, right? But still, I had kind of assumed it might be a little runny or a little icy or a little…. something or other.

But it actually turned out just right. Like, perfect-o.

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

So how does this magic work? Well, let me tell you all about it!

First, you need some basic ingredients:

✓ Half & half

✓ Sugar

✓ Vanilla extract

✓ Ice

✓ Rock salt (not much)

✓ Gallon sized zip top bags

✓ Toppings

✓ Little helping hands to shake the bag!

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

You’ll mix together the cream (half & half), sugar, and vanilla and pour it all into a bag– zip that up tight! Then you’ll put that bag into another bag filled with the ice and rock salt (and I’d suggest double bagging here).

And then…. shake, shake, shake, shake!

For 10 whole minutes. You can even play a game of hot potato and toss the bag to each other, which is what we ended up doing, to keep your hands from freezing!

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

 

Voila! Open the bag, scrape down the sides, and like magic… perfect homemade ice cream in less than 10 minutes without an ice cream machine! (unless you count child labor as a machine… which I don’t ????).

Add toppings and dig in!

No ice cream maker required! All you need is ice, rock salt, and a few simple ingredients to shake up inside a bag. A perfect recipe for kids!

Hopefully it’s still warm enough and summer enough wherever you are that you can enjoy a little more homemade ice cream.

I’ve got one more summer-y ice cream recipe coming your way this week, and then hello!  all-things-pumpkin and velvety rich cakes and Thanksgiving pies!

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Recipe

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

We DEVOURED this bread. Inhaled it.

Like… it didn’t even last two days. It barely stuck around past the 24 hour mark.

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

It’s incredibly moist thanks to THREE CUPS of zucchini and the brown sugar.

And can you see how shiny the chocolate chips are? That’s my favorite part. In both banana bread and zucchini bread, I love how the moisture seeps into the chocolate chips creating a little chocolate “bubble” around each chip. I know I’m not doing a great job describing this, but you know what I’m talking about right?

I don’t know why, but that just gets me every time. ????

Nothing beats a thick slice of super moist chocolate chip zucchini bread smothered in butter.

Now, I’m no nutritional expert…. ahem, clearly ????… but I figure all the green veggies here make this bread a pretty square meal. Who’s with me?!

Enjoy a thick slice of this delicious zucchini bread warm or day-old, smothered in butter, with a tall glass of milk. You’ll be in heaven!

These moist and ultra fudgy chocolate zucchini muffins are so good. You'll never believe they're full of vegetables!

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Recipe

These moist and ultra fudgy chocolate zucchini muffins are so good. You’ll never believe they’re full of vegetables!

These moist and ultra fudgy chocolate zucchini muffins are so good. You'll never believe they're full of vegetables!

My CJ is a muffin fiend. It is the only bread I can get him to eat. He won’t touch sandwich bread, buttery soft rolls, fluffy buttermilk pancakes… turns up his nose at all of it.

Don’t ask me how he knows the difference between a muffin and a cupcake, but he does. And apparently the appeal of the cupcake doesn’t even come close to how he feels about muffins. I guess I should feel pretty good about that… but really it just makes me wonder, is he really mine??

I suppose the 25 hours of grueling labor it took to bring him into the world should be enough proof, but his carb snobbery seriously has me questioning things.

These moist and ultra fudgy chocolate zucchini muffins are so good. You'll never believe they're full of vegetables!

These muffins take a big step toward bringing our two worlds together, because these chocolate zucchini muffins really are BETTER than cupcakes. They are ridiculously soft, so fudgy, and utterly indulgent.

You’d never believe that there’s a cup and a half of shredded veggies in there.

So sneaky! ????

My other secret ingredient? Pudding mix!

You know how it makes cakes crazy stupid soft and moist? It does the same thing in muffins.

These moist and ultra fudgy chocolate zucchini muffins are so good. You'll never believe they're full of vegetables!

Did I mention that these freeze really well? They do! So when you’re up to your eyeballs in zucchini this summer, make a double (or triple!) batch of these to stash in the freezer. And just set them out at room temp to thaw when you are ready to dig in.

Enjoy!

Fudgy chocolate brownie bites layered in cool, creamy peanut butter mousse. You won't believe how good this is and how easy it is to make!!

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifles Recipe

Fudgy chocolate brownie bites layered in cool, creamy peanut butter mousse. You won’t believe how good this is and how easy it is to make!!

Fudgy chocolate brownie bites layered in cool, creamy peanut butter mousse. You won't believe how good this is and how easy it is to make!!

I’m all about the easy in the summer time, let me tell you.

Part of me kind of thought that summer might be a little easier than the school year. I mean, I knew it would be challenging having both kids home all day every day. But I guess I still thought that just maybe I would feel like I had more hours in the day to get stuff done.

Since I figured the days would feel longer and all.

Turns out, I was part right. And part so, so, so very wrong. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this… the days are NEVER ENDING. Never, ever ending. And yet somehow, there don’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

WTH? If someone figures that math out, let me know.

Fudgy chocolate brownie bites layered in cool, creamy peanut butter mousse. You won't believe how good this is and how easy it is to make!!

In the meantime, I’m doing lots of quick-and-easy around here. I average cooking a real meal about once a week. Cleaning just doesn’t get done. And I let the kids pretty much rule the roost all day.

Seriously. As I sit here and type, I can see a (LARGE) milk puddle in the carpet that I haven’t sponged up since lunch time (that’s gonna be fun), CJ is rubbing in applesauce on the rug at my feet, clothes and knick knacks and what nots litter every inch of living space as far as the eye can see, my empty fast food cup of soda is leaving a water ring on the table to my left, and there’s a sticky bottle of infant’s Ibuprofen stuck to a book on my right. I still don’t know what we’re having for dinner, Chris will be home in about 15 minutes, and then I’m leaving for a baby shower.

I’m not complaining. But at some point… the situation does become comical.

So when it comes to prepping recipes for the blog? It’s gotta be EASY. We’re talking the minimum amount of effort here.

Fudgy chocolate brownie bites layered in cool, creamy peanut butter mousse. You won't believe how good this is and how easy it is to make!!

And friends, it does NOT get any easier than this recipe for Peanut Butter Brownie Parfaits.

You’ll need pudding mix, peanut butter, Cool Whip, and milk for the mousse part. And you’ll layer that with brownie bites (home baked or store bought, box mix or from scratch, my recipe or yours, WHATEVER) and chocolate chips.

Guys, this recipe is the very definitely of minimal effort. And it’s SO GOOD. And it looks so fancy too. People will never know that you whipped this up whilst standing in a pile of smushed grapes and animal crackers in your yoga pants!

…not that I did that or anything. ????