Dessert, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Snacks, Summer

national ice cream month: strawberry + chocolate ice cream drumsticks

DID YOU KNOW? JULY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM MONTH! TO CELEBRATE, AND TO BEAT THE HEAT, I’LL BE BRINGING YOU RECIPES FOR FROSTY, SWEET TREATS ALL MONTH LONG! FROM POPSICLES WITH AN UNEXPECTED INGREDIENT, TO A FROSTY LITTLE ICE CREAM CAKE, STICK AROUND CAUSE THIS MONTH’S SURE TO BE TASTY! What’s better on a hot summer day than an ice cream cone, you might ask? … Continue reading national ice cream month: strawberry + chocolate ice cream drumsticks

AmandaJuly 19, 2015September 13, 2015Leave a comment

Dessert, Drinks, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Summer, Sweet

chocolate cherry soda, two ways

Most of you may not know this, but I was an art major in college. At the end of every quarter, each student’s work was offered up for critique by our fellow classmates. We would have been toiling for weeks on our projects, trying to inject meaning and substance along the way, and then on the day the projects were due, each student would get to present … Continue reading chocolate cherry soda, two ways

AmandaMay 31, 2015September 13, 2015Leave a comment

Cookies, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Holidays, Snacks, Sweet

s’mores ice cream sandwiches (you’re killing me, smalls!)

What comes to mind when you think of your childhood summers? Maybe going swimming with your friends, staying up late (cause hey, school’s out!), barbecues, family trips to the beach? I grew up in rural southern Arizona so I didn’t have a lot of options as a kid when it came to fun summer activities. Most often, I think of summers depicted in movies, and no movie better captured that ideal childhood summer than The Sandlot.

How could you have a better summer than these kids? New friends, plenty of baseball, chasing your crush, fireworks on the 4th of July and neighborhood block parties with the smell of grilled hot dogs in the air — summertime perfection. The Sandlot was a favorite of mine as a kid, and I still love it 21 years after it came out. It’s a classic summertime movie!

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AmandaJune 29, 2014September 13, 20153 Comments

Dessert, Drinks, Frozen Treats, Summer, Sweet

sparkling cider floats with caramel sauce

Hello there, lovely readers! I apologize for my absence, life got a little hectic with the start of my new job. You forgive me, right? How about if I make you one of these sparkling cider floats? Psst… homemade caramel is also involved.

It’s about this time of year that I start getting antsy for Fall weather. According to the calendar, we’ve still got almost a week left of Spring, but you wouldn’t know it here. Warm mornings give way to blazing hot days, and uncomfortably gross nights. It’s a paradise, I’ll tell you what. I’ve lived in AZ for my whole life and somehow, the summer heat still takes me by surprise. So I got to thinking — what could I create that would combine the refreshing qualities of summertime with the warm, sweet, crisp flavors of Fall? Sparkling cider floats to the rescue!

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AmandaJune 16, 2014September 13, 20152 Comments

Dessert, Fall, Food Events, Frozen Treats, Holidays, Sweet, Winter

roasted pistachio ice cream

Several weeks back, Local First Arizona hosted their 4th annual Fall Fest in downtown Phoenix. It was a wonderful day filled with local food vendors and craftspeople from around the valley. My friend Dusty joined me, and together we got to sample lots of great local food and check out plenty of other awesomeness (like some amazing handmade, vegan and organic soap from Strawberry Hedgehog!). One of the food samples that stood out to me was the pistachio gelato from Grateful Spoon. Up until then, the only pistachio ice cream of any type I’d ever had was the passable version from Ben & Jerry’s. Grateful Spoon’s gelato was thick and rich, with none of the overabundance of almond flavoring so often added to pistachio products. It was chock full of little bits of roasted pistachios, so their flavor was front and center. I knew after I tasted it that I wanted to make my own at home!

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AmandaDecember 18, 2013September 13, 2015Leave a comment

Dessert, Fall, Frozen Treats, Fruit, Summer, Sweet

peach pie ice cream

Well, it’s September now.

Summer as we know it is officially over and everyone’s back to school and back to work. If Pinterest is any indication, one would think that Fall has already begun. Pumpkin fudge! Pumpkin brownies! Drill holes in a pumpkin to make it look like a lantern! And let’s not forget, the sacred and holy pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. God help us, it’s already in stores!

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AmandaSeptember 11, 2013September 13, 2015Leave a comment

Cookies, Dessert, Frozen Treats, Holidays, Macarons, Snacks, Summer, Sweet

firecracker macarons!

Happy birthday, America! I made you some macarons. I hope you like them!

Is there any dessert more trying to a baker’s patience than the elusive French macaron? I’ve made them about 8 times in the past 3 years to varying degrees of success. This recipe comes from the always lovely Tartelette, a recipe that I’ve used a few times and decided to come back to for this 4th of July treat. I’ve tried other recipes, and while some of them have worked beautifully, others have been a sad disappointment. I find myself glued to the glass door of my oven while these little beauties are baking, holding my breath until I see the first signs of feet forming (“pieds“, if you want to be fancy, the little ruffly/bubbly edges at the bottom). The first time I made these and got feet to form, I literally jumped up and down in my kitchen, no joke.

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AmandaJune 29, 2013September 13, 20156 Comments

Dessert, Frozen Treats, Summer, Sweet

lemon-strawberry ice cream

Recently, my roommate brought home a bunch of lemons from a co-worker’s lemon tree. These lemons were HUGE. Like grapefruit-sized, huge.

Since there were so many, I wasn’t quite sure how to utilize them. I solicited ideas, and was met with suggestions for lemon pound cake, homemade limoncello, lemon bars, you name it. Even with all these lovely ideas swirling around in my head, I always have a weakness for ice cream, and I’m one of those crazy people who could eat ice cream even in the dead of winter. Thankfully it’s not that cold where I live, so ice cream can always been in season! When life gives you lemons, you make a whole bunch of lemon-strawberry ice cream! Well, you do if you’re me.

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