Because who doesn’t love an ice cream sandwich?! Especially on on a hot summer day!

You can make homemade vanilla ice cream.

Or you can simply swirl fresh raspberries and lemon zest into a tub of store bought ice cream.

Then once you sandwich it between two Lemon Crinkle Cookies you’ll be transported into summer thyme heaven!

Have you made homemade ice cream in a ziplock bag? It’s super easy and so much fun! You just need a few ingredients. Coarse salt or rock salt with ice in a gallon ziplock. Cream, sugar, and vanilla in a quart ziplock.

Then there’s a whole lot of shaking! You’ll be surprised by the creamy texture too! I know you’ll love it!

Through trial and error, I found it well worth an hour to individually freeze the ice cream ahead of time. Simply line ramekins in plastic wrap and fill with slightly softened ice cream. Pop in the freezer for an hour. This firms it up nicely!

I found the perfect Lemon Crinkle Cookie recipe over at Lauren’s Latest. They were absolutely delicious for these yummy ice cream sandwiches.

The simple lemon dough is rolled in powdered sugar before baking giving the final cookies their signature crinkle. These cookies are wonderful on their own with a light bright lemon flavor. But when you fill raspberry lemonade ice cream between them they are pure happiness.

I made enough cookies to make 12 ice cream sandwiches. Although we gave it an honest try we weren’t able to eat them all that night.

Have no worries.

They freeze beautifully so you can enjoy them all week long!

What’s your favorite summer time treat? I’d love for you to comment below. Your feedback is so important to me (and keeps me seriously motivated). Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook!

xo Libby

Print

Raspberry Lemonade Ice Cream Sandwiches

The simple lemon dough is rolled in powdered sugar before baking giving the final cookies their signature crinkle. These cookies are wonderful on their own with a light bright lemon flavor. But when you sandwich raspberry lemonade ice cream between them they are pure happiness.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 11 minutes minutes

Freezer Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12

Ingredients

For Ice Cream

• 2 pints vanilla ice cream
• 6 ounces fresh raspberries
• zest of one lemon

For Lemon Crinkle Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter softened to room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg
• zest of one lemon
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar for rolling cookie dough

Instructions

For Ice Cream

• Soften vanilla ice cream slightly and swirl in raspberries and lemon zest. Line up to 12 ramekins with plastic wrap. Spoon about 1/2 cup of ice cream into each and cover with edges of plastic wrap. Freeze for 1 hour.

For Lemon Crinkle Cookies

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cream butter and sugar together with a mixer until fluffy about 3 minutes. Add in vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice and beat until well combined. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Roll dough into 24 equal sized balls. Place powdered sugar into a bowl. Roll each dough ball in powdered sugar then place on prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes until bottoms just start to turn golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. Cool completely before using for ice cream sandwiches.

For Raspberry Lemonade Ice Cream Sandwiches

• Remove ice cream filled ramekins from freezer. Lift out plastic wrap (run bottom of ramekin under hot water for a few seconds if necessary). Sandwich ice cream between two lemon crinkle cookies. Serve immediately or wrap in plastic and return to freezer. Best if eaten within two weeks. Enjoy!

The post Raspberry Lemonade Ice Cream Sandwiches Kids Love appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Root Beer.

I asked a simple question to the other B in my life earlier this week.  I wasn’t quite expecting her response.  “How do you feel about Root Beer?”  Hands to the face, audible OMGosh, I LOOOVE Root Beer…YES! omg, omg, omg.

Check!  This girl is crazy for root beer.  I had a plan of how to celebrate my dear friend’s birthday.  Until that moment.

It’s fairly well documented that Bethany and I are ‘eating right and exercising.’  We are NOT on a diet.  Bad word.  My work B-ff.  My Healthy Choices buddy.  My #2015in2015 partner.

My, my, my.  It feels like it’s all about me, but I’m not finished.  She’s my voice of reason/devil’s advocate at the office.  My reason to rally when she needs support.  My go-to pep talk girl.  My I’ll eat cake if you will.  My, I’m climbing the mountain, are you in kind of friend.  She’ll call me out ever so gently (go to the doctor….I’ll make the appointment) and she’ll stand quietly by my side when needed.  I can only hope I’ve been half of the friend she’s been to me.

Over the years I’ve made some special treats to share with her on her birthday.

There was the year I made her favorite, Sweet Tamale Corn Cakes {Cheesecake Factory inspired} and presented them at the office on her birthday.  She gave me a great big hug of approval. A sentimental delivery.

Then came the year I delivered Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Oreos as her birthday cake.  She was quite okay with that.  Hee!!

I can’t recall the exact moment, but sometime earlier last year, undoubtedly while discussing food, out of the blue she said “Hummingbird Cake.”  Can you make me a Hummingbird Cake?  I had never heard of Hummingbird Cake, but wrote it on a piece of paper and filed it in my ‘recipes to try’ folder.  Didn’t think of it again until the week before her birthday.

Presenting Hummingbird Cake.  Aren’t we glad to have discovered this classic recipe.

Over the years, we’ve clearly established some birthday traditions.  Over the past few weeks, she and I have been drooling over Pinterest extreme chocolate peanut butter s’mores bars, coconut (think Almond Joy) brownies, decadent cookies….  Yet, thanks to our WW spiritual leader Sissy….we pulled back and rationalized.

Instead of decadent over the top, today I presented Root Beer two ways.

I asked the initial “Root Beer” question because See’s Lollypops are her favorite and they come in lots of flavors.  I quickly learned that these aren’t your everyday Lollypops.  See’s lollypops hail from LA and have a bit of an exclusive persona. Yep, not available in retail stores in Georgia, at least not on September 18th (they make holiday appearances in malls).

I did a bit of internet research in an effort to procure enough pops to create a Lollypop Tree.  Because who doesn’t want a Lollypop Tree, color coordinated with their office, sitting on their desk, on their birthday?!!

What a fun gift this was to make and present.  I spray painted an inexpensive clay flower pot and Styrofoam ball.  Then pushed the pops through squares of tissue paper and into the Styrofoam ball.  A little ribbon and voila!!

I had one more Root Beer surprise for B.  In lieu of a traditional birthday cake (or even non-traditional cake) we celebrated with Root Beer Floats all-around.  We had a sugar free (2 WW Pts+) and a regular option.  They were deliciously fun!!

~ Root Beer Floats ~

1 bottle favorite Root Beer, diet or regular
1/2 cup or more vanilla ice cream, sugar free or regular

Add ice cream to chilled mugs.
Pour in root beer and be prepared for a foamy overflow.
Sip with straw, eat with spoon.
Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Bethany!!  Hope your day was as beautiful as you are.
xo Libby

The post Root Beer Floats {and a birthday tradition} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

When I discovered today was National Frappe Day I smiled out loud. It’s been years since I’ve had a frappe, yet a familiar fondness remains.  I’ve shared before that I grew up just a corn field away from an iconic New England Ice Cream Shop.  The very place I discovered my love for Dusty Miller Sundaes and Malted Peach Frappes.

~ Frappe vs. Milkshake ~

It wasn’t until today that I realized there was such a debate about Frappes.  Specifically about the difference between a Frappe and a Milkshake.  In New England and to New Englanders a frappe is ice cream, any flavor, blended with just enough milk to make it almost drinkable through a straw.  Where a milkshake is milk blended with flavored syrup, sometimes including ice cream.

Now that I live in Georgia, home of Chick Fil A restaurants, who happen to sell the most amazing Peach Milkshakes each summer, I have come to accept that a milkshake can be very much like a frappe.

~ Frappe vs. Frappé ~

I’ve now learned that there is a second kind of popular frappe or should I say frappé (think French accent).  A frappé is a coffee drink that was accidentally invented in Greece by an employee of the Nestlé company.  Read more about that fun story here.  This coffee drink is hugely popular with loads of recipe variations but definitely not a frappe.

~ Frappe vs. Frappuccino ~

Speaking of coffee drinks, when an ice cream shop in the Boston, MA area combined a frappe with coffee the Frappuccino was born.  Said ice cream shop was later purchased by none other than Starbucks, who promptly trademarked the name Frappuccino.  Leaving Starbucks competitors with no choice but to simply call their Frappuccinos frappes.  Are you still with me?

~ Frappe vs. Malt ~

If I haven’t confused us all enough by now let’s ponder just one more thought.  If a ‘malt’ by definition is a milkshake with malted milk powder, then am I really enjoying a peach malt? And have I completely debunked my entire theory?

Absolutely NOT.  I am simply sipping on a Malted Frappe, made with vanilla ice cream, fresh peaches, malted milk powder and just a splash of milk.  And I am loving it.

Print

Malted Peach Frappe {or is it a Milkshake?}

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 2 Tbl. malted milk powder
• 2 peaches pitted and cubed
• just enough milk to blend smoothly 1 Tbl. at a time
• whipped cream optional

Instructions

• In a blender, combine ice cream, malted milk powder and peaches (reserving a spoonful of pieces to stir in after blending). Blend until creamy, adding 1 Tbl. of milk at a time only if necessary.
• Pour into tall glass, sprinkle with peach pieces and top with whipped cream.

The post Malted Peach Frappe {or is it a Milkshake?} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

It all boils down to this.  When I was 11 I would collect change until I saved up $1.25.  Then it was out the back door, over the stone wall, past the corn fields to Silver Ranch.  I would step up to the window and order a Dusty Miller Sundae.

I first wrote about my Dusty Miller crush two summers ago when I decided to turn it inside out and serve it on a stick.  Fabulous (and sometimes Outrageous) Fair Food Style. That was quite fun and worth checking out here.

My urge to recreate the original Dusty Miller Sundae began yesterday when this container of malted milk powder practically jumped out of the pantry.  Which subsequently led to making Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.  Which by the way is unbelievably easy and fudgy.

From there the natural progression was to make Whipped Cream and Vanilla Ice Cream.  Both of which are a cinch to do at home and no special equipment is required.  Check and check.

Begin with two scoops Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream {made in a Ziploc bag}.

Top with a healthy spoonful(s) of Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.  Good laawwd.

And now for the signature ingredient…. Malted Milk Powder.  Go ahead and add an extra spoonful of this deliciousness.

Add a dollop of Homemade Whipped Cream with a cherry on top (or if you’re allergic to cherries put a strawberry on top) and dig in to the best ice cream sundae EVER.

I love you Dusty Miller.  You will not be forgotten.

The post Dusty Miller Sundae appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Red Velvet, White & Blueberry Dessert.

If you’re looking for a dessert treat that’s easy to make and can feed a crowd, look no further. Red Velvet cake (let me share a secret, they sell it at your grocer’s bakery counter baked and unfrosted), vanilla ice cream, blueberries, raspberries, Cool Whip, and strawberries layered in red, white & blue fashion.

Whether you’re making this festive patriotic dessert for two or twenty-two, everyone will love Red Velvet, White & Blueberry Dessert.

To serve ~ layer red velvet cake pieces in bottom of individual trifle dishes or cups.  Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, cool whip topping, a fresh strawberry, and mint leaves.

The post Red Velvet, White & Blueberry Dessert appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I’ve been racking my brain this week trying to envision some Outrageous Fair Food Creation that hasn’t been done.  The beauty of the Internet is with the click of a button you can indeed confirm that most everything you can imagine has already been deep fried and served on a stick.  But I think I may have an original, inspired by my favorite childhood treat…a Dusty Miller Sundae…vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, generous sprinkling of malted milk powder, topped with whipped cream.  A ‘treat’ would imply it didn’t happen often, however I was fortunate in that I grew up just across the cornfield from Silver Ranch, home of the Dusty Miller and so much more.

Silver Ranch was a ginormous complex (granted everything seems much bigger when you’re smaller) but it was big.  There was of course The Ice Cream Stand featuring dozens of flavors of homemade ice cream with all the usual toppings.  The Candy Shop with glass cases full of homemade confections and the quaint Gift Shop.  The Restaurant which served up tourist and local favorites, like lobster rolls and fried clam dinners.  The Airpark where dad would take us up in his Cessna for a late afternoon aerial tour of the Monadnock Region.  And last but not least, The Stables.

The place, beginning at age 10, I spent every waking moment from June to September.  I was a ‘barn rat’ which meant if I worked all day cleaning stalls, brushing horses, shaking hay….when 6:00 came we could ride.  And ride we did…wide open through the fields and trails, bareback swimming through the deep pond, and jumping in the ring.  No matter how hard I worked…..the reward was all mine.  Did I mention besides riding we were also allowed to eat at ‘the Ranch’ which I’m certain led to my Dusty Miller addiction.

So in Fabulous Fair Food fashion….I present the Inside Out Dusty Miller Sundae (deep fried on a stick).  Chocolate Truffle center, rolled in malted milk powder, encased in vanilla ice cream, dipped in egg then crispy coating, repeat, then quickly deep fried, served with a side of whipped cream.

All my best,
xo Libby

Print

Inside Out Dusty Miller Sundae {Deep Fried Fair Style}

Course Dessert

Servings 6

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 6 Chocolate Truffles see Ghirardelli Chocolate Truffles recipe
• 1/4 cup malted milk powder
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 2 cups frosted flakes cereal crushed
• 2 Tbl. malted milk powder
• 1 egg beaten
• Canola oil for frying Whipped cream for serving

Instructions

• Prepare Chocolate Truffles according to recipe.
• Roll truffles in malted milk powder, creating a thick coating.
• Freeze truffles for 20 minutes.
• Scoop 6 balls of ice cream, working quickly press frozen truffle into middle of each ice cream ball, then return to freezer. Repeat until all balls have been formed. Leave in freezer for 30 minutes.
• Combine crushed cereal with 2 Tbl. malted milk powder.
• Remove ice cream balls from freezer one at a time. Dip in egg then roll in 1/2 of the cereal mixture. Repeat until all balls have been coated. Return to freezer until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Then again coat balls in egg then cereal mixture and return to freezer for minimum of 1 hour before deep frying.
• Heat oil to 375 degrees.
• When oil is ready, place frozen ice cream ball on wire spoon and gently lower into oil. Fry for 30 seconds.
• Insert skewer and serve with side of whipped cream.

The post Inside Out Dusty Miller Sundae {Deep Fried Fair Style} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.