Homemade Confetti Cake Blizzards
Posted: May 18, 2012 Filed under: The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: blizzard, cupcakes, Dairy Queen, dessert, food, Ice cream 10 Comments »
Dairy Queen, why must you taunt me?
You know I love you, but this long-distance relationship is hard. Not having a DQ within driving distance brings me daily heartbreak, but then you go and rub salt in my wounds by flaunting your latest tantalizing Blizzard of the Month all over my television (side note: WHY do they show commercials for places nowhere even remotely near your area? I’m looking at you, Sonic!). For the month of May, Dairy Queen dished out a Confetti Cake Blizzard.
Seriously, kill me.
I was both elated and distraught the second I saw the ad. On the one hand, what an awesome Blizzard flavor! Who doesn’t love birthday cake-flavored goodness? But on the other hand, it dawned on me that I had no travel plans for the month of May, and therefore would probably never get to try the Confetti Cake Blizzard.
Cue the violins.
Dairy Queen, from the way you treat me, I don’t think you realize that I’m your biggest fan. Not having you here in CNY has been rough, but every time I step out of the area, I go ridiculously out of my way to see you. Lord help the poor individual driving the car if we should pass a sign foretelling a Dairy Queen at the next exit.
I guess my point is, how can you hurt someone who loves you so much? Either give me a DQ, or don’t taunt me with your deliciousness. I grew up with you, Dairy Queen, and you’ll always be number one in my heart. But in the words of Jewell, “These foolish games are tearing me apart.”
I had two options: consume a Confetti Cake Blizzard or die. The way I see it, since death was not okay with me, the only thing left to do was make Homemade Confetti Cake Blizzards. This is where I must mention that you should really hire me, Dairy Queen. Because my homemade version of your treat was FREAKIN’ AMAZING.
I’m still getting over it: the super creamy and smooth vanilla soft serve studded with fluffy vanilla cupcakes and sweet frosting. Sweet Jesus, they were good. But how did I achieve soft serve at home? Simple! I just made my favorite vanilla ice cream in the ice cream maker as per usual, but instead of popping it into the freezer to firm up before eating, I served it straight out of the machine while it was still so soft, creamy, and airy. Basically, the stuff that comes straight out of the ice cream maker IS soft serve. Mind blown.
Then, my friends, you simply stir in whole chunks of delicious, soft vanilla cupcakes, and viola! You’ve got the most amazing frozen confection your mouth will ever experience. I can’t compare it to the real thing since I haven’t tried it, but I feel confident saying this is just as good, if not better. In fact, I’ve talked to a few people who tried the real Blizzard and weren’t crazy about it. So maybe I’m better off with my homemade one…
A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:
- It’s really not necessary to make homemade cupcakes. As long as you have a decent grocery store, you can get some pretty delicious ones from their bakery.
- You’re going to have to work fast when the soft serve come out of the ice cream maker. It stays firm pretty long, but if you dilly dally or go crazy mixing in the cupcakes, it will melt. Remember, these are Blizzards, not milkshakes!
- Sprinkles make everything better!
- Serve with a red plastic spoon if you really want to feel like you’re at DQ.
- Got extra? Just store it in an air tight container and pop it in the freezer. You can take it out and let it soften when you’re ready for another or pop it into the blender to speed up the softening process. Or, if you don’t wan to wait at all, eat it as is like Confetti Cake Ice Cream!
- Freezing the mixing bowl before stirring the ice cream together with the cupcakes keeps the ice cream from melting.
Homemade Confetti Cake Blizzards
Adapted from Cusinart
Yield: about 8 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 vanilla frosted vanilla cupcakes, chopped into chunks
- sprinkles, for garnish
Special Equipment: ice cream maker
Directions:
- Make the soft serve base: In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to make the blizzards, put a large mixing bowl into the freezer to chill. Then pour the ice cream mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions, about 20 minutes. It should be soft and creamy like soft serve. Immediately remove the chilled bowl from the freezer and pour the ice cream into the bowl. Gently fold in the cupcake chunks, but don’t over mix. Divide between bowls or cups, top with sprinkles, and enjoy immediately. Store extra ice cream in the freezer in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.
Like this:
Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream
Posted: April 6, 2012 Filed under: The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: dessert, food, Ice cream, Oreos, Peanut butter 5 Comments »
Way back when Smart Cookie was still a baby in the world of blogs, I professed to you my love of peanut butter and Oreos. It sounds like an odd combo if you’ve never tried it, but those who have know how magical a pairing it truly is. PB and Oreos have a cult-like following, and for good reason. It’s a sinfully delicious combination. So the next time you’re about to pop a plain Oreo into you’re mouth, reconsider. Grab that jar of peanut butter from you pantry and slap some on the cookie. Then proceed to enjoy.
It’s like crack for your taste buds.
Now, we’ve all had cookies and cream ice cream. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of the best classic ice cream flavors of all time. You just can’t beat creamy vanilla ice cream coupled with crunchy, chocolatey Oreo cookie crumbles. There is only one way I could think of to make this crunchy-creamy classic even more incredible: add peanut butter.
Like this:
Birthday Cake Oreo Milkshake: Happy 100th, Oreo!
Posted: March 6, 2012 Filed under: Dessert, Ice Cream, Snacks | Tags: birthday, dessert, Ice cream, milkshake, Oreo 10 Comments »
Ever since my childhood, there has been one black and white cookie consistently present in my life: the Oreo. Its cream-filled center and crunchy chocolate cookies are indescribably enticing. I never could, and still cannot, eat just one.
Is it the plethora of ways to consume an Oreo that makes it so exciting? You can screw off the top cookie and enjoy two delicious halves. Perhaps you save the cream-covered cookie for last, or maybe you can’t wait that long. You can lick off the cream before eating the cookies plain. Some people like to peel off that sweet cream and stack it layer upon layer so you have a quadruple-stuffed Oreo. Or you can always go the classic route of dunking the cookies in milk until they reach the point of melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
Or maybe you’re too impatient for any of that, maybe you just like to stuff ‘em in your mouth, as many as you can handle at once.
Like this:
Waffle Brownies
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: Dessert, Ice Cream, The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: brownies, dessert, food, Ice cream, waffles 17 Comments »
What will a waffle maker want when waffles won’t work?
It’s a riddle. And a tongue twister.
The answer: BROWNIES.
At the risk of stating the obvious, brownies are such a wonderful treat, even in their most basic form. Almost every loves brownies. They’re soft and comforting, like a delicious chocolate bear who decided he wanted to be friends and encased you in an embrace of sweet love. If a bear like that ever came up to you requesting a hug, would you turn him away? Of course not, just as you would never pass up a perfectly good brownie.
However, there is always a way to make fantastic things even more fantastical. In the case of brownies, you can swirl in some peanut butter, throw in some nuts, or maybe add a layer of cookie dough if you’re feeling adventurous. What’s my latest and greatest way of serving up these chocolatey treats?
Make ‘em in the waffle maker.
Like this:
Toasted Marshmallow S’mores Ice Cream
Posted: February 16, 2012 Filed under: Dessert, Ice Cream, The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: chocolate, dessert, food, Ice cream, Recipe, s'mores 13 Comments »
The Marshmallows and the Human: A Tale of Two S’mores
Once upon a time, in a bonfire far, far away, two marshmallows were roasting and toasting in the heat of the flames. They sat perched on (or should I say, impaled by) their skewers, just out reach of the fire’s curling clutches. The bonfire’s pleasant warmth permeated their powdery skins as it seeped through to their gooey interior. Slowly, their insides turned to molten marshmallow goo, and the inevitable charring of their exterior began.
“It’s happening just like they said it would,” remarked the bigger of the two marshmallows.
“Yes, a roast over the fire, then straight down the human’s gullet,” the smaller marshmallow agreed. “I don’t know why I imagined it would be any different for us.”
The two marshmallows sighed in unison. The human holding the two marshmallows, who up until this point had been ignoring the marshmallows’ banter, looked down upon them with his eyebrows furrowed and said,
“What have you two to complain about?”
“The human is speaking to us,” the little marshmallow whispered to the bigger one. “What do we do?”
“Pretend you can’t hear him,” The big marshmallow whispered back.
” I know you can hear me,” remarked the human. “Although you seem to have forgotten that I can hear you as well.”
The two marshmallows remained silent and he continued on,
“All I ever hear is how marshmallows long for the day they are toasted, that it is like the coming of age in the marshmallow world. And yet you two act so insufferable and unsatisfied. Why is this?”
