Ice-Cream Sandwiches; Meatless Monday

Feeling hot hot hot ... That's the song that has been stuck in my mind! Well, literally, it is getting hot, with warmer temperatures here and scorching u relenting heat in India! Kids and adults alike are looking for ways to cool themselves down! What better than ice cream to cool yourself?? My daughter has been asking for ice cream sandwiches for a while now. I have been stalling her saying that when it gets warmer, I will make them for you. I don't like my kids eating cold, frozen stuff during winter for fear that they might get sick ( yes, I know that is a myth, but I  can't help being a mom). This past weekend she goes, " Mommy it is warm now. Are you going to make ice cream sandwiches now??" I replied, " of course!" Her next sentence was : can I help? I said yes and together we set out making these cute little beauties!

Well, I cannot claim much credit for the recipe. It is literally ice cream sandwiched between 2 cookies! A friend of mine helped me with the nitty-gritty. So technically this is semi-homemade. I bought the ice cream and the cookies from the store, assembled the sandwiches and stuck it back in the freezer! When my blogger friend Sonal invited recipes for a semi-homemade collective, she specifically told me that she was looking for a recipe that was fun! Now who can say "NO" to ice cream & cookies?? Very few people ( read: me!). While any kind of ice cream and cookies would do, I have used regular Chocolate chip cookies and  Double Chocolate Chip cookies with M&Ms for the cookies. I used a basic chocolate and vanilla ice cream. My daughter likes chocolate and my son likes vanilla! Also, they made for a good contrast with the cookies.

Want to use home-made chocolate chip cookies and home-made ice cream? Go ahead, and use it! It is much healthier!

Note: These treats are by no means healthy! However you can make them healthy. Here is the skinny on it! Use frozen yogurt or banana ice cream instead of the regular ice-cream. You know I always have the healthier alternative for you!

These ice cream sandwiches are super-easy and fun to make! They make for a great summer vacation activity for you to do with your kids. You can bring them with you to picnics in the park( make sure you use a cooler to transport them) and barbecues in your backyard!

Do try it, you will enjoy it just as much as my kids and I!

Servings: makes 12 medium-sized ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients:

Ice cream: 1/2 tub of any flavor ice cream ( I used a mix of vanilla and chocolate ice cream).
Cookies: 1 box of large chocolate-chip cookies.( you may not use all as you need only 24 cookies).
Plastic Cling-wrap : to wrap the cookies.

Method:

Keep the tub of ice cream out of the freezer at room temperature for a few minutes so that the ice cream is softened a little and can be handled easily. The time period that you keep the ice cream out depends on the temperature in your area/ home. The ice cream should not become liquid/runny.

Lay out 12 cookies upside down in a single layer on a tray. Keep the cling film roll handy.

Using a small melon scooper or cookie scoop, scoop a ball of ice cream and place it on the cookie. Keep another cookie on top of the ice cream scoop and press down gently, slightly. Now cover the sandwich in a plastic cling wrap tightly and place it in a container.

Repeat this with all the rest of the cookies.

Place the container in the freezer for minimum of 2-3 hours.

To serve: remove the plastic cling wrap and serve!


Enjoy!!

I am bringing these amazing crepes to all my friends at Throwback Thursday#38, Fiesta Friday#119  and Saucy Saturdays#43! Angie's co-hosts this week are Ahila @ A Taste of Sri Lankan Cuisine and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens.

Cooking made easy:

The size of the scoop of ice cream depends on the size of the cookie. The ice cream scoop should be proportional to the cookie size. Don't place too big a scoop, as when you place the cookie on top and press down, the ice cream will ooze out!!

Again, any shape/ type of cookie can be used, except that they should be big in size.

Tip for healthy living:

Food that we consume has to be healthy and balanced. Everything in moderation. Everyone is allowed to cheat/ indulge every once in a while. As long as it is in moderation and you are good most of the time. After all, we want to live our lives fully and not feel deprived!

Food for thought:

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. Stephen Hawking

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

Funfetti Cupcakes, eggless: Meatless Monday

My daughter's birthday was earlier last month.Her school has a policy where all the birthdays of that particular month are celebrated on the last Friday of the month. In March, the last Friday was Good Friday, which was a holiday and the last week didn't  have a Friday in it. They then decided to celebrate it on the last Thursday! (Well, it took me this long to complete my post!) I had requested that it be celebrated the first Friday of the week of her birthday for the same above reason and specifically because her father would have been in town and would have attended the celebration. The Principal refused. My daughter however is very lucky as I was able to take a day off ( for other urgent reasons) and be there for her birthday.

I always bake for her class parties. I think that it is healthier when you make something at home as opposed to something that is purchased from a store!

I decided to  make a mix of chocolate and vanilla cupcakes as not all kids like chocolate cupcakes! As I was making the vanilla ones, I decided to make it more interesting and transformed them into funfetti cupcakes. They also happen to be eggless. The recipe for this is from an expert fellow blogger, Khushboo Kothari! You can find the original recipe here! For the chocolate cupcake recipe, click here. You will be able to make 2 dozen cupcakes with that recipe. Just use the muffin-pan, line them with liners and bake for 14-16 minutes.I baked and frosted a total of 3  dozen cupcakes.

Oh, the frosting. I was busy with a few other things and so didn't have time to make it from scratch. I always keep 1-2 containers of ready-to-use frosting handy for such occasions. These boxed frosting however cannot be used for piping as it is too thin and won't set. I whipped one cup of powdered sugar with one box of frosting and it was great for piping. Of course, there is no substitute to the taste and quality of buttercream made from scratch! You can find the recipe for that here.

Now, let me share with you the recipe for the most amazing, fluffy, eggless, funfetti cupcakes! Both adults and kids will love it alike!

Servings: makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

All purpose flour: 1 & 1/4 cups
Corn flour: 3 tbsp
Baking powder:1 tsp & a pinch
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Granulated sugar: 3/4 cup
Olive oil: 1/2 cup ( any cooking oil can be used)
Greek Yogurt: 1 cup ( regular yogurt can also be used).
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp
Rainbow Sprinkles: 1/4 cup

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
Place the cupcake liners in the muffin pan and keep ready. If you are not using liners, grease the muffin pan and keep ready.

Beat together yogurt and sugar until it is creamy. To this mixture add the oil, vanilla essence and mix well.

Sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly using the beater on the lowest setting or using a hand-held whisk. Do not over mix.

Fold the sprinkles in. Since the batter is so thick, the sprinkles will not settle down.

Pour a tablespoon of batter into each of the cupcake liners.

Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake at 350deg F for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Take the pan out and let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Quick Frosting:

To make a quick pipeable frosting ,whip together a can of store bought buttercream frosting with 1 cup sifted powdered sugar.

I used Wilton 2D tip to pipe the pink rosettes and IM for the cream-colored peaked frosting.

Enjoy!

I am bringing this to Throwback Thursday # 34, Fiesta Friday #115 and Saucy Saturdays # 40. Angies's co-hosts at the Fiesta this week are Julie @ Hostess At Heart and Ashley @ Too Zesty.

Cooking made easy:

You can make double-colored frosting by tinting the vanilla buttercream frosting with gel color streaks in the frosting bag.

Tip for healthy living:

Save the sugary treats for a really special occasion and not for daily existence!

Food for thought:

Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. John D. Rockefeller