Category Archives: Beverages

A Cup of Cheer! Christmas Punch Pops.

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Ruthanne

These cute punch pops are the perfect “drop off” gift for friends and family you can’t see in person this season. Keep them in the freezer until your virtual celebration and everyone can have some Christmas punch while they open gifts.

I grew up in Michigan, and I can’t remember a Christmas celebration with our family that did not involve absolutely delicious punch- served with Christmas cookies, of course! I’m not sure where I got this punch recipe, but I’ve been making it for as long as I can remember. A few years ago, I was craving this yummy, fruity, ice cream punch in the middle of summer, but didn’t want to fill an entire punch bowl with the ingredients- or waste ingredients by only making only one cup of it. So I invented…. PUNCH POPS! Once you add a little room temp ginger ale to these, you have a perfect one-person cup of punch!

As my husband and I are trying to decide how we will celebrate Christmas in the middle of this crazy COVID season, I knew I wanted something fun, festive, and unique to deliver to friends and family we won’t be able to see in person this year.

And I thought of these punch pops.

I’ve already shared this idea on Easybaked (here), but as I was putting my cute pops in bags this morning, I decided to share the recipe with you all again 🙂

Here it is!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 20 pops)

A couple of notes before you start: This is an EASY recipe, but it takes some time and freezer space. You’ll need a day to assemble (freezing between layers) and one long overnight freeze before you can package them up. You’ll also need a freezer shelf with some height above it to allow the straws to fit while freezing.

18-24 oz of pineapple juice
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
1 quart of fruit sherbet- any flavor (I used 2 flavors and only used 1/2 of each quart)
20 mini cans of Ginger ale (or if you are giving a family gift, a two liter)
About 40 raspberries, or 4-5 sliced strawberries.
20 (3 oz) paper cups and 20 straws
small cello bags and ribbon for tying them up

DIRECTIONS:

In 20 small (3 oz) paper cups, measure about 1/8 cup of pineapple juice and add two raspberries or a slice of strawberry.
Freeze until hard (4-6 hours)

Note: I did this on a small cookie sheet so that I could pop them all into and out of the freezer at once.

Scoop ice cream into a large zip top bag and microwave in 10 second increments until soft-serve consistency. Mix bag by squeezing. (Tip: wear gloves to keep your hands warm!)
Clip a corner off this bag and squeeze the softened ice cream over frozen juice, leaving room at the top for a layer of sherbet (you will add about twice as much ice cream as sherbet, and use almost all of the ½ gallon)
Slide a straw into the center of each cup and re-freeze until ice cream layer is hard (2-3 hours)
Scoop sherbet into a large zip-top bag and microwave/squeeze until a soft-serve consistency (this melts faster than ice cream, so be cautious)
Clip a corner off this bag and squeeze the softened sherbet over the top of the frozen ice cream. Tap each cup against the counter to flatten the sherbet out a little bit on top.
Re-freeze overnight (10-12 hours)

To remove them from the cup, snip a tiny cut into one of the cup’s edges and tear the cup away.
Set the pop on a small cookie sheet that has been covered with parchment paper and keep frozen until you are ready to bag them up.
To place them in individual bags, keep them frozen, and one at a time, slide into a bag, tie shut and refreeze.

To serve these cute little pops, simply place one in a glass that holds at least 12 ounces, and pour room temperature ginger ale over the top- just until the pop is covered.
Stir your punch with the straw until it has melted into a cold frothy ice cream treat!

My thoughts: We all need a little extra cheer this Christmas season, and these punch pops are just a tiny way to make someone you love smile. You can make them in any flavor of sherbet you can find and add any type of fruit!

Be sure, when you hand them out, to tell the recipients to get them from their porch and freeze them right away! Then, have everyone make a cup of punch, get on Zoom, and make a toast to better days in 2021! Hugs to each of you as you navigate this Christmas season, and prayers for good health, and all the peace and joy God can fill you up with this year! ~Enjoy!

Other fun Christmas porch drop-off ideas (click on title to see recipe):

Hot Chocolate Pops!

Snowman Oreo Pops

Caramel Corn kit and other DIY gift ideas

Candy Cane Brownies

Key Lime Pie Shakes!

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Ruthanne

These creamy key lime pie shakes are just the thing to kick-start summer!

It’s June NEXT WEEK!!! Summer is almost here! One of my favorite flavors of summer is lime, and these creamy lime shakes with graham cracker crumbles are the best! I added sweetened condensed milk (because that’s what you add to key lime pie!) and it blended with the ice cream and lime to make the thickest, creamiest shake I’ve ever had. Even after I took photos under hot lights, these shakes were still thick and creamy! Yum.

Here’s how we made them (printable recipe here):

INGREDIENTS: (fills about 6, 8-oz. glasses)

1 quart vanilla ice cream
2 cups of non-alcoholic lime Margarita mix
1 can (14oz.) sweetened condensed milk
A touch of green food coloring (if desired)
Cool-Whip topping or whipped heavy cream
About 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs

DIRECTIONS

Combine ice cream, margarita mix , condensed milk and food color in a blender (I have a small blender and did mine in 2 batches)
Top with whipped cream/Cool Whip and sprinkle with graham crumbs.
Add a cherry on top if you’d like. I hate cherries, so I added a little red Sixlet instead 🙂
Enjoy immediately!

My thoughts: These are easy and quick to throw together- and if you like key-lime pie, you will love these refreshing little shakes! Hope you get a chance to try them!

Other key-lime recipes here on Easy-baked: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

3 Comments

Posted in Beverages and tagged creamiest shake recipe, creamy shake recipe, key lime pie, key lime recipe, key lime shake, lime shakes, shake ideas, shake recipes, summer lime recipe, summer shake ideas, summer shakes. Bookmark the permalink.

Elderflower Lemonade (bezinka limonáda)

Posted on May 13, 2017 by Ruthanne

Elderflower syrup and mint add a refreshing twist to this fresh-squeezed lemonade!

Last spring I was in the Czech Republic at the headquarters of the mission organization I work for, Josiah Venture. We were waiting for over 140 college interns to arrive and we all went out for dinner at this adorable little restaurant. The menu was entirely in Czech and someone ordered me a lemonade and when I got it and took my first drink I LOVED (loved.loved.loved) it! It took me awhile to figure out what it was I loved so much, and the secret ingredient was: Elderflower syrup! This is commonly made in central Europe to add to beverages and desserts- but I’d never heard of it or tasted it before.

Since I don’t have Elderflower growing in Indiana, I went to my trusty Amazon and discovered that Monin makes this syrup- and it is delicious (find it here). I spent the winter adding it to hot green tea (amazing!) and now that it is spring I gave the lemonade a try- and nailed it! Seriously….you have got to try this! It’s indescribably good.

Here is how we put it together (EASY!!!!!!) Printable recipe here.

INGREDIENTS: (to make one liter, or about 34 ounces):

2 medium lemons
8-10 mint leaves, slightly crushed (give them a squeeze before you add them!)
3 to 4 slices of lime, halved.
2/3 to 1 cup of Elderflower syrup
Club soda and ice

DIRECTIONS:

Juice lemons and add juice to 1 liter carafe (note: in my photos I used a half-liter size, which is fun to drink right out of with a long straw!)
Place mint leaves, lime slices, and syrup in carafe.
Fill with ice to about 2/3 full.
Add club soda until filled- stir well and serve in individual glasses.

My thoughts: Well, in case you didn’t catch this earlier in the post: I LOVE THIS BEVERAGE!!!!! If you like your lemonade sweet add a little more syrup. If you like it tart, add less. Add some different fruits if you like- I think some sweet raspberries might be good crushed into this too. Yum. You really need to try this!!! 🙂 ~r

I enjoyed mine on my back porch- right out of the 1/2 liter carafe 🙂

One of my favorite parts of travel is discovering new international recipes to try. Here are a few from the past: (click on a photo to see the recipe!)

2 Comments

Posted in Beverages and tagged bezinka limonáda, creative lemonade, Czech lemonade, Czech recipes, elderberry lemonade, elderflower, elderflower lemonade, elderflower syrup, European lemonade, fresh squeezed lemonade, lemonade, lemonade ideas, lemonade recipe, mint and elderflower lemonade, mint lemonade, refreshing summer drink ideas. Bookmark the permalink.

Blooming Marshmallows for Cocoa! Make your own!

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Ruthanne

Have you seen the latest food fad? A friend sent me this video and I couldn’t stop smiling! Genius!!! These fun little marshmallows, when set into hot chocolate, bloom and reveal fun sprinkles at the center. These are the creation of chef Dominique Ansel (creator of the Cronut, for all you foodies out there) and he serves them up in Tokyo and New York.

So what’s a girl from Indiana to do? Obviously figure out a way to make them herself! And just in time for Valentine’s Day!

It seemed like rule-breaking to use from-scratch marshmallows for this (we are called Easybaked for a reason, you know!). So I melted marshmallows and spread them out to cut. I got REALLY good at this because I made about a billion batches of these before I got them to work well.

I learned a few things.

Get the off-brand of marshmallows, they all melt the same.
That marshmallow has to be spread pretty thin (I will tell you how to accomplish this..)
That cocoa has to be as hot as lava to melt away the chocolate cup these sit in.
Use tongs to place the bloom into the hot chocolate so you don’t splash yourself with the lava.

I’m not kidding you- this recipe was a labor of love. But now I can tell you how to do these in SUCH an easy way- and you can surprise your family with these fun treats!

Here is how we made these: (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES: (makes about 10 blooms)

1 bag of regular sized marshmallows
1/4 stick butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 bag of white Wilton’s candy melts (I used pink on some of these so you could see them better).
Jimmies or candies to fill the center of the flower
Hot (HOT!) chocolate
A flower shaped cookie cutter
Mini paper nut cups

DIRECTIONS:

Liberally butter the bottom and sides of a sheet cake pan
In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and cornstarch.
Place about 1/2 of this mixture into a sugar shaker or sifter (I love my Pampered Chef one!) and coat entire pan with mixture.
Liberally butter the inside of a large mixing bowl
Place marshmallows in bowl and melt in microwave for 30 seconds, stir and melt again for 30 seconds- until completely smooth.

Pour marshmallow mixture down the center of the pan and sprinkle top with sugar/starch mixture.
Coat your hands liberally in the powdered sugar/corn starch mixture and gently press the melted marshmallows flat across the pan. If you hit a sticky spot, sprinkle it with the sugar/starch.
Try to get the marshmallow layer as even as possible across the pan. You will have a few holes and maybe not get it all to the edge, but remember that you will be cutting flowers out of this- so you can work around bad spots.

Allow this to harden for 30 minutes.
Coat cookie cutter in sugar/starch mixture and carefully cut out a flower. Coat cut edges in powder and set aside while the rest are cut.

Have some sprinkles or Sixlets candy ready to place into the center of the flowers- but don’t place them yet.
Melt Candy Melts in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between until melted and smooth.
Spoon melts into paper cup and spread up sides. Tip cup to drain out excess.
Brush excess powder off a flower, add sprinkles/candy to center and pull all petals up to the center, leaving the bottom center open.
Place bottom center of flower into candy-coated cup (before it hardens). Allow this to harden with the flower inside.

Once this has hardened completely , use a scissors to clip the top edge of the cup, and peel the paper away.

Make a cup of HOT hot chocolate. I found that using milk rather than water resulted in the best “openings” of the flowers.
Use tongs to carefully set the unopened flower into the cocoa and let it bloom!

I stored my extra marshmallow flowers in an air-tight container and they still bloomed a few days later- but slowly. I think that the more fresh they are, the better they bloom.

Click on the photo below to see my (terribly shot!) video of a not-so perfect bloom. It illustrates the biggest problem I had with this project- getting the flower to bloom without allowing hot chocolate to seep into the center. I’d say about 50% of my flowers had some leakage of chocolate- and, if you watch the “professional” ones, you see this happens to them too.

I think that the key things to reduce this are:

Use HOT chocolate made from milk instead of water.
Marshmallows that aren’t too thick, and that aren’t still sticky on the edges (remember to cover those cut edges with powder early on!)
Placing them into those chocolate cups as evenly as possible. If one side weighs more than the other, the cup will tip when placed in the cocoa, allowing some cocoa into the center.

I have to say though- that even when the centers filled a little with cocoa, people LOVED these! They wanted to drink more than one cup of cocoa to see it bloom again. So-not perfect, but really, really fun.

My thoughts: I feel like I’ve made progress toward figuring out a good DIY method for these. AND I’m pretty excited about how easy it is to take store-bought marshmallows and turn them into ANY shape! There are always unexpected things I learn when I experiment. I hope you get a chance to try these- and even improve on them! If any of you come up with a way to keep the cocoa out of the center on MOST of them, let me know! I feel like we could improve on 50%… 🙂 Enjoy! ~r

We love marshmallows here- because money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you marshmallows, and that’s nearly the same thing!! Try a few more marshmallow-y recipes: (click on photo to see recipe)

19 Comments

Posted in Beverages, Candy and tagged blooming marshmallows, cookie cutter marshmallows, DIY blooming marshmallows, easy blooming marshmallows, easy marshmallow cut-outs, fun marshmallow recipe, how to cut shapes out of store-bought marshmallows, how to make blooming marshmallows, marshmallow blooms, marshmallow flowers, marshmallows, marshmallows that bloom in hot chocolate, store-bought marshmallows, unique dessert, use cookie cutters on marshmallows, Valentines Day dessert. Bookmark the permalink.

Candy Tea Spoons!

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Ruthanne

Delicious little candy spoons make a perfect gift! Stir them into tea or cocoa to add sweet, fun flavor!

Want a little lemon with your tea? A little peppermint or butterscotch in your cocoa? A fun gift idea? This is your recipe!

Happy Black Friday to you! Just in case you have finished with the lines and crowds and feel the need to hit something hard…

We are here for you!!!….Here you go.

Smash hard candies into bits and pieces that are melted into a cute spoon mold to make these treats! Staple them up in little cello bags with fun gift tags and you’ve let out your frustrations and created fun little gifts. Perfect and perfect. *smile*

Here’s how to do it! (printable recipe here)

INGREDIENTS:

Unwrapped hard candies in whatever flavors you want. Note: the harder candies like cinnamon disks and butterscotch disks melted into sturdier spoons than lemon drops and peppermint candies (which are more crumbly than hard). I didn’t have ANY break until I had them all bagged up and I was tossing them into a basket for transport. then I had 2 peppermint and 1 lemon snap.
A silicone candy spoon mold. I got mine in the Czech Republic, so I can’t link to the exact one, but these are similar.

DIRECTIONS:

Place unwrapped candy into a zip-top bag and using a mallet or hammer, smash those candies up! Make sure to do this on a safe surface that can’t be damages by hammer hits!
Preheat oven to 300F degrees
Place mold on a cookie sheet
Spoon candy pieces into mold and heap them up (as they melt, they settle).
Place in oven and watch. In my oven, it took about 8 minutes to melt completely. After about 4-5 minutes, pull them out and sprinkle extra candy into any gaps or openings that might be forming as they melt. Place them back in the oven to finish melting.

*Notes* The “softer” candy melted faster than the “harder”. Also, if you leave them in too long, the lighter candies get a little browned.

Remove from oven and tap gently to remove bubbles- you will still have little bubbles on the outer surface of these- you can see this in my photos. Cool completely and peel out of silicone mold.

Place individually in small cello bags and tie them shut or print and fold these pre-designed tags over the open edge and staple them shut.
Stir into hot beverage and ENJOY!!!

My thoughts: These are really fun little gifts. I personally loved the butterscotch in hot chocolate the best! The peppermint tea was pretty yummy too!!! When I do this again, I will crush the candy up more finely- maybe use a food processor- it was a little more difficult to “pile up” those bigger pieces. They worked fine- but I feel like it would just be easier with more finely crushed candy. Hope you get a chance to try these!!! Enjoy! ~r

Man, I hate it when my ink runs out mid-print! Used them anyway! 🙂

Other gift ideas here on Easybaked:

1 Comment

Posted in Beverages, Candy and tagged butterscotch spoons, candy spoon gifts, candy spoons, Christmas gift ideas, cinnamon spoons, Edible Christmas gifts, edible spoons, edible stocking stuffer, edible tea spoons, free christmas printable, hard candy gift, hard candy spoons, lemon candy spoons, peppermint spoons, spoons for cocoa, spoons for tea. Bookmark the permalink.

Iced Mocha Pops!

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Ruthanne

Stir this delicious frozen pop into your coffee, and you have an instant, creamy iced peppermint mocha!

The heat of summer is here, and I find myself craving iced coffee drinks in yummy flavors. These easy-to-make frozen pops can be stored in your freezer and pulled out any time you have a craving for something a little more fun than just plain coffee!

I made mine with peppermint syrup- but you could certainly make yours with your favorite flavor! Don’t skimp on the chocolate- I used Torani Dark Chocolate Sauce and it is to die for!! Seriously. Use it.

Aren’t they so fun?!? And the smiles when you serve these….. love it!

Here’s how we made them: (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS (makes 10 pops)

3 cups of whole milk (if you can get it in your part of the world, Fairlife ultra-filtered milk is SO worth trying. It is unbelievably creamy. I’ve never had milk this good…)
2/3 cup Torani Dark Chocolate Sauce (plus a little to drizzle on top, if desired)
3/4 cup Torani Peppermint Syrup (or whatever flavor you love!)
Pink food coloring (if desired- match the color to the flavor you use– you can have several flavors in your freezer and know which is which!)
Whipped Cream (to top, if desired)
8 oz. of brewed coffee for each serving
Crushed ice

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 2 cups of milk in the microwave or on the stove until warm (not hot).
Add Dark Chocolate Sauce and mix until well-combined.
Set 10 (3 oz.) paper cups on a small baking sheet and pour Dark Chocolate milk mixture into each cup. Fill them about 2/3 full.
Freeze for 3-4 hours. Press a wooden dowel into each one (the pointed end helps with this) and re-freeze.
Mix peppermint syrup with remaining 1 cup of milk and pour all but about 1/3 cup into each cup, leaving a little room on the top of each pop to add some PINK peppermint milk.
Freeze for 3-4 hours (keep unused peppermint milk covered in fridge until you need it).
Add pink food coloring to remaining peppermint milk, and pour a little on top of each pop.
Freeze overnight.
The next day, clip the top of the cup with a scissors and tear away the paper cup. Place uncovered pop on a paper plate or parchment paper in the freezer.

To serve immediately, in a 12-14 oz. cup, brew 8 oz. of strong coffee. I used my Keurig with a dark blend.
Place pop into coffee and stir until dissolved. Add a little crushed ice to chill completely and top with whipped cream and chocolate drizzles if desired.

To have a mocha-on-demand, place these little pops into cake-pop cello bags and tie them shut. Keep these frozen for up to a month. When you are craving an iced mocha, simply make coffee and add a pop!
Enjoy!!!!

My thoughts: Ah….these are so yummy! I love the deep chocolate taste and how it blends with the coffee. I made some with caramel syrup too, and I can’t wait to try others! Give yourself a day to make them, since they have to freeze in stages. I started my first batch in the afternoon and finally put them in to freeze overnight at 10pm! So plan ahead and start them early.

These are so cute in little cello bags with ties- a perfect addition to a coffee bar- just be sure to keep them on ice! Enjoy!! ~r

Other coffee themed desserts here on Easybaked: (click on a photo to see the recipe)

Ice Cream Punch Pops!

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Ruthanne

Add ginger ale to this cute frozen pop and you’ll have a cup of creamy, fruity, ice cream punch! A perfect summer treat!

So I have this incredible punch recipe. It is soooooo yummy! I’ve made it for all sorts of parties, showers, picnics, and receptions. I’ve been asked for my recipe so many times that I’m actually surprised I haven’t added it here on Easybaked yet!

Last week I was craving it. I was headed to the pool and thinking about a cup of this creamy summer happiness- but you know punch…you have to throw all the ingredients into a big bowl and it is delicious for maybe an hour- and then it melts and you can’t save it for later. So I sat by the pool and thought about how to make punch in single servings, and these little ice cream punch pops came into being!

Aren’t they CUTE? I wrapped mine up in cello bags and tied them with ribbons. When anyone wants cup of punch, all I need is some ginger ale to pour over the top. Stir….. and….

YUM! Punch in whatever fruit flavor you choose! One cup at a time!

These are fun and fairly easy to put together- they just take some freezer time. Make sure you have some freezer space available- and you need some height- so you can fit them in with those straws poking out of the top. Once they are made, you can place them in cake pop bags and tie them with cute ribbons. This makes storage in the freezer easier and keeps them fresh longer.

Here’s how I put these cute little pops together: (if you prefer a big bowl of punch, put all the ingredients in a punch bowl- but use a little less ginger ale).

INGREDIENTS: (makes 20 pops)

24-30 oz of pineapple juice
½ gallon vanilla ice cream
1 quart of fruit sherbet- any flavor (I used 3 flavors and only used 1/3 of each quart)
2 liters of ginger ale at room temperature
6-7 strawberries, sliced
20 (3 oz) paper cups and 20 straws

DIRECTIONS:

In 20 small (3 oz) paper cups, measure about 1/8 cup of pineapple juice and add a slice of strawberry
Freeze until hard (4-6 hours)

Note: I did this on a small cookie sheet so that I could pop them all into and out of the freezer at once.

Scoop ice cream into a large zip top bag and microwave in 10 second increments until soft-serve consistency. Mix bag by squeezing. (Tip: wear gloves to keep your hands warm!)
Clip a corner off this bag and squeeze the softened ice cream over frozen juice, leaving room at the top for a layer of sherbet (you will add about twice as much ice cream as sherbet, and use almost all of the ½ gallon)
Slide a straw into the center of each cup and re-freeze until ice cream layer is hard (2-3 hours)
Scoop sherbet into a large zip-top bag and microwave/squeeze until a soft-serve consistency (this melts faster than ice cream, so be cautious)
Clip a corner off this bag and squeeze the softened sherbet over the top of the frozen ice cream. Tap each cup against the counter to flatten the sherbet out a little bit on top.
Re-freeze overnight (10-12 hours)

To remove them from the cup, snip a tiny cut into one of the cup’s edges and tear the cup away.
Set the pop on a small cookie sheet that has been covered with parchment paper and keep frozen until use.

If you want to place them in individual bags, keep them frozen, and one at a time, slide into a bag, tie shut and refreeze.

To serve these cute little pops, simply place one in a glass that holds at least 12 ounces, and pour room temperature ginger ale over the top- just until the pop is covered.
Stir your punch with the straw until it has melted into a cold frothy ice cream treat!

My thoughts: I love these! They taste exactly like my favorite punch and I love that I can have a cup of it whenever a craving strikes. I had a party a couple of days ago, and the guests enjoyed choosing a flavor (I made raspberry, lime and orange), and making their own punch! It’s just plain fun. 🙂

Oh- and don’t you love the glasses?!? I’m CRAZY about them! Bring me sunshine!!!! I found them on Amazon while looking for something entirely different- and knew they would make perfect little punch glasses! They are actually intended to be candle holders- so if you use them you will have to wash by hand. I love them so much I will happily wash by hand every time! They are especially cheery with juice at breakfast! Click on the photo below if you want your own:

I hope you get a chance to try these fun little punch pops- they really are one of my favorite ideas in awhile 🙂 ~r

Other frozen summer treats here on Easybaked:

7 Comments

Posted in Beverages, Frozen desserts and tagged creative dessert recipe, creative punch ideas, dessert, frozen dessert, frozen drinks, frozen punch, fruit, fruit punch, fruit punch pops, fun dessert recipe, fun shower recipe, ice cream, ice cream drinks, ice cream pops, ice cream punch, individual punch, party dessert idea, party drinks, party ideas, pineapple punch, punch pops, sherbet. Bookmark the permalink.

Popsicle Punch!!!!

Posted on August 8, 2014 by Ruthanne

Love popsicles? Love a fruity, refreshing punch? Try making popsicle punch! Everyone can choose their own flavor!

I was sitting in the sun, thinking about punch the other day. I was thinking about how you never really get to have punch unless you make a ton of it in a big punch bowl~ which sends it into the “only at a big party” category of treats. I started thinking about how much fun it would be if you could make a single-serving punch, and suddenly—POPSICLES!!!!!! A little bit of Sprite, maybe a bit of pineapple juice and a POPSICLE! Choose your flavor, pick your punch!

I had to run to the store and get popsicles to try this little experiment, and YUM!!!!!! YUM! YUM! YUM!!!!!!

I loved the plain popsicles- beautiful colors and delicious fruity punch.

THEN, I tried the popsicles that have the ice cream filling… you know, these:

So much creamy, fruity happiness in one little mug…. well, two little mugs because I had to try a couple of flavors:

That orange punch? Like a creamsicle in a cup….! Unbelievably good!!!

Here’s how I did it:

INGREDIENTS:

Sprite (or another lemon-lime soda)
Pinapple (or another fruit) juice
Popsicles!

DIRECTIONS:

Fill a cup about 1/2 full of soda (leave room for the popsicle- the ice cream ones foam up a bit)
Add juice to taste- I added about 1 part juice for 4 parts soda.
Place a popsicle into cup and stir to dissolve
ENJOY!

My thoughts: You can make individual cups of punch, or make the base punch in a big punch bowl (just the soda and the juice) and set a cooler full of popsicles out for people to choose flavors from. I just made a cup of punch with a frozen juice bar— oh my. So yummy! The possibilities are endless!!!! Enjoy! ~r

Cheers!!!!

Other fun beverage (and beverage inspired!) recipes:

10 Comments

Posted in Beverages, Frozen desserts and tagged beverage, creamsicle punch, drinks, fruit punch, fun, ice cream, idea, kids, party, popsicles, punch, recipe, summer, unique. Bookmark the permalink.

Malted Milkshake Cupcakes

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Ruthanne

Dark chocolate cupcakes topped with the creamiest malt frosting ever. Like a malted milkshake minus the cup!

I have an addiction to chocolate malts. Not chocolate shakes, just malts. The creamy, chocolatey kind that you drink through a striped straw at the pool. My mom makes the best chocolate malts ever. They are really simple to make, but there’s just something about her leaning out of the patio door and asking, “Anyone want a malt?” that makes me smile. It’s one of our summer traditions.

{Her easy recipe? Ice cream, malt powder, cocoa and milk~ a blender full of ice cream plus cocoa and malt to taste, and milk to desired consistency}

I wanted to make a frosting that tastes like a malt. It took me a couple of tries, but I finally hit the mark. It’s wonderfully creamy and smooth. It is also a very soft whipped icing that must be kept refrigerated because it has milk in it, and because it will not keep a pretty piped finish if it gets warm.

Believe me, the flavor and texture are worth it!

Here’s how to make these yummy cupcakes! (printable recipe)

INGREDIENTS:

One boxed dark chocolate cake mix (plus water, eggs and oil to make according to box)
4 packets of Dream Whip
1 1/2 cups of cold milk
6 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
6 Tablespoons of malt powder
1/2 -1 cup of powdered sugar (to desired consistency)

DIRECTIONS

Make cake mix according to box and bake in 24 cupcake liners placed in muffin tins.
Cool cupcakes completely.
Put Dream Whip, milk, cocoa powder, malt powder and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl and blend together.
Using a mixer, beat until stiff peaks form (3-4 minutes)
Add extra powdered sugar if needed, to desired consistency. This is a soft whipped frosting, so it won’t be the consistency of a stiff buttercream~ even with lots of powdered sugar. (believe me, I tried!)
Spoon frosting into a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on cupcakes.
Refrigerate until serving and just before serving add a malted milk ball and sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired for garnish.

ENJOY!!!

My thoughts: these are *almost* as good as my moms malts. This frosting is really yummy. It would be a great filling for a layer cake too~ or even a filling for cupcakes. You could fill chocolate cupcakes with this and then just spoon some chocolate ganache over the top. Oh the possibilities! Hope you get to try these and enjoy them as much as we did! ~r

More recipes you might like:

17 Comments

Posted in Beverages, Cupcakes and tagged baking, chocolate, chocolate cake mix, cocoa powder, cupcake, cupcake liners, dessert, dream whip, fun cupcakes, malt, malt balls, malted milk, malted milk balls, milkshake, muffin tins, recipe, summer dessert, unique cupcakes, whipped frosting. Bookmark the permalink.

DIY Caramel Corn and other great gift ideas from Easybaked!

Posted on November 22, 2012 by Ruthanne

I love making and getting creative edible gifts. I’m not talking just a plate of Christmas cookies here…I’m talking unique and different. Take Caramel Corn, for example. It is my grandmother’s favorite and I remember spending long evenings watching my parents try various caramel corn recipes in search of the perfect (yet not too messy!) one. There was the giant brown sack method (where you shake the caramel in) and the cookie sheet one where you pour the caramel on and try to mix it on the sheet (my dog liked that method– lots of popcorn on the floor!)

A few years ago a friend handed me an adorable little Christmas package with mysterious items inside (all tied up with a cute tag and bow) and when I opened it I found ingredients for caramel corn. All I needed was butter….. I promptly made it and YUM!!! Quick, easy, delicious and SUCH a creative gift. This post is dedicated to the recipes you can use this Christmas to make creative and memorable gifts for your friends and families.

CARAMEL CORN:

Place 1/2c. packed brown sugar in a small bag and zip or tie it tightly.
Place 8 large marshmallows in a small bag and zip or tie it tightly.
Place both of the above ingredients in a larger bag or gift box with one packet of microwave popcorn.

Close the bag or box with the following directions:

Pop corn in microwave according to package
Place brown sugar, marshmallows and 1/2 stick (4T) butter into a 2 qt. bowl
Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring well at 1 and 1/2 minutes. Syrup should be smooth and bubbly.
Pour over popped corn and enjoy!

Click on the photo below to get free printable tags to use with this gift:

OREO POPS:

These fun chocolate-covered Oreos on a stick are great for any season. I made them for the 1st time last spring for a baby shower. Change up the sprinkles and tie some cute Christmas tags on and you have a great stocking stuffer- or even a holiday centerpiece bouquet! All the how-to tips, including pictures are available if you just click HERE. I also made up some free tags for you to tie on your pops~ Click on the picture below to get the free printable file:

HOT CHOCOLATE POPS:

I made these as gifts for SO many people last year. I made extra for myself. These are so easy and SO delicious~ everyone will LOVE them. What are they? Chocolate (in a variety of flavors and colors) hardened over a marshmallow on a stick. You stir them into hot milk and make the most creamy, delicious hot chocolate ever. The best part? You can make them WAY ahead. I made some in December and used them in March…still wonderful. The recipe and directions can be found by clicking HERE. If you want to print some free tags to tie on your pops click on the image below:

SPICED MOCHA MIX:

My cousin Eden made little jars of this wonderful mix for us several years ago at Christmas and I’ve used the recipe ever since. It’s just wonderful, easy to make, keeps for months in a sealed bag or jar and makes a great gift. Want the recipe and easy directions? Click HERE. Free printable tags? Click on the picture below to get them: (I actually printed these on full-sheet labels, cut them apart and made stickers for my jars…just another idea…)