I am over these hot, muggy and humid summer days! Here in “sunny” Florida we have been getting those infamous 3 p.m. thunderstorms that make the weather even more unbearable in the late afternoons. Although I’m inside during the week, I like to keep active and be outdoors on the weekends so I need something to cool me off. I wanted to make a sweet treat without too much effort that my son could help me make. This is when I remembered making homemade ice cream in the summer with my aunt. If you relate to my picnic blog, you’ll remember I mentioned all the kids literally flocking to her when she brought out her ice cream maker.

Homemade Ice Cream with Magic Shell Topping

 Now, I don’t have an ice cream maker but I do have a bag and a homemade ice cream recipe thanks to Spoonful. I know you’re probably thinking ice cream in a bag…you’re crazy! Have no fear as this is a great activity to do with the kids since they are still out of school. My son had a blast shaking the bag like it was going out of style ;). Honestly, this is a super easy way to create your own ice cream without having that half gallon stare back at you from the freezer. Check out the recipe:

 Ingredients:

 Serves 1

• Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full)
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pint-size zip-top bag
• 1 gallon-size zip-top bag

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal it tightly.
2. Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5 minutes). Feel the small bag to determine when it’s done.
3. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the bag.

This was quite the experience I must say. Of course I had made me own ice cream before with a machine but never by hand, like this. It was actually quite fascinating and my little guy had so much fun. We put some of our favorite toppings in but I decided to make some magic shell to go on top! If you’re a familiar reader to our blog you know that our magic shell recipe is a big hit. There is something about the way the coconut oil and chocolate incorporate themselves together to make this delicious topping. To get the best results make sure you are using half as much coconut oil as you do chocolate. Do you have any childhood favorites that you like to recreate with your kids? Share them in the comments below.

-Lani