Nutella + Banana Ice Cream

Probably for most of my childhood (ok, even adulthood), if someone asked me my favorite food, I'd most likely have responded [very enthusiastically] with "Ice Cream!"

It should be of no surprise to anyone that we put an ice cream maker on our wedding registry. It should also be no surprise how excited I was when I learned the gift was fulfilled. It's maybe a little dangerous that I own an ice cream maker now, BUT, I can have ice cream ANYTIME I want. Not only that, I can have ANY flavor I want.

Life is good.

We inaugurated this beautiful machine with, what else, Nutella. I threw a banana in there, too. That makes it healthy, right?

The ice cream consistency was not AS creamy as say, Mitchell's, but it was pretty freakin' delicious, all the same. I made a milkshake out of it, too; it was fabulous.

Nutella & Banana Ice Cream
recipe slightly adapted from Crumb Blog
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Yield:
1 pint ice cream

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Nutella (or, your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread)
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups half and half

Method:
Mix all ingredients in food processor or a blender until everything is well incorporated. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Then, prepare the ice cream according to your machine's direction. I left mine in the machine for about 20 minutes. The ice cream will be pretty soft. To firm it up, transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container, and freeze for a couple hours before enjoying (I know, this part is tough). Once frozen, scoop & enjoy!
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Pecan Pie

Let's talk about pie. That delectable flaky crust. A filling of sugar and buttery goodness. And a dollop of ice cream to top it off.

Here's a favorite of hubby's. A treat for him for being extra supportive in our first few months as newlyweds.  

Clearly my pie-crust creating and rolling still needs a little work, but this pie filling is delicious enough to distract from a perfect crust. Add a scoop of toasted almond ice cream on top, and you have the ultimate indulgence.

 

 

Pecan Pie

pie crust recipe & directions courtesy Smitten Kitchen

filling recipe adapted from Allrecipes

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Yield:

1 9-inch pie. I'll leave it up to you to determine how many that will actually serve ;)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

Rather than re-post, please follow the recipe & directions on the link posted above. Smitten Kitchen never fails me.

For the filling:

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

6 tbsp butter, melted

2 eggs

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Prepare your crust first. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.

Preheat oven to 400*F. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until foamy and then stir in melted butter. Add the sugars and flour, and mix until combined. Then, mix in the milk, vanilla, and pecans.

Once pie shell is assembled, pour in the pecan mixture into the unbaked pie shell. Bake at 400*F for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350*F and continue to bake for another 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is a nice golden brown and filling is set.

Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

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Almond Joy + Donut

If you don't have a donut pan in your life, you should probably get one. We had put it on our registry thinking it'd be fun to try our hand at homemade donuts. Well, tried we have. And the results are delicious. Always. Plus, they're baked. Way healthier than fried donuts, right?

This base recipe is great. From there, you can dip the donuts into any toppings. I'm still on a Nutella kick, so I decided on an almond joy variety of donut, but with Nutella instead of plain ol' chocolate. Great decision, if I do say so myself.

Almond Joy Donuts

adapted from Table for Two

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Yield: 

6 donuts

Ingredients:

For the Donut:

3/4 cup flour

2 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar (I cut this down to even less)

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp butter, melted

For the "Almond Joy" topping:

1/3 cup nutella

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly butter or grease donut pan.

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt & sugar.

In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together milk, vinegar, egg & melted butter.

Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix, or your donuts won't be fluffy!

Transfer batter to the donut pan. I use a spoon, but a ziploc bag with a corner cut out would work well, also.

Bake for 7 minutes, or until slightly golden brown on top and the donuts spring back when touched.

Let cool for a few minutes.

While the donuts are cooling, prepare the topping. 

Mix together the nutella and heavy cream until smooth. 

Place coconut and almond together in a separate bowl.

Take each donut, dip and swirl in the nutella mix and then dip in the almond & coconut mix.

Repeat until you've reached your desired amount of topping.

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