Anyone Interested In Cinnamon Roll Cake?

Yes? Anyone?  You are?  Well, follow me over to Jolts & Jollies where I share the recipe to this super easy yet so delicious cake in a guest blog post. 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ice Cream & Brownie Sundae

Hi, everybody! I'm Michelle from One Ordinary Day and I'm excited to be Ingrid's guest blogger today. She's off enjoying her vacation, and while she's away it seems like the perfect time to make something dark and chocolaty. Are you with me?

There's a lot of pressure when you're writing for someone else's blog... I don't want to spell any words wrong. I want to share a great recipe with you. I want to make my friend happy. And I really want to make a good impression. With those things swirling around in my head, I just couldn't quite make up my mind about what to bake. My indecision turned out to be a good thing, because instead of posting only one recipe, I'm sharing two! It's a two-for-one! Come to think of it, if I give you the recipe for my chocolate sauce then you're really getting three recipes. Woop!

Let's start out with the brownies. You can definitely use a boxed mix, but if you have the time to make Ultimate Brownies, you won't be disappointed. The name says it all. They are seriously good and pair perfectly with this ice cream. Come to think of it, they pair perfectly with anything and everything. But since you can find that recipe on my blog, let's move on and meet the real star here. Chocolate-peanut butter ice cream. Hello, new best friend.

I love peanut butter. My kids and I could possibly starve if peanut butter was taken from us. I swear, at least one person eats a peanut butter sandwich in our house every single day. And chocolate? I can't even describe my baby girl's love of the stuff or how smitten Sam and I are with anything dark and fudgy. Jim's got a sweet tooth too, and he would surely never turn down dessert. So it comes as no surprise that this sundae was a hit with all of us.

This chocolate-peanut butter ice cream recipe comes straight from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. The man knows his ice cream. His recipes never disappoint, and this one has the added perk of requiring no eggs and very little prep time. And, people, I can't even put into words how delicious this ice cream is. Is it appropriate to use the word "luscious" when you're describing ice cream? Yes? Good, because this is absolutely luscious!

Don't let summer pass by without building a big, beautiful sundae with all the trimmings. It's the perfect way to end a sunny day.
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Recipe: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ice Cream
The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

2 c. half and half
1/4 c. unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 c. granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter

Whisk together the half and half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil. (It will start to foam up.) Remove from heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until thoroughly blended.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions. (I find that chilling the ice cream mixture in an ice bath is the fastest way to get to eat my ice cream. I fill a big bowl with ice and water, then set my saucepan inside. You can also just use the fridge, but when I'm craving ice cream, I want to use the fastest method I can!)

Makes 1 quart.

Recipe: Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Whisk cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a pot until combined. Add water and whisk or stir until well blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove syrup from heat and allow to cool. When cooled completely, stir in vanilla extract until well combined. Pour syrup into an airtight container and refrigerate.

Makes approx. 1 3/4 c. of syrup and will keep nicely in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.

Guest Blogger: Lick The Bowl Good

Hello Everyone! I am Monica from Lick The Bowl Good and I was asked by Ingrid to be a guest blogger here on her blog while she's away on vacation. Ingrid and I have become great friends over the last year and a half, so of course I said YES! I am honored to be here and thank you for having me.

Originally I wasn't sure what recipe I wanted to share with you. Would I share something savory? Or would I treat you with cookies (which he doesn't like to make) or chocolate and raisins (which she despises)? In the end, I wanted whatever I featured on this blog to reflect Ingrid's personality and her blog style. I also still wanted her to be my friend and I knew if I made something with raisins in it, that she'd stop talking to me. ha ha!

So today I have a special cookie for you. I made these for McKenna's 11th birthday last month. I made snowflake sugar cookies for them over the holidays and they all really enjoyed them. So much so that Ingrid decided to make some for the dessert table at her brother's wedding. She used the same recipe I did, but for some reason McKenna claims mine were better. I'm not sure if that's true or if that's just what Ingrid told me so she wouldn't have to make them again :-) Either way, McKenna asked nicely so I sent her some in a surprise birthday package.



Ingrid said I could make and decorate them in any way I wanted, so I decided to turn to my Message In A Cookie Cutters that I got from Williams-Sonoma. I planned on doing pink and purple and was immediately shut down. Ingrid told me she's not a girly girl and that she prefers blues, greens and yellows. I still wanted them to be somewhat feminine, young and fun so I settled on purple, lime green and a dark peacock blue. I cut them into hearts and scalloped rectangles then accented them with white royal icing for contrast and added sweetness. They were then bagged and tagged with these sweet embossed stickers given to me by my friend Janet. I think this completes the package- thanks Janet!

Rather than typing out the recipe, I'll just link to it back on my blog since it's lengthy. The recipe for the sugar cookies can be found HERE. Thank you all for allowing me to share a recipe and photos with you. I hope you enjoy them. Ingrid has a picture of McKenna with her cookies so maybe if you ask nicely she'll share it with you when she returns!

Recipe: Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing