When you normally think of ice cream, I bet you think of ice cream parlors and soda shops, trucks with ringing bells coming down your street in the middle of summer and Good Humor ice cream on a stick. Mmmmm…. all sounds great. But why should ice cream be relegated to casual eating? Why can’t ice cream be elegant, more grown up?
When I got the assignment to prepare an ice cream recipe using Smart & Final’s First Street ice cream, my first thought went to my all-time favorite ice cream concoction: Mud Pie. For me, there is nothing better than ice cream in the form of a pie. You get layers of scrumptiousness. (No, that isn’t really a word.)
I decided to make some pies.
| Smart & Final Ice Cream |
I headed to Smart & Final and easily found the ice cream section. Kind of hard to miss, don’t you think?
| Hard to decide on ice cream flavors. |
| Okay, made my decision. |
I chose three different ice creams: Cookies & Cream, Chocolate and Strawberry. Perfect for the three pies I plan on making. But seriously, other ingredients were definitely needed.
| Crazy amount of choices. |
I have to admit I was kind of amazed at the range of fun ingredients Smart & Final has to put together any kind of ice cream event. I went back and forth with the idea of making my own pie crusts out of graham crackers, but then I thought… why go to the trouble when someone already went to the trouble for me.
| Ready made graham cracker pie crust. |
I also needed whipped cream and plenty of toppings.
| First Street Whipped Cream. |
| First Street Sprinkles. |
| Fun Ice Cream Toppings. |
I got everything I needed and was anxious to start making ice cream pies.
The actual recipes for these pies calls for some basic ingredients and then tons of things you can add to make them fun for you and your family.
Ingredients:
Ice cream, melted to soft but not liquid
Pie crusts, either graham cracker or chocolate cookie
Fudge topping, Caramel topping or Strawberry topping
Marshmallow topping, if desired
Various sprinkles, candy pieces, coconut, nuts to your liking
Whipped Cream
To start, you want to make sure that ice cream is soft. You don’t want it to be completely melted or it will be way too messy to work with. Super soft ice cream can be scooped into the pie crust and spread with the back of a spoon to get it even.
| Add “soft” ice cream. |
| Ready to go in the freezer. |
The pie will look like this after the ice cream is filled in. Stick the pie into the freezer to set the ice cream again. You want the ice cream frozen before you begin to put your toppings on. I froze the pies overnight just to make sure they were completely frozen.
| Adding fudge to my cookies & cream pie. |
| Adding caramel to my chocolate pie. |
| Adding marshmallow to my strawberry pie. |
When you are ready to put on your toppings, go slowly. The toppings (hot fudge, caramel, strawberry) will be a warmer temperature than the ice cream and if you go too fast, the ice cream will melt. Spread your hot fudge (or caramel or marshmallow) like you would if you were icing a cake. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect… you will be covering the top with whipped cream which will hide all the flaws.
| Strawberry ice cream with marshmallow topping. |
| Completed strawberry pie. |
| Completed cookies & cream pie. |
| Completed chocolate pie. |
I know… they look amazing, don’t they? Of course, I couldn’t possibly eat three ice cream pies by myself so I invited some friends over for a little dessert party.
| Ice cream pie party!!!!! |
| David cutting the pies - and Lauryn making funny faces. |
| Ben & Moriah enjoying their pie. |
| Jessi, Ben & Moriah mugging for the camera. |
| I wonder who had to try all 3 pies? |
Want to make your own ice cream pies? Buy any size Smart & Final First Street Ice Cream between July 6 - July 26, visit www.firststreeticecream.com and enter the code printed on the receipt for a chance to win one of fifteen $100 SmartCash Cards (5 winners per week, 1 entry per code). And that’s not all! In addition, 1 Grand Prize winner will receive “The Ultimate First Street Ice Cream Party”. Smart & Final will cater an ice cream party feast for 50 people! The winner will be able to choose between the ultimate hand-dipped ice cream & banana party or an ice cream sundae bar with 20+ toppings! The winner will be able to select the party location, whether your office or favorite charity, the sky is the limit!
Seriously… how cool it that??????
This shop was compensated as part of a social shopper insights study by #collectivebias. All opinions and recipes are my own. #firststreeticecream
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