3 Ingredient Cake Batter Ice Cream

Cake Batter. It's good stuff.

Do we ever tire of cake batter? I know I don't. So when I saw a recipe for 2 ingredient ice cream with no ice cream maker required, I really couldn't resist cake batter-izing it.

 The cake batter flavor shone through so wonderfully. It honestly tasted like I made cake batter and stuck it in the freezer. I will venture to say that this is the most cake battery cake batter treat I've ever encountered. And I've encountered quite a few cake batter treats in my day.  Pure. cake. batter. goodness. The sprinkles are necessary, of course. Funfetti ftw. And, I did add just a tiny splash of vanilla because vanilla makes everything almost everything better.

Extra Sprinkles, please and thank you.

 The process is so incredibly simple, it blows my mind. Why don't more people know about this?? One little can of evaporated milk, a cup or so of powdered sugar, and whatever flavoring or add-ins you want creates a soft, creamy ice cream that will amaze you.

The first step is to chill the can of evaporated milk overnight. This is vital to whipping it up into a creamy masterpiece. Then, you'll simply whip the evaporated milk, add powdered sugar, and, in this case, cake mix plus sprinkles, and whip until blended. Pop it in the freezer and take out to whip at 1 hour intervals. You'll probably have to do this about 5 times. It's actually kind of fun. I found myself wishing the hours would pass by faster so I could see what state my ice cream matter was in at the time.

I told you it was simple. My mind is swirling with possibilities. Peppermint extract + chocolate chips + green food coloring for mint chocolate chip. Vanilla extract for a classic, cocoa powder for chocolate, red velvet cake mix, other cake mixes, flavor it with duncan hines frosting creation packets (caramel, cotton candy, cinnamon roll, etc). Bah! Ice cream flavors are taking over my brain!

What are you waiting for? You may even have all the ingredients right in your house and the varieties are endless!

Cake Batter Ice Cream (No Ice Cream Maker Required!)

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk 
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp cake mix (I used yellow)
• 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles (optional)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla (optional)

Directions:

1. Chill the can of evaporated (NOT sweetened condensed) milk in the fridge overnight. 
2. In a large, freezer safe bowl, pour the chilled evaporated milk in. Using a mixer, whip it for 40-60 seconds. I whipped mine until the frothy bubbles were gone. 
3. Add the powdered sugar, and cake mix. Beat until blended. Finally add the vanilla and sprinkles, if desired. Beat until mixed in. 
4. Place the bowl in the freezer for 1 hour. Remove from the freezer and beat it for 1 minute. Return to freezer. Repeat this 4 more times. Freeze until set and store covered in the freezer. Enjoy!

Makes about 1 quart. Adapted from Crunchy Creamy Sweet.

*Note* If you choose to make a different flavor that relies on an extract or Duncan Hines flavor packet, up the powdered sugar to 1 1/4 cup. 

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So there seems to be a cake batter craze going on.

I vote we keep this going for quite a while forever. Let's just say me and my mom have been known to make cake batter from a box with the sole purpose of eating the batter. We've gotten as few as 12 cupcakes from a box. So I guess you could say we're fans of cake batter. I like it more than cupcakes and cake itself. However, I don't recommend a diet of raw cake batter as it can be very risky with the salmonella business.

Whaddya say we get around that little roadblock by infusing chewy chocolate chip cookies with cake batter flavor and sprinkles (naturally).

Completely necessary. Did you know coldstone's cake batter ice cream doesn't have sprinkles in it. You have to add them in. How absurd.

Anyway. So these cookies are actually quite simple. It's a pretty basic cookie recipe but some of the flour is replaced with cake mix. Then, you mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and sprinkles, thus creating the happiest cookie dough I've ever seen.

 

Chill the dough and bada bing bada boom. Cake batter chocolate chip cookies. I couldn't resist eating one warm off the cookie sheet.  Quality control, of course. 

I used yellow cake mix as I feel it imparts a stronger cake batter taste, but feel free to try white if you wish. These cookies are soft, chewy, cake battery, and full of chocolate chips and sprinkles. So, to get your cake batter fix without the risk of salmonella - this is definitely the way to go.

"What do I do with all the leftover cake mix?" you say. Oh dear, sweet friend. The real difficulty is deciding from the medley of choices. I'm still trying to decide between Cake Batter Truffles, Cake Batter Fudge, or some type of homemade cake batter ice cream. There's also recipes for Cake Batter Pudding, Cake Batter Puppy Chow, and just take a look at this round-up: Cake Batter Round Up. Or of course, you may will want to make another batch of these cookies.

Cake Batter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/4 cup cake mix (I used yellow)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine (1.5 sticks), softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cake mix, and baking soda. Be sure to get out the clumps in the cake mix.  In  a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat until creamy. 
2. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and sprinkles. 
3. Cover and chill the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 4 days. 
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
5. Put rounded tablespoons of dough on your cookie sheet. Try to make the cookie dough balls, taller than wide to reduce spreading. Keep the remaining dough in the fridge while a batch is baking. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly golden brown. The middles may look slightly underdone. They will set up as the cookies cool.
6. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for about 4 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to cool completely.  Enjoy!

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

No Fail Banana Bread

Banana bread is an unparalleled experience.

It all starts with watching as your precious bananas turn from bright yellow to freckled to scary close to rotten. Isn't science fascinating?

Then, you get to take your rage out at the bananas. Poor, innocent bananas.

Get all nostalgic by mixing up simple ingredients to create a batter that tastes insanely good for something that looks like mush. Not that I lick the beater or anything.

Finally, the batter is poured into a bread pan which makes you feel all house-wifey because it's homemade bread. You watch through the oven door as the bread slowly rises and browns, filling the house with that familiar, soul warming aroma. The bread comes out and you wait. You wait until you just can't stand it anymore. Then you slice into the tender, dense, and moist bread. You ignore the steam escaping from between the slices, slather on some butter, and savor the first bite of your warm, unadulterated banana bread.

Bliss. And, if you're anything like me, you blissfully return to the loaf for seconds. And thirds. Until your dad comes and eats half a loaf in 2.4 seconds. Oh well. Maybe bliss should be shared.

Are you craving banana bread as much as I am now? This recipe is so simple. It contains just the basic ingredients: flour, sugar, bananas, baking soda, margarine, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Surely you have most, if not all, of these ingredients in your kitchen right now. The batter is so quick to whip up. You'll be in banana bread heaven in no time. And so will your dad or whomever you choose shares in the bliss. With 4 ripe bananas, you're assured a sweet and moist bread every time. No need for yogurt or oil or brown sugar. The recipe I adapted from has 5 stars and 463 reviews - that's what I call no fail!

No Fail Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
•  1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan.
2.  Cream together the softened margarine and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and mashed banana. Mix until combined. 
3. Add the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 
4. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick or touch to see if it is firm. If the top is browning too much before it is done, cover with aluminum foil. Allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes in the pan. Turn it out of the pan for it to cool completely. Savor the experience!

Makes 1 9x5 inch loaf. Adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/best-banana-bread-2886. 

Cinnamon Cheesecake Truffles

I've done it again.

One rainy Sunday evening, I paced around my house wondering what junk food I could stuff in my face before the weekend came to an abrupt end. Alas, all I seemed to find was....Cinnamon Cream Cheese Snack Delights.

 It's so delicious, it should be illegal. (I can say the same for the milk and dark chocolate but I have yet to try the white chocolate and caramel.) So, why isn't that a perfectly good choice? Well, I've already eaten it with about 500 mini pretzels. And, truth be told, the pretzels really just seemed to be getting in the way. What really sounded good to me was a graham cracker dipped in the stuff! Did I have graham crackers? No, no I did not. Did I have graham cracker crumbs? Yes, yes I did. So, I'll take the stuff, mix it together and cover it in white chocolate. That should suit my end-of-the-weekend-binge-craving.

I was right. And had extra chocolate to dip pretzels in. In this case, the pretzels do not get in the way. Rather, they complement the white chocolate quite nicely.

These truffles are cinnamony delights. I can't say enough about my love of truffles. I love the smooth, creamy, sweet interior, coated in a hard chocolate shell. Per. fect. ion. The cinnamon flavor really shines in these truffles. I thought about coating them with regular (semi-sweet chocolate chips) chocolate but I'm glad I went with white. The rich white chocolate balances out the cinnamon interior quite nicely.

Oh boy, do I wish I had made more than 2. Curse my small batch making self. Doesn't my self know that I need to end-of-the-weekend-binge?!

Good thing I have chocolate covered pretzels to comfort me. My advice: make these. And make more than two for goodness sake.

Cinnamon Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Snack Delights Cream Cheese Cinnamon flavor
• 2 Tbsp graham cracker crumbs (or crush your own graham crackers, use cinnamon for extra cinnamon goodness)
• melted white chocolate

Directions:

1. Mix the cream cheese spread and graham cracker crumbs thoroughly. Form into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Place in fridge. 
2. Prepare a tray with parchment paper for the finished truffles. 
3. Melt white chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring between each.  (For more tips on melting chocolate, see Chocolate Tips and Tricks.)
4. Remove the balls from the fridge. Dip in the white chocolate, making sure to coat the entire ball. Place on the prepared tray with parchment. Allow to cool and harden. Place in the fridge to speed up the process. Enjoy!

Makes 2 truffles. Note: To make more just follow the same ratio. Example: 1/4 cup cream cheese, 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs. That would make about 8 truffles. 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1 cup graham cracker crumbs would make about 16, etc. (1:2 ratio of cream cheese to crumbs). For 16 truffles, you would want about 5.5 oz of melted chocolate. Hope this helps to make more than 2! ;)

Red Velvet Brownie Bites

I had a problem.

I'll share it with you because telling others about your problems is the only way to continue being a productive human being that will eventually discover the cure to cancer, end world hunger, and, inevitably, save the human race.

The human race is at stake here. So, my problem was this: a tub of cream cheese frosting that needed to be used up. I know, my life is rough. Cream cheese frosting brings me to....red velvet. What just so happened to be waiting in my pantry? A box of red velvet cake mix. It was 25 cents with a coupon. The coupons made me do it.

Alas, I did not have enough frosting for a cake or even cupcakes. I had to get creative.

Red velvet brownie bites to the rescue!

Quick, easy, rich, fudgy, cute little brownie bites were the canvas for my cream cheese frosting. Truly, a work of art. If you need to bring a dessert to a get-together, I recommend these. They are so fast to make! Unlike ordinary brownies, they only take about 8 minutes to bake! The "batter" comes together in a snap using the cake mix. No one will suspect how easy it was.

They won't even question it once they get a look at one of these cuties.

Oh, and not only is it a red velvet brownie topped with smooth cream cheese frosting, but it's also dotted with white chocolate chips. ;)

If, unlike me, you don't happen to be trying to use up a can of frosting, you could go for homemade! It's really not too difficult and tastes better than canned. (Sorry can, you're still delicious!) The frosting is not technicallyyy necessary and there are the white chips...

 but who are we kidding? You want the frosting.

Some of my brownies overflowed the mini muffin pan a wee bit too much and the tops fell off! :o Have no fear! I saved the day by turning the tops into a whoopie pie. That was my moment of genius for the year.

 

Seriously, so fudgy.

Make these. For the sake of humanity.

Step by step photos:

The lineup of ingredients, almost too simple:

In the oven, the mighty oven, the brownies bake tonight....

Red Velvet Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
• about 3/4 can of cream cheese frosting (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray or grease well. 
2. In a large bowl, sift the cake mix to remove clumps. Add vegetable oil, milk, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix well. The batter will be very thick; use some elbow grease. Fold in white chocolate chips. 
3. Place 1 Tbsp of "batter" (it's more of a cookie dough consistency) in each well. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The tops should look shiny and crackly. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and allow to cool completely. 
4. Once the brownie bites are cool, pipe or spread cream cheese frosting on top. Enjoy!

Makes about 27 brownie bites. Adapted from My Fair Baking.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

If that title's not a mouthful, I'll show you what is.

A mouthful of deliciousness, that is. I can never get all those words in the right order.

These cookies are peanut buttery, with oats for texture (and to be healthy, of course), sweet white chocolate morsels, and butterscotch morsels. Oh, butterscotch.

I like to think of it as the secret ingredient in these cookies since it didn't get a place in the title. Poor butterscotch. It may even be the star of the show. I'm a sucker for butterscotch anything. For years, me and my mom made a horrible recipe for oatmeal scotchies, simply because of the butterscotch. Don't get me wrong; the dough was very good, but they baked up horribly. The cookies were as thin as paper and often crumbled apart. But a crumble with a butterscotch is still delicious.

Well, now we have a new and improved vehicle for our butterscotch! These cookies are thick, soft and chewy, just the way I like 'em. I love baking with peanut butter. I think it gives everything a great, chewy texture. Between the peanut butter, extra egg yolk, and the ratio of brown sugar to white, these are incredibly soft and chewy. And, no mixer required!

It may seem that there is a lot of flavors going on in this recipe but I can assure you, it works. They come together seamlessly. And they don't fall apart, so that's a bonus. If you want less flavors, you could easily substitute peanut butter chips for the butterscotch, though I have no idea why you would.

Step by Step photos:

Melted peanut butter and butter

Adding brown sugar

Adding white sugar

Folding in the chips

Peanut Butter Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup whole oats
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. 
2. In a large bowl, add butter and peanut butter and microwave until melted. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between each. Once melted, add the sugars and stir. Allow the mixture to cool. (For faster cooling, place in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes.)
3.  Once the mixture is cool, add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, stirring to combine. 
4. Add the flour, oats, and baking soda. Stir to combine. 
5. Fold in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips.
6. Drop cookie dough on baking sheet in mounds of 1.5 - 2 tablespoons. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. They cookies should look slightly underdone. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 2-4 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely. 

Makes 30-36 cookies depending on size. Adapted from Averie Cooks. 

(Skinny) Snickerdoodles

Sometimes we have to go back to the classics.

Classic Movies: The Princess Bride, The Goonies, E.T., The Breakfast Club, Lords of Dogtown...hmm maybe I'm just listing movies I like...

Classic Books: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Great Expectations, The Outsiders, How to Kill a Mockingbird

Classic Cookies: Chocolate Chip, Sugar, Chocolate, Gingersnaps and the forlorn, often forgotten, Snickerdoodle.

Don't you love getting a look at the soft, chewy interior of cookies?

These are not a cookie you want to forget. They're similar to a classic sugar cookie but they have the added bonus of being rolled in cinnamon sugar. I love rolling things in cinnamon sugar. I love eating cinnamon sugar. On everything.

I derailed for a minute. Let's get this train of thought back on track. These cookies are sweet, cinnamony, soft, chewy, and comforting - everything a perfect cookie should be! They also have options to skinny-fy it if you want to have your cookie and eat it (guilt free) too! It's a batch of four small cookies so you're guilt free no matter what. Unless someone charges you with making four delicious snickerdoodles. In that case, you're guilty as charged.

Did I tell you that these cookies are made without a mixer and that they take almost no time at all? Did I tell you that they can be made vegan and/or skinny? Consider yourself informed. 

Oh, the crackly tops kill me every time.

Skinny Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup flour of your choice
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar (optional)
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1.5 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 Tbsp milk 
• 1.5 Tbsp butter 
• Additional cinnamon and sugar for rolling (3:1 ratio) 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 330 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment or spray with cooking spray. 
2. Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. 
3. Melt the butter in a small bowl, then stir in vanilla and milk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
4. Form small balls and roll in a cinnamon sugar mixture with a 3:1 ratio, or 2:1, if you prefer. (Example: 3 Tbsp sugar with 1 Tbsp cinnamon). Chill the balls for about 30 minutes in the fridge or put in the freezer for faster chilling. 
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look underdone. Enjoy a warm, cinnamon sugary cookie fresh from the oven!

Skinny Note: You may use whole wheat flour or another flour of your choice. Some have had success with rice flour, etc. You may use a milk of your choice (almond, coconut, skim, 1%, etc. ). You may use a butter substitute such as Earth balance. In place of the sugar in the dough, you may substitute splenda, stevia, sucanat, or evaporated cane juice. 

Makes 4 cookies. Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie.