Homemade Magic Shell 3 Ways

You can certainly tell that everyone around here is really enjoying this warm, spring weather. It must be written somewhere that the way to celebrate this changing season is to grill. Patios are getting their fair use, that's for sure. And I've smelt various forms of barbecue every night for days. For good reason to; the weather has been so kind to us. I had my windows open all day yesterday! I even got a little too warm just sitting a my desk in the afternoon, because it is back in a corner under a skylight. The high today is suppose to be 78 degrees! How did this happen?

Now, I enjoy a good old fashion barbecue (maybe just fish and veggie burgers, though) — don't get me wrong — I just choose to celebrate the settling of spring a little differently. With ice cream, of course! You can find me out on the patio every afternoon lately enjoying an affogato or some frozen greek yogurt. I do love ice cream season, but I sure hope spring drags out long this year; I'm certainly not looking forward to the summer heat. But, ice cream, you'll pull me through.

As I'll likely be eating this sweet treat daily for the next several months (you think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not) I like to have variety with ice cream or frozen yogurt. An obvious and simple way to get some variety with this dessert, when you've got a whole tub of the same flavor to enjoy, is to add different toppings and flavor combinations. I've always been a huge fan of shell toppings, probably because it nostalgically reminds me of getting dipped cones at DQ as a kid. Well, making a magic shell topping at home is a lot easier than you'd think! All you need is your topping choice and some coconut oil. You can even mix up a whole jar of topping and keep it in your pantry. But, I switch up what I want to top my ice cream with so often that I just make a bit every time I have a bowl.

See a few of my favorite magic shell creations/combinations below!



COCOA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE | yield: one serving

Ingredients                                                         

+ a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt (I used Umpqua's Greek Blueberry)
+ a chocolate chip cookie (optional)
+ 2 tablespoons semi sweet chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
+ 1 teaspoon coconut oil
+ a pinch of cinnamon

Method                                                              

In a microwave safe bowl, place the measured chocolate chips, coconut oil, and cinnamon. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, or until chocolate chips are completely melted. With a spoon, stir the melted mixture to thoroughly combine the oil with the other ingredients. Scoop out the ice cream into a bowl and spoon the magic shell topping over the top. Serve with a chocolate chip cookie.



VANILLA AND BLUEBERRIES | yield: one serving

Ingredients                                                         

+ a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt (I used Umpqua's Greek Blueberry)
+ a few frozen blueberries
+ 2 tablespoons vanilla chips
+ 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Method                                                              

This one is my absolute favorite! In a microwave safe bowl, place the measured vanilla chips, and coconut oil. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, or until vanilla chips are completely melted. With a spoon, stir the melted mixture to thoroughly combine the oil with the other ingredients. Scoop out the ice cream into a bowl and spoon the magic shell topping over the top. Serve with frozen blueberries.

CHOCOLATE & PEANUT BUTTER WITH FROZEN BANANA | yield: one serving

Ingredients                                                         

+ a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt (I used Umpqua's Chocolate Frozen Yogurt)
+ a few frozen banana slices (optional, slice before freezing)
+ 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
+ 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
+ 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Method                                                              

In a microwave safe bowl, place the measured chocolate chips, peanut butter, and coconut oil. Microwave on high for 45 seconds, or until chocolate chips are completely melted. With a spoon, stir the melted mixture to thoroughly combine the oil with the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Scoop out the ice cream into a bowl and spoon the magic shell topping over the top. Serve with frozen banana slices.

Yum. ALL HAIL ICE CREAM SEASON.
xx Emorie

Double Berry Smoothie

Something you should know about me: I am a habitual smoothie drinker. Smoothies, to me, are the perfect afternoon snack, quick breakfast, or even (gasp!) dessert. It is easy to combine simple ingredients that you likely have lying around needing to be used up, to create healthy and tasty drinks. Smoothies are my personal go-to for when that afternoon hunger hits. They're usually light enough that I'll still be hungry for dinner, yet substantial enough that I feel satisfied (and can wait a few more hours to start dinner). I'm just a smoothie kind of gal. The thicker and chunkier the better, am I right?

I thought it'd be fun to share my favorite smoothie with you. I think it is an utterly perfect and simple combination, and I have one almost daily. Is that sad and boring? Maybe. But delicious. Raspberries and blueberries go wonderfully together, balancing out eachothers' tartness and sweetness. Like a happy berry romance. Oats and greek yogurt give it some substance and protein, while the orange juice and cinnamon spice it all up, just a bit.

If sounds right up your alley, see the recipe below.



DOUBLE BERRY SMOOTHIE | yield: 2 servings

For the Smoothie                                                    

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup oats
2 heaping tablespoons honey greek yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk (more if needed)
a splash of orange juice
a dash of cinnamon

Instructions                                                             

+ Mash the banana a bit and place it in the blender first.
+ Measure out all other ingredients and place in the blender.
+ Blend until smooth.
+ Add more almond milk, if needed, little by little.



Enjoy!

xx Emorie

Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins with Nutella Cream

These muffins are so ridiculous. Honestly, I was kind of surprised by how good they are. I mean, I thought they would be delicious, don't get me wrong. They incorporate pumpkin, Nutella, and cream cheese (all the good things in life), so how could they not be? But these are some sort of next level satisfying goodness. They were probably sent here by the gods. Or aliens. I swear, these muffins must exist in their own parallel universe for if they were to exist in ours the fabric of the universe would likely be torn to pieces (do to too much goodness existing at once). You will certainly travel to a different time and space while eating this. Too much? I don’t even know.

I’d never made/had a doughnut muffin before, so maybe that is why I was so surprised by these. They are little denser than a regular muffin would be, quite like the consistency of a cake doughnut or an ‘old-fashioned’ doughnut. The pumpkin keeps the mixture nice and moist with an extra little surprise of creamy Nutella in the center.

I mainly followed this recipe, but changed it up slightly and added a delicious Nutella cream layer.

PUMPKIN DOUGHNUT MUFFINS WITH NUTELLA CREAM, makes 12+

For the Batter:
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 cups (organic, unbleached) all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup buttermilk
15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs

For the Nutella Cream:
1/2 cup Nutella
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

For the Sugar Topping:
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place liners (aluminum liners work best) in a muffin tray.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl as needed. Slowly add the pumpkin puree and the buttermilk until combined thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine together the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves.With mixer on low, slowly add the flour mixture (in three or four portions).
3. Let the batter sit an combine the Nutella and cream cheese in a small bowl. If not combining easily, microwave up to 30 seconds to soften.
4. Spoon a bit batter into each muffin cup (fill about 1/3 of the way). Then add a spoonful (about a tablespoon) of the Nutella cream to each cup. Flatten this layer a bit, if you'd like. Finish with another layer of batter. I had a bit a batter left over and made 9 mini muffins (without the Nutella cream), this probably would have made 3 more normal sized muffins.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile, combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and melt butter.
7. Let muffins cool 10 minutes, then working with one at a time, remove muffins from pan and brush the top with a thin layer of butter. Place upside down in the bowl of cinnamon sugar mixture and twirl to coat. Let muffins cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Enjoy! Keep in an airtight container to keep moist and fresh. If eating these the next day (or later, if they last that long), I recommend sticking in the microwave for just 10 secs to war up that Nutella layer again.

This recipe in a little involved and time consuming, but so worth it. Now I'm just sad because I already ate them all.