Greetings, sweet readers! In this issue:

• How ice cream makes life easier

• Amazing recipes using melted ice cream as an ingredient

• Get your licks in!

• A nod to ancient Persia, Rome, and Marco Polo

Here’s the Scoop on Vanilla Ice Cream: There's Nothing Plain About It

Why on earth would we publish an article about vanilla ice cream? Because it can be used in so many ways other than in a cone, sundae, milkshake, or on a slice of pie. Aside from being the base for just about any ice cream mix-ins you can dream up, melted French vanilla ice cream is the ultimate cooking hack that can be used in some surprising ways. 

NOTE: French vanilla ice cream should be used for the ideas on this page. It contains eggs, while plain vanilla ice cream generally does not. Also, premium brands, which are more expensive, are denser. This improves the final results. 

Crème Anglaise

This decadent sauce elevates fresh fruit and desserts to a swoon-worthy level. 

Hack: Melt French vanilla ice cream, and you have instant Crème Anglaise. And it makes total sense. The ice cream uses the same base recipe as the sauce but requires no effort.

 Bread Pudding

For this comforting classic, French vanilla ice cream can be used in two ways. Use your favorite bread pudding recipe as a guideline. 

Hack 1: Substitute melted ice cream for Crème Anglaise to ladle over each serving of bread pudding.

Hack 2: Just add bread! Simply substitute the other ingredients for melted French vanilla ice cream. Bake as instructed. 

French Toast

What's a better way to greet the morning than with French toast drizzled with syrup? This time-saving recipe will awaken your taste buds and save you a lot more time.

Hack: To make the soaking custard, melt a container of French vanilla ice cream and let your bread slices soak it up. You can add eggs if you'd like. Either fry the toast in a pan or bake it in an ovenproof dish at 350° for 30 minutes.

Cream, please

Hack: To make a dreamy cup of coffee, tea, or hot cocoa, use melted vanilla ice cream instead of milk or half-and-half and sugar. You can thank us later.

And don’t hesitate to use it to zhuzh up cocktails (especially egg nog).

Crème Brûleé

Why wait to have a chef prepare this classic dessert for you? With this easy shortcut, you can make it yourself whenever you like.

Hack: The ingredients for crème brûleé are almost a one-to-one match for the traditional recipe. But rather than going through the steps involved in making the custard, just follow this genius crème brûleé recipe:

Ingredients (per serving):

• 1/2 cup melted French vanilla ice cream

• 1 egg yolk

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Melt the ice cream either on the counter or gently in the microwave to avoid heating it. Whisk the yolks.Pour the mixture into an ovenproof bowl, such as a ramekin, for each serving.

3. Place the ramekins in a baking pan and put it in the oven. Fill the pan with hot water. Bake until the custard jiggles or reaches 170° on a food thermometer. Refrigerate after cooled.

4. Before serving: To brûleé the top, sprinkle a small amount of granulated sugar on top of the cold custard. Using a kitchen torch or broiler, heat until sugar melts, watching closely. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Ben & Jerry’s has their own melted ice cream hack: Boom Chocolatta Panna Cotta. We imagine you can experiment with their other flavors. Chunky Monkey Panna Cotta, anyone?

The elevated boxed cake mix

Achieve an irresistible texture the next time you use a store-bought cake mix.

Hack: Add two cups of melted premium French vanilla ice cream to the dry mix. Bake according to directions. That’s it!

Fudging it

Try this great kitchen hack for ice cream fudge. Try experimenting with other ice cream flavors.

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Frozen in time

What are you doing to give yourself a little treat today?