I Scream for Ice Cream: Coupons + 5 Incredible DIY Ice Cream Cake Recipes

If you follow me in the SnipSnap app, you know I regularly curate coupon bundles dedicated to my favorite foods. What’s my favorite favorite food? Ice cream. I snipped two ice cream coupons I’m really excited about this morning:

Baskin-Robbins BOGO Blueberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cones:

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AND…… $3 off Any Signature Cold Stone Cake:

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Something about this wonderful warm weather has ignited a serious craving for ice cream cake within me and, well, have you ever seen/tasted one of Cold Stone’s cakes? They’re the best. Especially this wicked cookie dough, castle of a cake:

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I have lots of graduation parties, birthday celebrations, and get-togethers coming up, so I’m hoping to get crafty and bake my own ice cream cake creation. If you want to impress your next party’s hosts/guests, forget whatever else you were planning on bringing and bring ice cream cake instead. Because everybody loves ice cream cake.

Check out these delicious ice cream cake recipes I’m dying to make, and try your hand out at homemade ice cream cake with me!

Strawberry and Cream Ice Cream Cake: Katerina from Diethood writes one of my new favorite food blogs. She contributed this recipe to A Night Owl, another wonderful blog written by Kimberly (who’s the kind of girl that likes to get crafty in the middle of the night and therefore, a girl after my own heart!)

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Double Chocolate & Banana Ice Cream Cake: Rosie’s blog, Sweetapolita, will literally make you drool; her recipes are creative and incredibly delicious, her photography makes all of her sweet treats even more irresistible and (oh , yes) her little girls and taste-tasters are also to-die-for adorable. Check out this easy chocolate ganache-covered ice cream cake that incorporates bananas into the ice cream mix for a healthy addition to a sweet fix.

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Vanilla Malted Ice Cream Cake: I love, love, love malted flavors but they seem to be so hard to find (outside of malted Easter eggs and the occasional milk shake). Leigh Anne from Your Homebased Mom, a blog filled with out-of-this-world recipes, adapted this angel food, malt, and whipped vanilla cake recipe from a magazine and shows you how to make it your own. I love that the flavors of this cake and simple, yet sophisticated, and perfect for summer.

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Hot Fudge Sundae Ice Cream Cake: What’s better than one creative girl’s blog? Six sisters’ collaborative, creative blog! Six Sisters’ Stuff is an amazing blog written by six gorgeous and super-talented sisters. They have a wonderful and very comprehensive recipes index; here is one yummy, fudge sundae ice cream cake from their archive of deliciousness.

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 Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake: I seriously, seriously cannot wait to try this recipe. Kylie from The Baking Bird created this incredible mint ice cream/devil’s food cake after Baskin-Robbins’ mint chip ice cream cake. She used fresh brewed coffee in the devil’s food cake batter, which just sounds amazing to me!

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Two Hot Starbucks Coupons + Sweet Summer Muffins

The weather is really beautiful here in Philadelphia; it’s time for long walks and talks at outdoor cafes. Spring Screen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.57.54 PMputs me in the mood for iced beverages and sweet summer flavors, which is why I was so excited to SnipSnap these Starbucks’ deals for $1 off baked goods and shaken iced teas.

What’s better than saving at Starbucks? Whipping up your own delicious treats. In honor of spring cleaninScreen Shot 2013-04-25 at 12.58.17 PMg, I’ve curated a list of fabulously easy muffin recipes that rely on pantry staples and ingredients you’ll want to use up. Did I mention that making your own snack foods, like muffins, is a huge money-saver? In the short term, because cooking with basic ingredients is cheaper than buying manufactured snacks and, in the long term, because filling up on wholesome, natural ingredients instead of artificial flavors and preservatives will keep you and your family healthier for years to come.

Banana Muffins by Under the Table & Dreaming with Stephanie Lynn: Do you have overripe bananas lying around? Everyone has overripe bananas lying around! I especially do; I always snatch them up at the grocery store or after a road race where they’re overabundant and free. I know I should eat the bananas, but even though I love the banana flavor, I’m not crazy about the texture of uncooked bananas. This mini muffin recipe is the perfect solution for me and I can’t wait to try it out! These muffins are the best way to get good use out of all my free bananas, without having to worry about shopping for other ingredients (simple pantry staples make up this recipe!) If you haven’t read Stephanie’s blog, you really have to; she’s an inspirational mom and an artistic genius.

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Whole Wheat Mango Muffins by The Realistic Nutritionist: Claire from The Realistic Nutritionist whipped up this tropics-inspired recipe and I love, love, love the idea of the sweet/savory pairing of whole wheat and mango. This is another super-simple muffin recipe calling mostly for ingredients you should already have in your kitchen. Claire’s blog is great because she’s a lover of food who’s also health conscious; each recipe is aimed at promoting  nutrition and wellness and is accompanied by a nutritional breakdown, so you know exactly how to fit the sweet stuff into your life.

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Zucchini Muffins by Little House Living: Zucchini muffins, really? While sweet zucchini might sound a little strange to you at first (it did to me) you absolutely have to try it. My grandmother used to make an amazing zucchini bread when I was a kid; now I love having this super-simple recipe to make mini muffins with on my own! Merissa from Little House Living has a wonderful blog devoted to simple, frugal living and her recipes are written to reflect her philosophy.

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Ham & Cheese Morning Muffins by Frugal Girls: I absolutely love the idea of a self-contained breakfast with carbs, meat, and cheese, perfect for when I need something quick but satisfying before a morning run. Heidi from Frugal Girls blogged this fabulous recipe for morning muffins that are easy and quick to make. Her blog is filled with budget and time friendly recipes (check out her DIY maple syrup recipe!)

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Healthy Wild Maine Blueberry Muffins from The Centsible Family: I adore this recipe, not just because it’s cheap and easy to make with frozen fruit; it’s also healthy and incorporates super food chia seeds, almond milk in place of regular dairy, and old fashioned oats for fiber. These are a way better alternative to processed blueberry muffins loaded with fake ingredients and preservatives. Mackenzie’s blog is full of frugal living advice and easy, nutritious recipes. She has a really comprehensive slow-cooker recipe section for people who can’t stand to slave in front of the stove all day (me!).

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I hope these recipes inspire a little kitchen creativity in you! Make sure you use these Starbucks coupons, too; they expire at the end of the month!

 


Self-Made Summer Ice Cream, Gelato, and Sorbet: No Ice Cream Maker Required

It’s almost summer time! I have a confession: all it takes is a few weeks of 80 degree weather and I’m eating ice cream every single day. Even a mild-to moderate ice cream obsession can be really hard on your body and your wallet. Conventional ice cream is loaded with additives, preservatives, and artificial flavors and sweeteners. And, with all of the trimmings (let’s face it: what’s ice cream without the trimmings?), it can cost upwards of $5 every time you head out for a frozen treat.

I’ve always wanted to learn how to make my own ice cream and sorbet, but I’ve never wanted to shell out the cash for an ice cream maker. (I also don’t want to spend the time it takes to clean and maintain another small kitchen appliance.) But, I’m in luck! Some of my favorite food and lifestyle bloggers have dished up modified ice cream and sorbet recipes that are all natural, healthy, delicious, and require only a blender or an electric mixer to make. Dig in!

Bakers Royal Triple Melon Sorbet: Naomi from Bakers Royal created this super sweet, triple melon sorbet using cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew. All you need to make this is fruit, juice, and sugar! Perfect for warm nights when you want something sweet and cool to melt in your mouth. I’m thinking I’ll be all over this after my sweaty, mid-summer runs.

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The Stone Soup’s Creamy Lemon Ice Cream: Jules from The Stone Soup has the secret to making the perfect ice cream at home using just a whisk and simple ingredients. Her blog is so wonderful because she has a degree in food science and knows her food down to every last molecule. The trick to this ice cream? Lots of sugar, which prevents the ice cream from freezing all the way (and makes it taste amazing).

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Emmy Cooks’ Salted Caramel Ice cream: I’ll be honest: I just about love salted caramel anything. Nothing compliments a sweet treat better than a little pinch of salt, and you will regularly find me salting cookies and cake, too (weird, I guess). So I was really excited to discover Emmy Cooks’ creamy delicious salted caramel ice cream recipe.

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Busy in Brooklyn’s Easy Raspberry Sorbet: I love how Chanie from Keeping Busy in Brooklyn breaks it down: all you need to make a successful sorbet is the right combination of soft fruit, hard fruit, and juice. Chanie’s basic sorbet recipe can be modified to incorporate different flavor combinations, like pear+moscato and strawberry+basil!

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Girl Makes Food’s Easy Watermelon Sorbet: I absolutely love this watermelon sorbet recipe from Girl Makes Food because you don’t need any added sugar to make it taste delicious; the watermelon is sweet and lovely tasting on its own! You can also experiment with adding fruit juice, herbs, or chocolate to the simple mix to customize your sorbet. I love Alissa’s blog, because her recipes are perfect for health-conscious, extremely busy people!

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Magnolia Days’ Strawberry Sorbet: Renee from Magnolia Days shared this simple, sweet recipe for strawberry sorbet. There’s something about strawberry that screams summer more than any other fruit; I’m excited to make this with some mint leaves as garnish for summer nights on the patio.

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Cooking with Grace’s Homemade Honey-Ricotta Gelato: I am SO excited to try this recipe form Cooking with Grace. Who knew you could make gelato with ricotta? This recipe is so unique and I love that it’s sweetened with mostly honey instead of sugar. And I love how versatile it is as a base; you could incorporate cinnamon like Grace did, or you could add in other seasonal flavors (I’m thinking nutmeg) to transition this recipe into fall.

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Fit & Fed’s Banana Coconut Sorbet: I really love Mary’s blog Fit & Fed because, not only does she chronicle her adventures with healthy food, she also blogs about being an ice skater which I think is incredibly cool. I’m dying to try this banana coconut sorbet recipe: nothing screams “island” more than this flavor combination and frozen banana sorbets are always incredibly sweet without any added sugar.

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