What's better than your own bowl of ice cream? How about an ICE CREAM PARTY!

Your August Savor Time & Tradition box features specialty sauces, nuts and even sprinkles that inspire you to gather your favorite people to enjoy one of life's most loved desserts!

Here in the Gathering Guide for this month you will find tips for hosting a fun Sundae Social, as well as a recipe for no-fuss, no-churn ice cream that requires just a few ingredients and a few hours in the freezer. I've even included ideas for turning your sundae into a sandwich. Finally, I've included a few other suggestions for using your items from this month's box.

Whether it's just a couple of family members or an end of summer soiree with all your friends, I hope you'll share your Sundae Social fun with us on social media. When you do, please tag @savortimeandtradition on Facebook and Instagram.

HOW TO HOST A SUNDAE SOCIAL

People have been enjoying ice cream socials for centuries. Ice cream sundaes give us the added opportunity to flex our individual creative genius. That's why a Sundae Social is a great way to celebrate the end of summer with your friends or family. 

As always, I encourage you to keep things simple. After all, the point is to actually gather with people you love to enjoy each other's company and make some memories.

Here are a few tips for hosting a low stress Sundae Social that is sure to bring a smile to the faces of your favorite people

1. The Ice Cream: Of course you can have fancy flavors for your gathering if you want, but to keep things simple, narrow the options. Offering two popular choices like Vanilla and Chocolate will supply the perfect canvas for your guests to create their ice cream masterpieces. 
2. The Toppings: Generally, you'll want to offer toppings that cover a few basic categories: Fresh, Sweet, Crunchy, and Saucy. Think of offering fresh berries or dried fruits, a few favorite candies, crunchy pecans, pretzels, cookie pieces, chocolate and toffee chips, and sauces like flavored caramels, chocolate sauce, and even jam. Fresh whipped cream and some sprinkles are the perfect finishing touches.
3. The Details: AKA bowls and spoons. Nothing is more aggravating than trying to keep your sundae toppings from toppling over the bowl and onto the ground. On the other hand, a large bowl filled to look pretty may lead to a tummy ache for your guests. Consider using bowls or disposable ice cream cups that are not too big and not too small but just right for two scoops of ice cream and toppings. 
4. The Fun: Getting your guests involved is a great way to increase the fun factor of any gathering. Bring your own themes can also make your hosting job even easier.  How about asking your guests to BYOT? Have guests choose their favorite unusual topping which would encourage folks to try new things and would be a great conversation starter. Or, have them participate by bringing their favorite bowls or spoons which wouldn't require them to actually spend any money but would really cut down on clean up. You can add to the fun by asking everyone to BYOS -Bring your own Scoop as in, story, to share with everyone. The "scoop" can be as simple as everyone sharing what's new in their life or people can choose to share a fun or interesting story that the other guests haven't really heard yet. 
5. The Prep: If you are expecting more than a handful of guests, consider pre-scooping your ice cream onto a sheet pan or freezer safe baking dish with parchment paper between the layers. Keep the scoops covered and in the freezer until it's time to build. Scooping the ice cream ahead of time can really cut down on the mess and make the sundae building experience even easier. 

FEATURED RECIPIE

No-Churn Ice Cream

No-churn ice cream is really simple, takes just a few core ingredients and can be made and popped into the freezer in less than 10 minutes. Plus, you can add whatever flavors you like! 

What you'll need:

• 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
• 2 Cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 Teaspoons good vanilla extract
• a pinch of salt
• a 9x5 loaf pan or a freezer safe container that holds at least 6 cups

Instructions:

1. Pour sweetened condensed milk into a bowl
2. Add vanilla extract and stir by hand to combine
3. Add whipping cream to a separate bowl and whip using an electric hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks form
4. Gently fold the whipping cream into the condensed milk mixture until well combined. 
5. Spoon the mixture into the loaf pan, smoothing out the top with a spoon
6. Cover with plastic wrap making sure the plastic rests directly on top on the ice cream mixture
7. Freeze at least 5 hours before serving. 

 

Make it Your Own

Make it chocolate: Add 2 teaspoons cocoa powder to the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla mixture. 

How about coffee ice cream: add 2 teaspoons brewed and cooled coffee along with the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla

Mix it up: You can add flavor with chocolate, caramel or your favorite jam by swirling it through your ice cream after the first two hours of freezing. Just add on top and then use a skewer to drag it through until the swirl is well distributed. One to two hours after freezing is also the time to add crunch by stirring in chopped cookies, chocolate chips, roasted nuts, toffee chips, candy pieces, or whatever you desire. Re-cover and place back in the freezer for at least 3 more hours. 

 

Make it a Sandwich 

I can still remember the first time I had an ice cream sandwich. You can bring back that nostalgia of childhood with these tips on making your own ice cream sandwiches.

1. Choose your ice cream flavor. Of course good ol' vanilla works but you can fancy it up and choose any flavor you like. Strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and even Peanut Butter Ice cream make GREAT fillings for ice cream sandwiches. 

2. Choose your "bread": Of course, ice cream isn't a sandwich until you have the right stuff to hold it together. Cookies, waffles, and even brownies are good options. Just be sure the 'bread' you choose is not too soft and not too crispy, otherwise, you'll have a mess on your hands... really, that ice cream will be all over your hands! :) Generally, choose something that is a little more chewy than crisp or brittle. 

If you want to re-create that original ice cream sandwich experience but don't want to bake, try using Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies. Be sure to start with softened ice cream and be careful not to break the cookies during assembly.

3. Take it over the top with toppings: Toppings can add visual appeal plus flavor and texture to your ice cream sandwich. Use your favorite sprinkles, nuts, chocolate chips or candy pieces to rim your ice cream sandwich. Just put the topping of choice on a plate and roll the assembled sandwich until you get the ice cream coated.

4. Let it chill: Giving your sandwich creations a little rest in the freezer helps the ice cream firm up and softens the cookies and wafers which makes for easier eating. Wrap individually in plastic wrap. Once wrapped, go head and use your hands to smooth out the ice cream edges in the wrapped sandwiches then place in the freezer several hours or overnight. 

Just to get you thinking creatively, here are a few flavor combinations that work really well together:

• Chewy ginger cookies with Peanut Butter ice cream and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate chips
• Peanut Butter cookies with chocolate ice cream and mini-marshmallows
• Snickerdoodle Cookies with caramel swirl ice cream and crushed candied pecans
• Sugar Cookies with Strawberry ice cream coated with sprinkles and white chocolate chips
• Oatmeal cookies with vanilla ice cream coated with chopped dried cherries and toffee chips

 

Enjoy Using This Month's Products

 Because most items chosen to be included in your Savor Time & Tradition Box are made with high quality ingredients, many of them have shorter shelf-lives than similar products that contain preservatives or stabilizers. So, I hope you will try some of these ideas for using and enjoying this month's selections.

Caramel Sauces: In addition to topping your favorite ice cream, try stirring either of these specialty caramels into your favorite brownie recipe. The Cinnamon Vanilla caramel can elevate your next plate of pancakes, waffles or French toast. Drizzle over grilled peaches or apple pie or try adding to your coffee. You can even add it to your morning oatmeal for a sweet start to your day. 

Pecans: While these Bourbon Maple Pecans are perfect right out of the package, you can also use them to add a sweet crunch to your salads. Include them in a crumble topping for an extra special Apple Brown Betty, or layer the pecan crumble and caramel with yogurt to create a parfait that is pretty and delicious. You could also create your own trail mix by simply mixing them in with your favorite chopped dried fruits and chocolate chips.

Sprinkles: Obviously you can use these to top your favorite ice cream, cookies and cupcakes. You can also stir them into your favorite white cake mix and bake a confetti cake with no added dyes. You can also make and enjoy Birthday Cake Popcorn: Pop a batch of popcorn and set aside. In 30 second intervals, microwave 1 cup white chocolate discs or chips in the microwave just until melted. Quickly stir in 5 tablespoons of white cake mix. Pour the mixture over the popcorn and toss to coat. Then, immediately sprinkle with 3-4 tablespoons of sprinkles. Spread the sprinkled and coated popcorn onto a baking sheet until cooled. Once cool, it's ready to break apart and enjoy.