When I was asked by Southern Living to consider reviewing an ice cream cookbook,  I must admit that I got all excited.  I love to experiment with different ice creams as evidenced by my appearance on THV11’s Good Morning Arkansas program last summer (I’m such a television star!  Want my autograph?) so I immediately put the ice cream container to my mixer in the freezer.  However, when Scooped: Ice Cream Treats, Cheats, and Frozen Eats (Allison Cox, Ed.) arrived, I was a little disappointed because it wasn’t a cookbook full of ice cream recipes at all.  My first reaction was pretty much, “Oh well…”  That is, until I really started giving it a more legitimate perusal.

Ya’ll, this is a fun little book chock full of (ask your Southern belle friends to explain that little diddy) creative ideas for making desserts and treats utilizing both store-bought and homemade ice creams.  The recipes are easy to follow and are sure to interest the experienced as well as the novice cook.  There are tons of ideas that you can use with your children as well.  The first section, “Ice Cream Socials”,” presents ideas for throwing together impromptu yet creative ice cream party ideas.  In reading through this chapter I was reminded of one of my favorite birthday parties we hosted for Perfect Daughter when she was about five if I recall correctly.  It was a banana split party complete with several ice cream flavors and a multitude of sprinkles, nuts, fruits and whipped cream, of course.  We put garbage bags over the kids and let them go for it.  That was such a fun party.  We all loved it, adults included.  (I think we may have had a whipped cream fight in the midst of it all.)  The Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping recipe (page 282) would have been a perfect addition for that party. 

 Photo Source: Southern Living

The section entitled “Ice Cream Bites” has several super suggestions for make-ahead ideas that will be perfect for your summertime parties and celebrations: Mini Ice Cream Peanut Butter Cups (20), Profiteroles with Coffee Ice Cream (23), Meringue Nests with Ice Cream and Raspberries–any berries will work ((25), Dipped Ice Cream Whoopie Pies (who doesn’t love those) on page 26, Peanutty Ice Cream Sandwiches(30) , and Lemon Bars (34) which use lemon sorbet (LOVE!) are just a few of the treats you can prepare ahead of your event and are sure to be big hits with your guests.

For our recent Cinco de Mayo dinner, I made the Dessert Tacos found on page 75.  These were fun and so, so easy.  The kiddos in your life are sure to love helping make these.  I prepared the ice cream scoops using Yarnell’s ice cream (an Arkansas-based company) ahead of time keeping them in the freezer until time to construct the tacos.  In fact, everything from baking the tortillas to toasting the coconut and cutting up the fruit was done ahead which made it nice come dinner time.  I think the next time I prepare these, I will cut the size of the tortillas and the ice cream scoops since this made for a huge dessert for us.  I suppose, if you are so inclined, you could actually share with someone.  Or not.  I also think these would be fun to make with those chocolate taco shells that you can find on the store shelves now.  (If you are really industrious, you could make your own.)

Avocado-Key Lime Ice Cream  (page 201)?  Well, you just know that I will be giving this one a try.  With my love of all things citrus, I must.  And avocado?  Who ever heard of avocado in an ice cream?  This one is included in the chapter on homemade ice cream along with tips for successful ice cream making.  If you are new to making homemade ice cream, then be sure to review those. I thought the idea for the Popcorn Ice Cream was such a cute one and would be perfect for a movie night on the lawn.  Doesn’t that sound like a great way to spend a hot summer evening?  Blackberries will soon be in season in Arkansas so I’m really looking forward to trying our the Blackberry-Lemon Ice cream found on page 209.  Others that sounded especially interesting to me were: Blueberry Cheesecake (199), Caramel-Cashew (203), and Banana-Coconut (210).  I wonder which ones you might try.(1

If you’re an ice cream shake sort of person, you’ll probably want to give the Mississippi Mudslides (158) and Fizzy Fruity Ice Cream Floats (175) a try. Or how about a Blackberry Cobbler shake (162)?  I’m all over that one!

Naked ice cream is not something that Perfect Boy and Perfect Girl will endure so I’ll be whipping up several of the suggestions from the Ice Cream Extras chapter.  What could not be tasty about Bacon-Praline Crumble (223) or Chocolate-Pecan Pie Granola (224)?  Oh my goodness.  This Southern girl’s mouth is already watering.  Bacon?  Pecan Pie?  Praline (praw – leen by the way)?  I believe I will.  And if you’re looking for more than just a topping, perhaps a cookie will make the perfect addition to your ice cream treat.  I’m thinking the Pecan-Toffee Shortbread (239) variety will be making its way to our cookie jar this week.

I’ve written before that Southern Living is an essential part of every household in the South, certainly in mine.  Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, Southern Living is a part of Time, Inc. the largest published in the United States.  Scooped: Ice Cream Treats, Cheats, and Frozen Eats is a publication of Oxmoor House which is an imprint of Time Home Entertainment and is available on Amazon.