I've been on an ice cream kick recently. I like to make at least one container of homemade ice cream every week. It's cheap to make. It can be made ahead. Varieties are endless... What's not to love? Well, the answer is that I make a container of homemade ice cream every week, and I eat a container of homemade ice cream every week (with a little help from my friends). I've determined that I'm a diet-killer for anyone around me. 

A few weeks ago I shared the amazing Double Oreo Ice Cream that I've declared my all-time favorite ice cream. I love the Jeni's bases, so the Oreo layers just really took it over the edge. Since I make that ice cream all the time, I began wondering how I could mix it up in other incredible ways. Then it hit me: Butterfinger Ice Cream. Let me tell you, the Oreo has some stiff competition with this recipe.

The key is to have a candy that can crush up easily and is still very flavorful. Butterfingers are my all time favorite candy. I don't even really know what they are. What is the flavor of a Butterfinger? "Crispety, Crunchety, Peanut Buttery!" ...their tagline is obviously no help. Anyways, I started with the Jeni's ice cream base, infused it with crushed Butterfingers, put the base in the ice cream maker, and then when it came out, layered the Butterfinger base with more crushed Butterfingers. It was crushed Butterfingers, Butterfinger ice cream, crushed Butterfingers, Butterfinger ice cream, etc. 

I'm not sure it's even necessary for me to tell you this was heaven in ice cream form. Every scoop has swirls of Butterfinger combined with the already flavorful, smooth, creamy Butterfinger base. Sorry for being a diet-killer, but you need to make this as soon as possible. And once again, if you don't have an ice cream maker, it's a fantastic investment!

Double Butterfinger Ice Cream

Recipe made using ice cream base technique from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

2 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 ½ oz. cream cheese softened

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup cane sugar

1/8 cup light corn syrup

3-4 king size Butterfingers (3.7-ounce each) bars or 5-7 regular sized Butterfingers (2.1 ounce)

Crush up all Butterfingers and place in bowl. Butterfingers should crush easily, so you can do this by breaking them up while in the wrappers, or placing in a plastic bag and crushing them in there.

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and salt.  Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk with heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan.  Bring milk mixture to a boil.  Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture through the sieve into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth.  Place 1/4 cup crushed Butterfinger in the bowl with the hot milk mixture.  Steep for 30 minutes to dissolve candy and impart flavor.  Whisk to incorporate.  Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4 hours or overnight). Once chilled, whisk ice cream base to break up any remaining candy pieces.  Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Sprinkle a layer of crushed Butterfinger into a plastic container (or other container for ice cream) and lightly spoon a layer of ice cream on top.  Continue to alternate layers of candy and ice cream until the container is full, topping with a sprinkle of candy pieces.

Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

I can think of few things better than the smell of something cooking in the crockpot all day. Crockpot Chicken Tacos are by far the most popular recipe on my blog. Besides the fact that they're delicious, there's something to be said for a recipe that only uses three ingredients yet feeds 12. That goes for most crockpot recipes. They're usually pretty straight-forward and feed a crowd. So, you can imagine how excited I get when I find another great crockpot recipe. This is one of those. I may like it even better than the Crockpot Chicken Tacos because it is THAT good. 

Of course I used North Carolina BBQ sauce (Sticky Fingers). I know there are various regional preferences, but this seemed like a given to me. Disclaimer: this is not the vinegar vs. tomato vs. mustard pork BBQ sauce debate. Obviously vinegar-based is where my heart lies on that one. This BBQ sauce is the thicker red sauce that is made for BBQ chicken. I used Sam Adams Summer Ale for the beer portion since I'm a big Sam Adams fan, and I wanted the rest of the six pack for myself.

The chicken is incredibly flavorful and rich with the sauce. I served it in warm kaiser rolls and popped a piece of cheese on top. I'm not big on slaw, but I imagine that would be good for those slaw lovers out there. I added sweet potato fries as a side because...well they're sweet potato fries. Does that even need an explanation?

I really can't imagine anyone not loving this recipe. It will absolutely be one of my new go-to recipes for summer cookouts. It also makes a giant serving so I was eating BBQ beer chicken sandwiches for my lunch for multiple days in a row. Despite eating this for multiple meals within the course of four days, I was still upset when I ate the last serving.

Enjoy!

BBQ Beer Shredded Chicken

Recipe from The Dainty Chef

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 large)
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp paprika
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup beer (any kind you like)
3-3 1/2 cups of barbecue sauce
Add all the ingredients, other than the chicken into the bowl of a crockpot and stir to combine. Add the chicken and cover with the sauce. Cook on low for about 6 hours.

Directions:

Shred the chicken, and serve on toasted kaiser rolls. Top with cheese or cole slaw.

*Freezer-Friendly Tip* – Freeze extra chicken in ziplock bags to use for pizza, quesadillas and baked potatoes.

I'm all about any excuse to justify chocolate with breakfast. Truthfully it doesn't take much, as I usually have some sort of chocolate stashed in my desk that I eat before 10am anyways, but that's neither here nor there. There's something about biting into a muffin or piece of coffee cake that seems to start the day off right. I'd be in trouble if I kept either around the house on a regular basis because I love breakfast sweets so much I end up eating them all day long. I don't know how some people skip breakfast. It's literally the first thing I think about every morning. 

I brought these muffins into work today and everyone kept calling them cupcakes because they are chocolate...with chocolate chips. I've always thought muffins and cupcakes differed in two main ways. I'm sure Google could answer this question as well, but I won't bother looking it up. The first is that muffins don't have icing. It doesn't matter this muffin is rich and chocolatey. It doesn't have icing. It's a muffin! The exception: coffee cake muffins with any sort of glaze. It can still be a muffin even with a sweet glaze. Go ahead and eat it for breakfast. No one's judging. The second is the way in which the ingredients are combined. Here's where these delicious chocolate muffins tip toe the line.

I got this recipe from Dough Puncher, and though she originally combined the ingredients according to a standard cupcake method, she suggested that she might like it better if she switched to the cake method next time. Well, she may not have tried her recommendation yet, but I'm here to vouch for these muffins mixed according to the cake method. These are so good I see no reason to go back to the original method next time. They are most certainly muffins, but they're sweet enough that you wouldn't imagine spreading a piece of butter or jam on them like some people do with muffins.

The flavor is rich and chocolatey. The texture is denser than some of the lighter muffins (which, let's be real, we could eat like five of anyways), but lighter than most cakes. They stayed moist (sorry) beyond the first day and a half, and that's a big accomplishment with muffins. You will LOVE these. Make them and find any way to share them..because keeping them around the house is a dangerous thing!

Double Chocolate Muffins

Recipe from Dough Puncher (adapted from Barbara Bakes)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk (skim, 1%, 2%, whatever you have works)

1/3 cup sour cream

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used mini chips)

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners to make 12 muffins.

2) Cream together the butter, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated between each addition.

3) Stir together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with the milk, in 2-3 additions each (so add a third of the flour, half of the milk, another third of the flour, etc.).

4) Divide batter between 12 muffin cups and bake 24-27 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean (a little melted chocolate is fine - the toothpick may hit a melty chocolate chip). 

There are few things better than a bowl of great guacamole. It seems like an unwritten rule of life that almost everyone loves guacamole. We love it so much that we're willing to pay $2 to add a tiny dollop of it to a burrito bowl at Chipotle. I've also never seen anyone complain when someone orders it as an appetizer. Since it turns brown if not eaten, we justify eating ridiculous quantities because "it will go bad if it's not eaten now."  I personally judge Mexican restaurants based on two things: 1) margaritas 2) guacamole. If they pass with both of those, I really couldn't care less about the rest of the food. I'm a happy camper.

Guacamole is easy to make, but it's also easy to add too much of one ingredient and accidentally ruin the entire batch. It then becomes a desperate attempt to even out the flavors, and this almost always backfires because unless you have spare avocados you're probably out of luck (and the avocados from the store are never ripe right away). This is my go-to guacamole recipe. It's based on Alton Brown's guacamole, which has a five star rating and 634 reviews. Let's take a second to think about that. More than 630 people of all culinary backgrounds have made this guacamole and it still has a five star rating?! That's rare. It makes perfect sense when you try it, though, because it's amazing. It has the perfect amount of everything, and then a few random additions like cayenne pepper.

I always adapt his recipe slightly, omitting the cumin, using an entire jalapeno (be sure to completely seed it), and bumping the cilantro up to two tablespoons. If I have an extra lime or a lemon I also squeeze a bit more lemon or lime juice on top before serving. Alton Brown also recommends leaving it out for an hour before serving. While I'm sure this does help the flavor, if you're in a pinch for time I guarantee no one will complain about eating it before an hour has passed.

Enjoy!

Go-To Guacamole
Recipe based on Alton Brown's Guacamole

Ingredients

3 Ripe Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled

1 lime, juiced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

Directions

In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and almost all of the lime juice, leaving about one tablespoon for use later in the recipe. Mash together gently with a fork until lime juice is integrated into the avocados. Next, add the salt and cayenne pepper, mash together until mixed. Then, fold in the onions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add the rest of the lime juice*. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve. If you run out of time, go ahead and eat it before the hour. It'll still be delicious!

*A lot of people may know this, but a really great way to juice a lime if you don't have a citrus juicer is to use a fork. Simply press the fork inside the center of a lime half and squeeze while moving the fork from side to side. Easy peasy. 

I have a really bad habit of making food to post on my blog and then accidentally eating it all before taking pictures. This is especially true when I make something that I love...like this ice cream, which is my favorite ice cream of all time. The base comes from Jeni's Ice Cream, so of course you know it's good. The Oreos take it up a notch. First, a few Oreos are infused into the ice cream base to add to the flavor while it's cooling over an ice bath. Then, so that you get swirls of crunchy Oreo pieces in the scoops, you layer the freshly made Oreo ice cream with layers of crushed Oreos. It's perfect. 

Now, here's the bad part. I've made this ice cream five times, and I've never posted it. Sorry for holding out on everyone. The good news is that now you have it, and it can quickly become your favorite ice cream recipe as well! My favorite time to try ice cream is right when it comes out of the ice cream maker. I always make myself a big bowl of it at this point because it tastes like soft serve. The great thing about this recipe is that it stays relatively soft and easy to scoop. If you don't have an ice cream maker I highly recommend investing in one. Homemade ice cream is a game-changer.  Enjoy!

Also, I finally, after three and a half years, made a Facebook page for my blog. I'll be populating it with all of my new posts, as well as any fun food articles or thoughts I have. I'd love it if you all would share things with me on my wall as well! Check it out: www.facebook.com/chocolatetherapyblog

Double Oreo Ice Cream

Recipe from Scoop Adventures, made using ice cream base technique from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

2 cups whole milk

1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 ½ oz. cream cheese softened

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2/3 cup cane sugar

1/8 cup light corn syrup

12 to 14 Oreo Cookies

Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk together cream cheese and salt.  Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

Combine the remaining milk with heavy cream, sugar, and corn syrup in a large saucepan.  Bring milk mixture to a boil.  Cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Gradually pour the hot milk mixture through the sieve into the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Break up 6 Oreos and put in the bowl with the hot milk mixture.  Steep for 30 minutes to dissolve cookies and impart flavor.  Whisk to incorporate cookies.  Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cool.

Chill the mixture thoroughly (at least 4 hours or overnight). Once chilled, whisk ice cream base to break up any remaining cookie pieces.  Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  Break up remaining cookies and sprinkle a layer of cookies into a plastic container (or other container for ice cream) and lightly spoon a layer of ice cream on top.  Continue to alternate layers of cookies and ice cream until the container is full, topping with a sprinkle of cookie pieces.

Place plastic or parchment over ice cream (to prevent ice crystals) and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.