Leftover Treats Rock!
Samuel and I had so much fun trick-or-treating this week. He looked adorable dressed as Ben 10 and I loved watching him run with his friends from house to house like a madman in search of the next best treat.
Stacey and Lee were our hosts for the night. They have two fabulous children who are highly allergic to many things, including all dairy and chocolate. When we arrived at their house, Stacey told me that she had a bag to give me before we left.
After walking the neighborhood for over an hour we arrived back at their house, where the kids immediately started trading their non-dairy treats for dairy treats so that Stacey and Lee’s kids ended up with a gigantic bag of treats as well.
We were about to leave, when Stacey came over to me with a very heavy bag filled with Butterfingers, Baby Ruth’s and Nestle Crunch Bars. Had I known that, I would not have eaten all of her daughter’s Almond Joys on the walk!
Stacey’s parting words to me were, “I can’t wait to see what you make with these.” I first thought, “I am going to be eating all of them!” It didn’t take me long to realize that perhaps I could spare a few for another purpose.
A year ago, I made Peanut Butterfinger Cookies, which are still a favorite of mine. This year, our weather turned nice and balmy right after the big night and I decided that, even though we are in November, an ice cream sundae would be perfect.
The Hot Fudge recipe is one of my favorites, so I highly recommend making it vs. buying hot fudge in a jar from the store. Where there is tremendous flexibility is in the ice cream brand and flavor, as well as in the kind of candy you wish to select.
I love the creaminess of Haagen Dazs ice cream. Because the hot fudge is bursting with rich chocolate flavor, I opted to use vanilla ice cream. I know this will be very hard to believe, but I chose Butterfinger candy bars to process into the ice cream and top over the fudge.
Whipped cream is certainly an option on your sundae. I rarely use it, preferring to ‘save’ those calories for the ice cream, fudge and toppings. Plus, of course, a cherry on top when I have them in the house!
As we left Stacey and Lee’s house, Samuel asked if we could go back next year. “Of course,” was my immediate answer. How could it be anything else, when not only did we have a fabulous time together, but Samuel also came home loaded with goodies that will last longer than his appetite and I received my very own goodie bag filled with my very favorite treats. My leftover treats rock!
| Butterfinger Ice Cream Sundae with Hot Fudge Sauce | | Print |
- Ice cream:
- 15 fun size candy bars, your choice
- 28 ounces of your favorite ice cream brand and flavor, softened in refrigerator for 20 minutes
- Hot fudge sauce:
- 10 ounces semisweet chocolate
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- ¾ cup light corn syrup
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Topping:
- 1 fun size candy bar per person
- For the ice cream:
- Place 10 candy bars in the bowl of a food processor fitted with metal blade. Spoon ice cream in. Top with 5 remaining candy bars.
- Pulse on/off until candy bars are mixed into ice cream. Return to ice cream carton and freeze until set.
- For the hot fudge sauce:
- Melt semisweet chocolate in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder until blended in. Set aside.
- Place sugar, salt, corn syrup, cream and water into a medium size saucepan. Cook on low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium high. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Turn off heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. Cool for a couple of minutes. Whisk in chocolate mixture.
- For the topping:
- Smush the candy bar, while it is still in the wrapper.
- Once ice cream sets, spoon into a big bowl, top with lots of hot fudge sauce and then open the topping wrapper and sprinkle candy bar little pieces over the top.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- Another option for the ice cream is to incorporate the candy bars on a marble slab using two large spoons, similarly to how ice cream shops do it. The candy pieces will not be blended in as thoroughly as they would be in the food processor.
- Smushing the candy bar is a very technical term for pressing the candy bar to break it apart. The candy bar may be cut into pieces instead.
- Get creative with your sundae. If you want whipped cream, add it. Cherries, sprinkles, peanuts? The sky (or your stomach) is the limit!
