Snow Ice Cream in New England

Happy February everybody! I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season. I know I haven't posted in a while, but I promise I have a very good reason:

We bought a home this November!

But, as joyous an occasion as this has been, it was not just as simple as buying a home and moving in at our leisure. No - of course not. That would be FAR to easy.


 My husband was out of the country on business for the 2nd week of November, so the week prior was spent preparing for departure. While he got to spend a week in a half in the beautiful country of Japan, I lived in the not-so-beautiful country of corrugated cardboard boxes. They were EVERYWHERE. This picture with boxes - this was when I had just started.......this was when I still had some shreds of sanity. This was before the boxes took over. It was not pretty, I tell you. Not pretty at all. But, I digress.


The closing of our house, our move, and our turning over of our rental house was all scheduled during the 3rd week of November. 

 

The last week, our wonderful friends flew in to visit for a week, help us unpack, and celebrate Thanksgiving.

Nothing like a busy schedule, right?!?

The first week of December John and I spent unpacking more boxes and getting a pantry set up in the basement.

The 2nd week of December, my husband had to venture to D.C. on a business trip. I continued the seemingly never-ending task of unpacking boxes. Happily, they finally stopped regenerating. 

The 3rd week of December was spent chaotically preparing for our 22 hour drive to Northwest Arkansas to spend the holidays with our family and friends, and then the following two weeks were spent enjoying that time with them.

But, now we are back home. Things have calmed down, our home is fairly organized (at least enough to keep my OCD at bay), and I finally have the time to sit down and talk to my computer screen like a mad woman. 

Now, when John and I moved to New England from Northwest Arkansas, I expected a big difference in weather. I expected we would get much more snow. What I did not expect, however, is we would get a different TYPE of snow.


I know, I know - you're probably  thinking I'm nuts (and I am - a little) by saying that there is different types of snow. Snow is snow. Right? WRONG! I'm not talking the ever important difference between white snow and yellow snow. No - what I discovered is that here in New England, we get POWDER SNOW! 

"Powder Snow? Why, Melissa - what on Earth is that?"

Dear Readers, I'm SO glad you asked! Let me explain. Back in Arkansas, we did get snow. Usually not a lot, and it was always quick to melt away, but we did get it. The vast majority of the time, it was wet snow and it came down it larger, harder pellets rather than soft, feathery flakes. It stayed frozen longer, but maintained a great deal of moisture, lending itself more to building snowmen, igloos, and awesome snowball fights.

However, once in a while, we would get really lucky, and the snow would float down like down from a pillow. It would be the tiniest little particles, all dry and powdery and fluffy. Those times were glorious, because my Dad would go outside, scoop up big bowls of the powdered snow, and a very short while later, we would be enjoying our own customized bowl of snow ice cream. As simple a thing as it is - making snow ice cream with my Dad - it is a childhood memory of mine that I truly cherish.

The other day, while it was raining down some of our luscious powder snow, I spent a peaceful afternoon cuddling with Bella, watching the large fluffy flakes swirl around outside. That evening, I took advantage of the fresh, clean snow and made batch of yummy goodness from my childhood.

In the past, I have tried using the various recipes that call for milk and sugar, but in the end, I personally find they require much more snow to prevent them from being watery. I do not know where or when or how I came across this recipe, but here is how I make it.

An Old Soul's Chocolate Snow Ice Cream

6-8 cups clean powder snow*

7 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 T. vanilla extract

This is a SUPER simple process - the key is to mix the "sauce" ingredients first, and then slowly incorporate the snow. Otherwise, you will have a heck of a time getting the cocoa powder and condensed milk incorporated evenly into both the snow and each other. And honestly, there is nothing delicious about a big bite of unsweetened cocoa-covered snow. Blech!

Mix your ingredients in a large mixing bowl. I use a rubber spatula to help smooth out lumps and incorporate the snow evenly. You can use a whisk for the chocolate sauce portion if you prefer. 

 

 

Once the sauce is smooth, go outdoors and gather a large bowl full of snow. Six to eight cups should be plenty. You will most likely not use all of it, but it's better to not have to stop in the midst of blending the ice cream to get more snow, so I always get more than I need.

 

**As a side note here: Please don't be stupid. There is a reason that Blue Bell has not released the hit flavor "Twigs and Moss" or "Dirt Surprise".......... The ONLY snow you want is fresh, untouched, CLEAN snow. Not snow by the side of the road or walkway where car exhaust or slush has contaminated it. Not snow near Fido's stomping grounds. Not even snow that has been sitting for a week undisturbed.........you want the freshest, purest stuff because you DON'T want to get sick. And as with anything - if you aren't 100% comfortable and confident that what you are putting into your mouth is safe - don't do it. I don't want to have to accept a Darwin Award on your behalf just because you read my blog and didn't exercise a smidge of common sense.**

Scoop 1-2 cups of snow into the sauce mixture and mix thoroughly. The mixture will resemble chocolate sludge. Or, at least what I envision chocolate sludge would look like, if there were such a thing......Perhaps a waste product at Willie Wonka's? 

Continue adding snow and mixing, blending completely after each addition. The sauce / snow mixture will become "sandy" and "clumpy" at first. This is normal. Keep mixing, then add more snow.

As the ice cream thickens, you may notice some of the snow you add begins remain white. This is where the spatula comes in very handy. Use it to smooth the white clumps into the rest of the snow. With a little spatula love, the rogue snow will easily assimilate.

 

The mixture will eventually become very thick and "sticky" - that is, it will clump together into a solid mass. It will no longer have individual clumps or sandy particles, but will be uniform and have a solid-wet appearance and a creamy texture when smoothed. 

 Now, the best part - dish it up and ENJOY! You can top it with your favorite toppings, or eat it as is. Play around with different flavors, too! For me, nothing beats using Hershey's Dark Cocoa powder in this recipe, because I am a chocolate freak. But, if you're not a fan of chocolate, why not try some strawberry milk flavoring instead? Or maybe some orange oil and vanilla for a creamsicle flavor? What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Leave your comments below and let me know what your thoughts are!