Small batch ice creams and fro-yo’s are the hip and trendy new dessert craze! With steep prices ranging from $6-12 a pint…we decided what better way to try this trend out, than to make our own! Our “kalm and kool” reader Kendra served incredible frozen yogurt at a dinner party, and was kind enough to hook us up with her awesome “berry” healthy frozen yogurt recipe! So, we grabbed our Cuisinart Ice Cream machine and got to work! This berry-licious recipe called for only 4 ingredients that we usually have on hand, making it WAY more cost effective than a trip to the freezer aisle, and a healthy alternative to dessert! Read on for the scoop on our new must-have frozen goody!
Ingredients: (for 2 Pints of Yogurt)
– 4 Cups of Thawed Frozen Berries (or fresh, if you have them)
– 2 cups of Plain Greek Yogurt (We went the “strictly yogurt” route and it turned out Practically Perfect, but you can also use milk!)
– 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
– 4-6 Tablespoons of Agave Nectar or honey
– 1 or 2 AIRTIGHT plastic containers for STORAGE.
* You’ll also need a blender, and your Ice Cream Machine. Kendra recommended the newer Cuisinart model with the extra freezer bowl, which we picked up just last Christmas. It makes homemade frozen yogurt and ice cream a cinch…and you can order one online for under $70 from William Sonoma HERE!
Instructions:
1. Be sure to clean your freezer bowls well, and pre-freeze them for 16-24 hours.
2. Keep your freezer bowl in the freezer while you prep your ingredients.
3. Measure out all of your ingredients and add them to your blender, blend on high until smooth.
4. Give your mix a taste, and see if you need any additional sweetener.
5. Add your freezer bowl to your ice cream machine, and place mixer inside.
6. Cover with plastic top, and pour your mix through the opening.
7. Set your machine to mix for about 20 minutes, until you reach your desired thickness.
**Once done mixing, store in AIRTIGHT plastic containers in the freezer until you’re just about ready to serve…as your freezer bowls will get too cold if placed back in the freezer. Take your frozen yogurt out about 5 minutes early, to let it soften a bit and ensure easy “scoopability”. We learned this the hard way when we stored ours in the freezer bowls…it was WAY too cold!**
8. Serve your frozen yogurt with fresh berries, or maybe a sprig of mint!
We can’t wait to try even more recipes with our way-cool ice cream machine! Send us your favorite frozen yogurt or ice cream recipe and we’ll add it to our repertoire! The more ice cream , the merrier…as we like to say! We could have our very own “Ice Cream Social Network” on Facebook….let’s get this going!
