Minted Lemon Ice

Danielle T.  
Makes 8 servings 

Can get creative with anything really…grapefruit or blood orange juice, probably could blend watermelon, or play around with different herbs like basil or cilantro, lavender with lemon is always good too vs the mint!

2 cups (loose) mint leaves 
1 1/4 cups water

1 cup sugar

3/4 cups lemon juice (personal preference for fresh squeezed)

3/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1-2 Tablespoons sugar

Combine first three ingredients in pot on stove over medium, stirring until sugar dissolves then let simmer on low for 5 - 8 minutes. Strain out mint leaves and pour into a shallow baking dish (9x13 works well). 

Let cool to room temp then stir in the lemon juice. Cover and freeze! Scrape with a fork to “shave” or ice” it.

The homemade whipped cream with it cuts the acidity of lemon juice…just whip it with the additional 1-2 Tablespoons sugar (can add in finely chopped mint leaves) in a stand mixer until holds peaks.

Scoop the lemon ice and whipped cream with thinly sliced strawberries.

Triple Chocolate Fudgy Brownies

Recipe Found HERE

1 cup granulated sugar (200g) 

1 cup brown sugar (200g), lightly packed 

3 eggs room temperature 

3/4 cup cocoa powder (75g) 

1 cup flour (120g) 

1 teaspoon salt (6g) 

1.5 cup dark chocolate chips (260g) (or whatever you prefer, semi-sweet, etc.)

1 cup melted butter (225g), unsalted 

1 tbsp coffee (15mL) (optional) 

1 tbsp vanilla extract (15mL) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prep a 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and coffee then mix together well. 

Add the white and brown sugars to the mixture and whisk together well. 

Sift cocoa powder, flour, and salt into the bowl and mix until just combined 

Toss in chocolate chips (or chunks) and fold into the batter. 

Add batter to pan and smooth to the edges. You can add more chocolate chips to the top before baking if desired. 

Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the center is just set. DO NOT OVERBAKE, baby it at the end. You'll notice the center does not wiggle when the pan is moved. 

NOTES

Measure and prepare all your ingredients before starting to make the recipe even easier. 

Make sure to line your baking pan otherwise your brownies will stick to the pan, this is a super important tip! 

Make sure to sift your ingredients to avoid lumps where possible, cocoa powder can be quite lumpy. 

If you don't have an 8x8 inch pan for your brownies just use foil to create one or two walls for a smaller baking dish. Line with parchment and you'll be good to go! 

The batter is thick so spread it out to the corners of the baking pan as best you can but it'll level out in the oven. 

The coffee really helps to enhance the chocolate flavor, the brownies themselves don't have a strong coffee flavor but you can skip it if you want. 

You can add either chopped chocolate or chocolate chips to the top of your brownies but this is totally optional. 

I've made the recipe both ways but found the brownies to be a bit more photogenic without the additional chocolate on top. 

Don't over-bake your brownies. Unlike cake layers, brownies will not have a springy center and a skewer inserted into the center will not come out clean. Your brownies are done when the center is set and you see the top just begin to crack. The center will continue to bake and set after you remove the brownies from the oven so don't worry if they seem a bit fudgy. 

Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to your brownies will take away from that nice fudge-like texture. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. 

Storage and freezing - leftover brownies will keep well in the fridge for 4 days or can be frozen. Thaw completely before serving.

Red, White, & Blue Jell-O Cups

Recipe Found HERE

Great to make ahead. I got about 20 servings in 5 ounce cups.

(1) 6 ounce package of Strawberry Jell-O (or other red flavor) 

(2) 3 ounce packages of Berry Blue Jell-O 

(1) 8 ounce container of Cool Whip 

Maraschino cherries (with stems) 

Clear plastic cups 

Make the Berry Blue Jell-O according to the package instructions. Fill your cups 1/3 full with the Berry Blue Jell-O (I used about 1/3 cup for my cups). Place in fridge for 1 hour (or 10 minutes in the freezer if you're in a hurry). 

Fill cups another 1/3 full with Cool Whip, smoothing out the top. I used about 2 Tablespoons for my cups. Place in freezer. 

Make Strawberry Jell-O immediately. Let cool in fridge for 20 minutes. You don't want the Jell-O to solidify at all, you just need it to cool down so you can pour it on top of your Cool Whip without melting it. 

Remove cups from freezer and Jell-O from fridge. Fill the remainder of your cup with red Jell-O (leave a little bit of room at the top). Refrigerate for another 20 minutes or just until Jell-O starts to set slightly. 

OPTIONAL: Push one maraschino cherry with stem into the red Jell-O, leaving the stem stick out like a little firework. 

Refrigerate for another 30 minutes, or until Jell-O is firm. Enjoy!