Don’t look now, but summer is here. Lucky for us The Frosted Apron has come up with multiple ways to help make the most of your summertime, and have fun with the family. 

Recently, Al Hebert of KADN-Fox 15 in Lafayette visited with Stacey Dempsey of The Frosted Apron (and this reporter, making Ziplock Ice Cream, recipe follows) on the station’s morning show to talk about fun and delicious ways to make summer treats. Dempsey came up with awesome recipes to keep the kids busy while creating your own summer beach party right in your kitchen. 

You can create a bell pepper octopus guarding a bowl of hummus, oyster cookies on a bed of brown sugar ‘sand,’ a sea-blue punch drink with Swedish Fish gummies swimming in it and more. 

The recipes below are perfect for a rainy day or any day when you need to distract your kids from the summer doldrums. Dempsey recommends the Crispy Candied Jalapenos

“These are great on grilled meats, hot dogs and hamburgers, pizza, pasta and more,” she said. “And you can control the heat by the kind of peppers you use.”

Hebert was blown away that the Ziplock Ice Cream was really a thing — not to mention that the finished product was actually ice cream. 

“This is amazing,” he said, as he took his first bite. 

If you want to use the following recipe, take one piece of advice: Don’t give up! There’s going to be a lot of shaking going on, but in the end you’ll get some creamy, delicious ice cream.

Once you’ve eaten enough Ziplock Ice Cream for a brain freeze, visit the Iberia Parish Library or the Sunset Library and pick up one of The Frosted Apron’s decorating kits. They’re more fun with frosting and sprinkles that everyone can enjoy. 

Check the Frosted Apron’s Facebook Page for a schedule of kits available.

Earlier this month, The Frosted Apron had a great Summer Cupcake Contest for kids ages  6-13. The winner was Dakota Derouen. She’s a sixth grader at North Lewis Elementary and joined Stacey and Al on the morning show to celebrate. 

Congratulations, Dakota! Look for a photo of Dakota and her adorable cupcake below. 

Now to the recipes:

 

OYSTER COOKIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Nilla Wafer Cookies

Cream Cheese Frosting (below)

Candy Pearls

 

Assemble: on the flat side of a nilla wafer, spread a generous amount of cream cheese frosting, and place a candy pearl on the front edge. Top with another nilla wafer, placed slightly back to show off the pearl. 

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream together all ingredients until well-blended and fluffy

SWEET OCEAN PUNCH

2 ¼ cups Blue Hawaiian juice

2 ¼ cups sparkling lemon water

1 ½ cups white cranberry juice

Swedish fish gummies

 

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

 

Stir together juice, sparkling lemon water and white cranberry juice. Serve over ice with swedish fish gummies floating.

Spicy Sweet Summer from Stacey Dempsey of The Frosted Apron

CRISPY CANDIED JALAPENOS

4 or 5 whole jalapenos

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Remove the seeds, slice jalapenos evenly, and place on parchment paper. Combine the brown sugar, garlic powder, and salt in a bowl. Brush olive oil on top of each jalapeno slice, then top with the spice mixture. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes, or until jalapenos are crispy. These do have some sweetness, but they are still very hot. You could also use a less spicy pepper such as an Anaheim pepper.

ZIPLOCK ICE CREAM

1 cup whole milk or half and half

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

10 cups ice

8 tablespoons rock salt

 

MAKES 1 CUP SERVING

Mix together milk, sugar and vanilla. Place into a quart size ziplock and zip securely. Place into another quart ziplock (guards against getting salt into your ice cream.) Place ice and rock salt into a gallon sized ziplock or large tupperware bowl. Place the quart ziplock into the gallon ziplock or bowl. Shake. Really really shake for about five minutes. You can check occasionally for progress, but you’ll know it’s ready when the consistency is right, and it holds together like, well, ice cream should. You can also add flavorings like peppermint extract or cocoa powder before the shaking, or fruit after it’s ready.