Sweet strawberries mingle with crunchy golden Oreos whispering of summer in this lusciously smooth Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream.

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream

The experience of holding a bowl filled with ice cream strawberry shortcake is one that you won’t soon forget. Initially, my brother didn’t believe me when I told him that we’d be using golden Oreos to make this ice cream.

But, they’re an easy hack to get that fabulous shortbread flavor. Cake doesn’t retain its form well in ice cream, and it often either gets mushy or turns into a brick. Oreos bring wonderful texture to this ice cream, too.

As far as I’m concerned, strawberry shortcake ice cream is the best of both ice cream-loving worlds with its combination of classic strawberry flavors and generous cookies and cream chunks throughout each serving.

I’ve enjoyed strawberry shortcake ever since I was a little kid. Although we didn’t have it often, I can remember my Aunt Judy making it for us when we visited and it always made me grin.

This dessert includes a healthy dollop of nostalgia for me, reminding me of summertime travels and the Fourth of July.

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

These are my favorite inexpensive

Sweet grapes, crunchy pecans, and vanilla bean sour cream are combined in this unexpected and delicious creamy grape salad. My boys went nuts over this the first time I made it and I couldn’t stop eating bites of it myself.

I’ve made this simple grape salad with pecans countless times now and my youngest son still can’t get enough of it. Every time he sees grapes in the store or in our refrigerator, he asks if we can make “the really good grape salad” again. How could I ever say no to that?

Creamy Grape Salad

There’s no big secret here. Just tasty fresh grapes and pecans covered in creamy, tangy, very lightly sweetened sour cream. Sometimes the simplest recipes really are the best!

This is a popular dish to bring to gatherings with friends, but it’s also great served with a sandwich or wrap for an easy family lunch.

Grape Salad with Pecans

Salads with grapes are classic potluck and party dishes. If you’ve never tasted one, this recipe is the perfect one to make first.

Or, if your experiences with grape salad call to mind overly sweetened, gloppy dishes at family reunions or work picnics, I promise you this particular grape salad recipe is so good it will have you scraping the bowl and going back to the buffet table for seconds.

The pecans in this recipe add great texture and crunch to the salad. As far as I’m concerned, they aren’t optional. If you really dislike pecans, slivered or sliced almonds will also work, though they are not my first choice.

I’d suggest swapping in walnuts before almonds, but in my experience, if someone is averse to pecans, they almost never enjoy walnuts. Just use whatever nut you like best for crunch here, if you don’t care to include the pecans.

Grape Salad Recipe Without Cream Cheese

This grape salad is NOT your average potluck dish. The recipe features a lightly sweetened sour cream dressing and I’m happy to say that this salad trumps any other grape salads I’ve tasted.

Years ago, we made versions of this salad with cool whip or vanilla pudding. They were fine but nothing spectacular so I wasn’t in any rush to make them again.

I’ve also tasted grape salads made with yogurt or cream cheese dressings. Again, they tasted okay but didn’t leave any big impression. I could take them or leave them, really.

Sour Cream Grape Salad

Then, I discovered lightly sweetened sour cream. Several years ago, I made these Layered Lemon Cheesecake and tasted sweetened sour cream for the first time. I was impressed by the difference a tiny sprinkling of sugar made in the typically tangy (and sour) cream.

If you haven’t tried lightly sweetened sour cream before, you’re in for a fun treat. I have served this salad to several people who were shocked that the creamy dressing was simply sour cream.

Sour cream with just a to

Watermelon dog treats are the ultimate dog popsicles – and best of all it only takes a minute to make them. They’re a great way to use up leftover watermelon too!

Happy 4th Gotcha Day, Oscar. We love you and we’re celebrating with your favorite Watermelon Dog Treats today.

It’s hard to believe that our sweet Oscar has been with us for four years now! It’s hard to imagine our lives without him.

After saying for so many years that I wasn’t a dog person, I’ve had to eat those words. He has very much become a member of our family and I love him dearly.

So many of you have shared in our excitement over the past few years, as we’ve become first-time dog owners.

You messaged me countless tips and endless advice and I’ve loved it all. So, I wanted to share our pup’s favorite treats with you.

Dog Popsicles

Several people sent me recipes for their favorite homemade dog treats when Oscar first arrived. The most popular treats by far were these watermelon dog treats – made simply by blending fruit with a bit of yogurt to make dog popsicles.

This combination has become Oscar’s favorite treat too. It cracks me up when he hovers near the freezer and peeks inside to see where the treats are.

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Warm berry sauce poured over cold ice cream is one of my favorite desserts. I make this sauce year-round and every time I serve it, it gets raves.

This fruit sauce might be the simplest recipe I keep in my dessert recipe notebook. I scribbled it out on a scrap of paper almost 25 years ago while I was visiting a friend.

Berry Sauce from Frozen Berries

We were dishing up bowls of ice cream and her husband told us to wait a minute.

He combined some frozen fruit and a bit of sugar in a saucepan, simmered a few minutes, and then transformed that basic bowl of ice cream into something much more elegant.

I was speechless (yes, imagine that) over the difference the warm fruit sauce made over that dish of ice cream. Sweet berry flavor turned the easy dessert into a cold creamy bowl of heaven.

My whole family gets excited when I pull berries out of the freezer along with a tub of ice cream. Not only is the flavor delicious, but the contrast of warm and cold temperatures is also divine.

I’m all about simple and hassle-free ways to turn basic treats into something that feels a bit more special and this mixed berry sauce does just that.

Berry Sauce for Ice Cream

With so many possible combinations of berries and fruits to use in this sauce, I never get bored with it either.

Lest you think this sauce is only good as an ice cream topping, I also poured this over the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake I made last week. From topping cheesecakes to Greek yogurt to mousse cups or pudding, this berry sauce makes everything better.

Fruit T

Fresh strawberries are tossed with sugar and cinnamon before being layered under a sweet biscuit crust to make this Strawberry Cobbler. If you’re a fan of classic strawberry shortcake, this berry-filled dessert is going to thrill you.

This cobbler is loaded with strawberries and then topped with a generous cinnamon sugar crust that is both buttery and flaky while never becoming soggy, even after a day or two in the refrigerator.

I like to top each serving of Strawberry Cobbler with fresh Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream or Homemade Ice Cream. Don’t get me wrong though, storebought whipped cream and/or ice cream works beautifully too.

There is no wrong way to eat a fruit cobbler! While the Peach Cobbler of my dreams will forever rule fruit desserts, the Strawberry Cobbler is rapidly becoming a close second.

How to Make Strawberry Cobbler

I try to freeze a few cobblers worth of fruit each year, so we can enjoy this fresh taste of summer throughout the year.

To freeze strawberries for cobbler, combine the filling ingredients: strawberries, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a gallon size zip-close freezer bag.

Add the lemon juice to the berry mixture and stir to combine. Alternatively, you can seal the bag and shake gently to coat the fruit.

Place the bag flat in the freezer. I like to prepare and stack several bags of cobbler filling in the freezer each summer.

When you’re ready to bake the cobbler, thaw the fruit mixture in the refrigerator. Pour the strawberries and all liquid from the bag into the baking pan. Bake the fruit and proceed with the recipe as written.

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