This post is sponsored by Hudsonville Ice Cream. Hudsonville Ice Cream is about more than just ice cream. For them, it’s all about making life a little sweeter. It’s about the feeling you get, the experience you have, and the people you share a scoop with. Their Midwest creamery has been perfecting the art of ice cream making for more than 90 years. While they enjoy creating creamy, delicious and exciting new flavors, many of their ice creams use a base recipe that was created back in 1926! With more than 50 flavors to choose from, including the world’s best French Vanilla and Dairy Free options, Hudsonville Ice Cream has options for everyone to enjoy.
Even though my dance card was rarely full, Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. Why? Because my parents made it a family holiday, too. My dad would get my mom flowers and me a box of drug store chocolates. My mom would make us as fancy a dinner as my picky-eater dad and I would eat. I would make everyone macaroni jewelry because, well, I was a kid. It wasn’t about the gifts we got, but rather the memories we made and the smiles we gave to each other.
Now that I’m the grown-up in this family unit and the one in charge of the memory-making machine, I need to come up with the Valentine’s related fun. These ice cream bonbons are perfect for that. Not only are they delicious, but I got to spend a few minutes with my girls playing in the kitchen – my favorite kind of play! I’m not sure about them, but I’ll definitely remember the giggles and the chocolate-covered smiles.
Our friends at Hudsonville Ice Cream asked us to come up with something fun for Valentine’s Day, and I kept coming back to these bonbons. They are fun (and messy…oh, so messy!) to make with kids and then become the perfect-sized treat for little hands. (Or grown-up hands at the end of an at-home date night. Wink, wink.)
To start, you need to make homemade magic shell chocolate sauce. Guys, I’m about to change your life. This sauce is bonkers good. The secret ingredient?? Almond extract. Skip it if you don’t already have it in your pantry or there’s a nut allergy in your house, but otherwise… You can thank me later.
You are bound to have extra sauce after you make the bonbons. Save it in a microwavable container and keep it in your fridge. When it’s time for an ice cream sundae, microwave the sauce in 30-second increments until it gets all melty again and pour over ice cream.
I could probably eat a bowl of Hudsonville’s Traverse City Cherry Fudge on its own every night for the rest of my life and be okay, but it’s even better with the magic shell sauce. The ice cream has it’s own fudge ripple throughout, so it’s like there’s magic shell with every bite! Want to try for yourself? Run to Meijer to pick up a gallon or check out the scoop locator to see if there’s something even closer to home. Again, you can thank me later. 😉
Before we get rolling, here are a couple of tips for making the bonbons.
- You want a really solid scoop of ice cream, so break out your real ice cream scoop or use two spoons to round out.
- You need to work super fast! I mean, duh, we’re working with ice cream here, so of course, but I tried to have no more than three scoops of ice cream out of the freezer at any given time.
- This is the simplest recipe in the history of the kitchen, but did I mention it’s messy? Your kids would get a kick out of helping, but EVERYTHING will be covered in chocolate by the time they are done. Proceed with caution.
- I found the ice cream that had extra deliciousness inside (like the Traverse City Cherry Fudge) to be harder to work with than vanilla or chocolate. The simpler the better for this exercise, but use whatever is your favorite.
And with that, let’s get bonboning!
Chocolate Ice Cream Bonbons
Ingredients
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 gl ice cream
Instructions
Allow the ice cream to warm slightly by putting on the counter before you start the sauce.
Combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Allow to melt, stirring often, over medium heat. Once the chips are completely melted, remove from heat and add the almond extract. Set aside to cool.
Next, line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Working quickly, make 12-15 1″ scoops of ice cream and lay out on the sheet. Put the sheet (and remaining ice cream) in the freezer to solidify again.
Prep your coating station. Get at least two plates and one kabob skewer*.
Remove three ice cream balls from the freezer. Stab one scoop with the skewer and either dip directly into the sauce or use a spoon to coat the scoop from above, spinning the skewer like a marshmallow over a fire. Carefully remove the skewer and using a spoon, coat any parts of the scoop that aren’t yet covered.
Repeat as quickly as possible. Using a spoon or spatula (this magic shell stuff hardens quickly!), place the bonbons on the ice cream baking sheet and get three fresh scoops to work with. Repeat until all bonbons are covered, changing out plates if one gets too coated with chocolate sauce.
Allow to freeze on the sheet for at least 30 minutes, then enjoy! Save extras in an airtight container.
*No skewers? No problem. Instead, just use two spoons and pass the ice cream ball back and forth between them to coat with chocolate.
I can’t wait to see what flavors you try and all the smiles you make. (And the laundry… again, did I tell you it’s messy?) Happy Valentine’s Day!!
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