Too Hot To Go Out For A Cone? Make Your Own Ice Cream at Home

Earlier this week I told my daughter it was too hot to go swimming (not my finest parenting moment), and then I denied her request to go out for ice cream simply because it was just too hot and humid and I couldn't imagine standing in line to wait for it.

Then I remembered, wait, we have our very own ice cream maker at home, buried in a cabinet somewhere in the kitchen, let's break that baby out and make our own.  Even if you don't have a dedicated machine yourself, here's a few easy ways to MYO cool ice cream treats at home during this heat wave.

No Ice Cream Machine, No Problem!

Got a blender or food processor?  All you need is frozen fruit puree and heavy cream, pour the heavy cream over the fruit puree, blend, instant ice cream!  You can actually use yogurt instead of heavy cream too, and, you can use a stand mixer and kick it up a few notches as well.

How about mason jar ice cream?  This one requires a few extra ingredients, heavy cream, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and toppings of course.

Here's a fun one to do with the kids (and with a plastic tablecloth nearby), fresh fruit ice cream in a baggie!  Maybe you have tons of fruit from your last Hudson Valley picking trip, or you scored at a local farm stand, put that fruit to use with this recipe for a frozen treat made in a ziplock bag.

Any other suggestions for stay inside cool down activities with the kids?  When you are ready to venture out of the house again, check out our suggestions for fun indoor activities to beat the heat here in the Hudson Valley.

Now...if anyone has one of those special waffle cone machines at home, let's join forces, I'll bring my ice cream machine and we can make the best of this heat.