Maple and cinnamon shortbread ice cream sandwiches

This is a sponsored post by Hudsonville Ice Cream, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

Some desserts are specifically targeted toward seasonal consumption whereas others hit the spot all year round. Ice cream definitely falls into the latter category. You don’t have to be hot and sun-kissed to enjoy the cool, creamy dessert. It’s just as tasty even when there’s frost on the ground. 

In fact, I look forward to new flavors of ice cream released each season. I especially love ice cream with fall elements like cinnamon, brown sugar, and caramel. That’s why I was especially excited for Hudsonville’s newest limited edition flavor, Cinnamon Sugar Cookie.

The base is brown sugar ice cream, which is enhanced by a thick caramel ribbon. Big chunks of cinnamon sugar shortbread cookies are dispersed throughout the ice cream, and if you’re familiar with Hudsonville products, you know they definitely don’t skimp on the mix-ins.

The cookie chunks in the ice cream inspired me to make ice cream sandwiches with shortbread cookies. I made both maple and cinnamon shortbread cookies because I thought it would be fun to mix and match the flavors.

I focused on several elements when developing the perfect ice cream sandwich recipe.

First, the cookies needed to be chewy, not crunchy. Some shortbread cookie recipes yield really crispy cookies, which is great if you’re serving them with tea. But crispy cookies don’t work well for ice cream sandwiches because they’re hard to bite through. Also, crispy cookies become rock hard in the freezer. It was very important to me that the cookies remained soft even after they were frozen. 

After running multiple tests, I discovered the best way to do that is to cook them at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until they’re just barely done. Baked any lower and they will spread too much, resulting in thin and crisp cookies. Baked any higher and they will cook too quickly, turning too brown before they finish cooking. Important note: Pull them out of the oven as soon as you see the slightest tint of golden brown.

It’s also very important to chill the dough. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much because the butter remains solid for a longer period of time, and cold butter takes longer to melt than butter at room temperature.

Another important element in making these ice cream sandwiches was figuring out how to evenly spread the ice cream between the two cookies. This is easy to do when working with round cookies, but it’s a little harder when working with cookies that are different shapes, like the maple leaf cookies I used in this recipe. If you put a scoop in the center and press down in hopes the ice cream will spread on its own, the cookies will crumble. Fortunately, I discovered an easy trick for an even spread. I turned one cookie bottom side up, placed the cookie cutter on its underside, added a scoop of ice cream in the center of the cookie cutter, and spread it with a knife.

I finished the ice cream sandwiches by making a really simple icing to draw in veins on the maple leaves. It isn’t necessary, but it sure looks cute!

No matter if you choose to make the maple shortbread cookie recipe, the cinnamon shortbread cookie recipe, or a combination of the two, I think you’ll find the flavor pairing with Hudsonville’s Limited Edition Cinnamon Sugar Cookie ice cream to be absolute perfection!

Use this Scoop Locator tool to find Cinnamon Sugar Cookie ice cream near you (it will be at Fresh Thyme in Indy-area stores!), and click here for a "hello" coupon to save when you buy two cartons.

Maple shortbread ice cream sandwiches

Yield: Makes about 8 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients

For the ice cream sandwiches

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (150 grams)
• 2 teaspoons maple extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pint Hudsonville’s Limited Edition Cinnamon Sugar Cookie ice cream

For the icing

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon water or milk

Directions

For the ice cream sandwiches

1. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth.
2. Add maple extract and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
3. Slowly add flour and salt and mix until just combined.
4. Flatten dough between two pieces of wax paper or parchment paper. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 72 hours.
5. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove plastic wrap from top of dough and use cookie cutter to cut dough into shapes.
7. Re-roll remaining dough and continue process with cookie cutter until all dough is used. 
8. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until bottoms just barely turn golden brown.
9. Remove from oven and cool.

For the icing

1. Mix together all ingredients until no clumps remain. It should be very thick. Add more powdered sugar if needed.
2. Transfer icing to squeeze bottle or pour into pastry bag with small tip.
3. Draw the veins on the maple leaf cookies.

For assembly

1. Assemble ice cream sandwiches by turning one cookie bottom side up and placing cookie cutter on its underside.
2. Add one scoop of ice cream to center of cookie cutter and spread. 
3. Remove cookie cutter and top with second cookie, top side up.
4. Press cookies firmly together and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes to firm up before serving.
5. Store ice cream sandwiches in freezer.

Cinnamon shortbread ice cream sandwiches

Yield: Makes about 8 ice cream sandwiches

Ingredients

For the ice cream sandwiches

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (150 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups (270 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 pint Hudsonville’s Limited Edition Cinnamon Sugar Cookie ice cream

For the icing

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (60 grams)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon water or milk

Directions

For the ice cream sandwiches

1. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth.
2. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.
3. Slowly add flour, cinnamon, and salt and mix until just combined.
4. Flatten dough between two pieces of wax paper or parchment paper. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 72 hours.
5. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Remove plastic wrap from top of dough and use cookie cutter to cut dough into shapes.
7. Re-roll remaining dough and continue process with cookie cutter until all dough is used. 
8. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until bottoms just barely turn golden brown.
9. Remove from oven and cool.

For the icing

1. Mix together all ingredients until no clumps remain. It should be very thick. Add more powdered sugar if needed.
2. Transfer icing to squeeze bottle or pour into pastry bag with small tip.
3. Draw the veins on the maple leaf cookies.

For assembly

1. Assemble ice cream sandwiches by turning one cookie bottom side up and placing cookie cutter on its underside.
2. Add one scoop of ice cream to center of cookie cutter and spread. 
3. Remove cookie cutter and top with second cookie, top side up.
4. Press cookies firmly together and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes to firm up before serving.
5. Store ice cream sandwiches in freezer.

Low-carb buffalo chicken and cauliflower casserole

This is a sponsored post by Challenge Butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I believe there's a time in life to follow recipes and there's a time in life to just cook. Obviously, we're living in times of uncertainty, and it's unclear what will be available at the grocery store during one of your very, very limited trips. So now is a time to just cook.

Cook whatever is available to you. Let your muse be whatever is in your pantry, your refrigerator, and your freezer. 

I realize that's easier said than done for many people who just aren't sure where to begin, so I wanted to share an idea for a casserole that you can easily customize depending on what is available.

For example, you could use frozen, fresh, rotisserie, or ground chicken; frozen or fresh cauliflower or cauliflower rice; barbecue sauce instead of buffalo sauce; dressing instead of sour cream; garlic powder or onion powder instead of ranch seasoning; and any combination of cheeses.

I made this recipe because I was craving comfort food, and I hope this casserole can provide you and your family with some comfort as well. 

I used Challenge cream cheese for this recipe because they don't add any unnatural additives, and they pride themselves in using hormone-free milk.

Low-Carb Buffalo Chicken and Cauliflower Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower head (or about 18 ounces) cut into florets
• 8 ounces Challenge cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup buffalo sauce (use 1/2 cup if you like it spicier or 1/4 cup for less spicy)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (or ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing)
• 0.4 ounces dry ranch seasoning mix, or 2 teaspoons garlic powder 
• 1 1/2 pounds (or about 4 cups) chicken, cooked and diced
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Also, blue cheese and green onions if you want

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Microwave cauliflower florets for about 5 minutes or until fork tender. Set aside.
3. Combine cream cheese, buffalo sauce, sour cream, and ranch seasoning mix.
4. Stir in cauliflower, chicken, celery, and cheddar cheese.
5. Prepare an 11x7 casserole dish with nonstick spray and dump mixture into casserole dish.
6. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top starts to brown.
7. Remove from oven and sprinkle with blue cheese and green onion if desired.

Easy treats with 3 ingredients or less for St. Patrick's Day

This is a sponsored post by Challenge butter, but the text and opinions are all mine. Thank you for supporting brands that make Kylee's Kitchen possible!

I've always loved holiday-themed desserts! They're just so cute, and they seem to make everyone happy. I recently realized that I didn't have any St. Patrick's Day recipes in my repertoire. So I decided to make a variety of cute and very easy treats for everyone's favorite Irish holiday! Each recipe is more like a craft than  dessert, and I guarantee they'll be a hit wherever you take them!

Leprechaun Hats

Ingredients

• 1 (11.5 oz) package Keebler Fudge Stripes Original Cookies
• 1 (10 oz.) bag large marshmallows
• 2 cups dark chocolate
• 1 cup green candy melts (or white chocolate with green food coloring)

Directions

1. Dip marshmallow into melted chocolate and set on parchment paper until chocolate hardens.
2. Dip one end of marshmallow into melted green candy melts and set on fudge striped cookie
3. Let chocolate harden so marshmallow adheres to cookie and serve

End of the rainbow marshmallow treats

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Challenge butter
• 12 cups marshmallows
• 11 1/2 cups Fruity Pebbles

Directions

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows, stir until completely melted, and remove from heat.
2. Add Fruity Pebbles to marshmallow mixture and stir until fully combined.
3. Coat 9x13 pan with nonstick spray and press mixture into pan.
4. Let cool and cut into squares.

Gold coin Oreos

Ingredients

• 1 package Oreos
• 1 container Wilton Gold Color Mist Food Spray

Directions

1. Place Oreos on parchment paper and spray with color mist
2. Flip Oreos on opposite side and spray again

Shamrock pretzels
Ingredients

• 1 bag tiny twist pretzels
• 1 bag Rolos
• Green M&Ms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Arrange 3 pretzels into shape of shamrock on baking sheet
3. Place unwrapped Rolo in center of pretzel shamrock
4. Place in oven for about 3 minutes
5. Press green M&M onto Rolo
6. Let cool before serving

3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken

Between my cooking segments and my recipe videos, I do a lot of baking for other people! And by now you probably think I just eat cupcakes and brownies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! But fortunately for my waistline, that is not the case.

When it comes to making dinner for myself, I try to make it as quick and easy as possible. Lately, many of my meals have consisted of this recipe for three-ingredient slow cooker chicken.

Three ingredients. Slow Cooker. No Fuss. ‘Nuff said.

What I love about this recipe is how versatile it is. You can use the chicken in tacos, on top of rice, as nachos, or even just plain. I love making a big batch for myself and then eating it multiple ways throughout the week.

I promise, it does not get easier than this!

3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken

Yield: Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken breast
• 1 (16 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
• 1 (1.25 ounce) packet taco seasoning

Directions

1. Spray slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breasts into slow cooker, sprinkle taco seasoning on top of chicken, dump salsa on top.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours or until easy to shred.
4. Once chicken is ready, shred with two forks. Mix with remaining salsa in slow cooker.
5. Serve on top of rice, tortillas, chips, etc.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Do you know that song, “Anything you can do” from “Annie Get Your Gun”? To be honest, I’ve never seen the musical or the movie. BUT I know the song well because a few years ago (and by a few I mean 15 years ago) I was traveling in the car with my baby cousin and the only thing that would make him stop crying was that song. So we listened to it for THREE hours. Clearly it still haunts me.

Anyway, the song has been my mantra lately because I’ve been really into recreating my favorite restaurant recipes! (Example: Asian chickenlettuce wraps) This week I decided that I would recreate orange chicken! And not just recreate it – I decided to recreate it in the slow cooker!

While reading the ingredients in this recipe, you make think to yourself, “Hmmm I wonder if I can make any substitutions.” The answer to that is yes, BUT I cannot promise the results will be the same! You see, I spent a lot of time working on this recipe, and there were trials and errors. The recipe below is the exact combination of ingredients that I think works the best. So if you make substitutions, I’m sure it will still be tasty, but I can’t promise it will taste the same.

IMPORTANT: As you can see in the recipe directions, you use half of the marinade to, of course, marinate the chicken, and then you use the other half to make a sauce once the chicken is done cooking. So make sure to split the marinade in half! Once the marinade has touched the raw chicken it can no longer be used as the sauce.

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Yield: Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 and 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup Sriracha
• 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 1 Tablespoon corn starch

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces; set aside
2. In a bowl, whisk together orange juice concentrate, soy sauce, rice vinegar, Sriracha, minced garlic, fresh ginger, brown sugar, and orange zest.
3. Place chicken in large Ziploc bag and pour 1/2 of marinade over chicken. Seal bag and marinate in refrigerator at least 1 hour but preferably overnight.
4. Put other half of marinade in sealed container and refrigerate for later. This will be your sauce.
5. Once chicken is done marinating, dump entire Ziploc bag of chicken with its marinade in the slow cooker. Cook chicken on low until chicken is no longer pink (in my slow cooker, chicken is done after about four hours).
6. When chicken is done cooking, take other half of marinade out of refrigerator.
7. Put marinade in pan and heat on stove to boiling at medium-high heat.
8. In small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water; add to sauce on stove top and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken significantly.
9. Remove sauce from heat and add chicken from slow cooker to sauce and combine. Serve over rice or quinoa and sprinkle green onions and sesame seeds on top.

Three-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies

Some of the best recipes in life are simple recipes, and that’s exactly the case with shortbread cookies.

The only essential ingredients in shortbread cookies are butter, sugar, and flour. THAT’S IT! Just mix the ingredients together, divide the dough, bake it in the oven and BAM cookies!

It’s a great, no-frills cookie that is perfect with coffee or tea and it’s just sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth without being over-the-top crazy loaded with sugar.

But if you want to dress up the cookie, by all means go for it! The possibilities for add-ins and toppings are endless, and there are dozens of different ways to present shortbread cookies.

Personally, I like to use this recipe in place of cut-out sugar cookies because it’s a lot simpler and it works just as well!

Make sure to save this recipe for your repertoire to have on hand when you need to bake something last minute!



Three-Ingredient Shortbread Cookies
Servings: Makes about 20 cookies depending on how big you make them

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 and 1/4 cups flour
• (Optional: 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, adds a little more flavor)

Directions

1. Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute)
2. Add the powdered sugar and optional vanilla extract and mix until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl (about 2 minutes)
3. Slowly add in the flour and mix until just combined – do not overmix!
4. Flatten the dough out on a baking sheet lined with wax paper and cover with a piece of plastic wrap.
5. Chill dough for at least one hour and up to 72 hours.
6. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the dough, and cut the dough into shapes using your favorite cookie cutter.
8. Place shaped dough on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 – 15 minutes (depending on the size of your cookie, they make take more or less time; start checking the doneness at 10 minutes)
9. Remove cookie from oven and cool on a wire rack
10. Shortbread cookies will stay fresh for about a week in an airtight container. They also freeze well.

Cooking Brown Sugar Teriyaki Salmon and Asian Mixed Vegetables on Fox59

The very first recipe I ever posted on my blog was Brown Sugar Teriyaki Salmon. And this recipe is still one of my favorite and most popular recipes today!

First of all it requires ZERO cleanup. That's because it is cooked in an aluminum foil packet. So when the salmon is ready, you just serve it up and throw away the aluminum foil. You don't need to scrub any baking dishes or pans.

Cooking salmon this way is also great because you get very consistent results. The foil conducts heat well and traps steam for fast, even cooking. The salmon turns out perfectly every single time!

On Wednesday, I got to show off this recipe on Fox59! I also made Asian-mixed vegetables to go with the salmon. Before I put the salmon in the marinade, I reserved some of the marinade in a little bowl for the vegetables. When it was time to make the meal, I made the vegetables the exact same way that I made the salmon. I put a cup of vegetables in the center of the strip of aluminum foil, spooned some of the marinade on top, and folded it up to make an aluminum foil packet. The vegetables steamed to perfection in the foil packet, just like the salmon.

I hope you try this recipe, and thank you for your continued support of Kylee's Kitchen!

Brown Sugar Teriyaki Salmon with Asian-Mixed Vegetables
Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 (6 ounce) salmon filets​
• Vegetable medley (I used 1 large carrot, 1 head of broccoli, 1 sweet onion, and 15 ounces of sugar snap peas)

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour soy sauce, brown sugar, water, olive oil, and garlic powder in a bowl and stir to combine.
2. Pour that mixture into a gallon-size Ziploc bag, reserving one cup in a small bowl to use for your vegetables later.
3. Place the salmon in the bag, seal it, and turn it so the meaty side of the salmon is soaking in the mixture
4. Refrigerate the bag and let the salmon marinate for a minimum of 45 minutes to a maximum of about 4 hours.
5. After marinating, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit
6. Take a big sheet of aluminum foil and fold it so it forms a little packet. Make an aluminum foil packet for each individual salmon filet.
7. Spray the aluminum foil packet with cooking spray
8. Put one filet in one foil packet. Do the same for each filet.
9. Now, take a sheet of aluminum foil and put about a cup of your vegetable medley in the center. 
10. Spoon about 4 spoonfuls of the reserved marinade on top of the vegetables. Fold up the aluminum foil to make another aluminum foil packet. Do that for as many cups of vegetables as you have.
11. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet to give the foil packets a sturdier foundation
12. Bake the salmon and vegetables for about 15 minutes.
13. The salmon is done when it is pale pink and flakes easily