Neapolitan ice cream is one of my favorite things. There’s something about vanilla, strawberry and chocolate all mixed together that is just super delicious. Whenever I treat myself to an In-n-Out shake, I always order Neapolitan off the “secret” menu. So why not bring the wonderful principle of three over to donuts? Indecisive people rejoice- introducing neapolitan donuts! Three delicious donut flavors, all rolled into one. Hooray! And aren’t they the prettiest little color wheels? I’m very excited about this idea and foresee many more flavor combos to come. Chocolate & peanut butter, pineapple & coconut, cookies & cream, what’s your fave pair?

Ingredients (x3)

• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (melted)
• 1 Cup Sugar

Flavorings

• ¼ Cup Cocoa Powder
• 7 Tbsp Strawberry Puree
• 2 Tsp Vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a donut pan. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry and whisk until smooth. If batter is too thick, add a little more milk. Repeat process for each flavor using the same base ingredients with added vanilla, cocoa or strawberry. Add each flavoring to the appropriate wet or dry ingredients. Cut the tip off of three piping bags (or sandwiches bags) and fill with batter. Fill donut tins halfway with alternating flavors. Move quickly and pipe one donut at a time. It may take a few tries to get the hang of it but don't worry, you have plenty of batter! Bake donuts for 7 minutes. Let cool. Glaze. Serve and enjoy!

For The Glazes:

Chocolate:

• ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
• ⅛ Cup Milk
• 2 Tsp Light Corn Syrup
• 2 Oz Semisweet Chocolate
• 1 Cup Confectioners’ Sugar

Vanilla:

• ¼ Tsp Vanilla
• 1 Tbsp Milk
• 1 Cup Confectioners’ Sugar

Strawberry:

• 6 Tbsp Strawberry Puree
• 1 Tbsp Milk
• 1 Cup Confectioners’ Sugar

Combine ingredients for each flavor in a saucepan. Whisk constantly on low heat until glaze ingredients are fully combined and smooth. Remove from heat. Let cool to thicken. Use a spoon to drizzle glazes onto donuts.

The ice cream sandwich is a classic summer treat. There’s a place near me called Diddy Riese that specializes in them. I definitely spent much of my childhood waiting in a line out the door and around the corner, to get my hands on one. But my how they’ve changed since I was a kid! No longer are we constricted by the traditional chocolate chip cookie and vanilla ice cream combo. Oh no! Today the ice cream sandwich possibilities are limitless! I’ve seen ice cream sandwiched between pie, waffles, churros, macarons, even donuts. So I decided to jump on board and come up with my own unique take. World, say hello to wafer ice cream sandwiches! These mini pink and orange sweets are so colorful and delicious, you have to try one. Or two.

Ingredients

• Vanilla Wafer Cookies
• Strawberry Wafer Cookies
• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Sprinkles

Directions

Unwrap an even number of wafer cookies. Using a small cookie dough scoop, place balls of your favorite ice cream onto half of the wafer cookies. If you don’t have a cookie dough scoop you can use a small spoon. Top with reserved wafers to create sandwiches. Add sprinkles! Place finished sandwiches in the freezer to chill. Serve and enjoy!

I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. I certainly did! It actually felt long, which almost never happens. In fact, long weekends tend to feel shorter to me. Probably because I fill them with adventure! But I really enjoyed this weekend which included bike rides, brewery visits, pool parties, beer making, fireworks and a lot, I mean A LOT of food. So because I hate to see a good thing end, I’m continuing the yumminess today with a lemonade cupcake recipe I created for eHow. This summer treat is everything you love about lemonade, plus frosting! So head on over to eHow to get the scoop. Together we can power through the week...with sweets!

Before you all head out for the weekend, here’s one last 4th of July treat to make. Or think about making. Or just drool over. These bite-sized red, white and blue fireworks cakes are fun, festive and adorable. Your guest will love biting into the colorful cake and light whipped cream frosting, they’ll be going back for seconds. So end your 4th of July celebration with a bang- watching fireworks, and eating them too! Have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar *3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup reduced fat milk, room temperature
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Red Food Dye
• Blue Food Dye

For Whipped Cream:

• 2 Cups Whipping Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Confectioners Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Directions

Yield: 24 mini cakes (72 layers)
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray silicone daisy molds with baking spray. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream butter and vegetable shortening. Add sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixing glass combine milk, buttermilk and vanilla. Add alternately milk mixture and flour mixture to butter mixture until smooth. Separate batter into three smaller bowls. Add food dye to each bowl and stir until fully combined. Fill piping bag with medium tip with batter. Pipe batter into prepared silicone molds filling each cup ½ way. Bake for 13 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool. Carefully remove mini cakes. Fill piping bag fitted with a medium size star tip with whipped cream. Stack red, white and blue stars piping whipped cream between each layer. Gently push down slightly to secure layers. Top each mini cake with whipped cream. Serve and enjoy! (Original)

Every once and a while I make something that comes out exactly how I imagined. These are rare and special moments as finished products are almost always adapted in some way. So when dream actually becomes reality, I get a little excited. Such is the case with today’s DIY. Guys, I am in love with these pretzels! They’re so perfect and adorable, it’s as if they popped right out of the Tootsie Roll wrapper….and they might as well have. Each one takes less than a minute to make! Bound to be the highlight of that Summer carnival party you’re throwing. Ready to roll?!

Materials

• Tootsie Rolls
• White Sprinkles
• Parchment Paper
• Baking Sheet

Directions

Prepare work surface lining a flat baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Place Tootsie Rolls into the microwave and heat for 5-7 seconds. Unwrap. Roll out candy into long 3-4” snakes. Wrap each snake into a pretzel; grab both ends and form a “U” shape. Twist ends twice. Fold twisted ends down and press to seal. Decorate each pretzel with sprinkles. Top frosted cupcakes. Serve and enjoy!