by Natalie Ghidotti

It’s hard to believe that summer is winding down. Here in just a few short weeks, school will be back in full swing and our carefree summer days (at least for this mommy) will be full of early mornings, extracurricular activities, homework and lots of structure.

Now is the time to savor those last moments of summer, squeeze in all the pool time you can, stay up late, and eat ice cream! What says an all-American summer more than ice cream? I argue nothing. Well, maybe fireworks and BBQ … but all of those combined make for a pretty awesome summer night.

Growing up in Arkansas, we had many summer nights full of friends, family and ice cream. I remember many a trip to Baskin Robbins with my Granddad where he treated us with our favorite of the 31 flavors. Whether it was celebrating a summer birthday with family or spending an evening with friends after a long day at the lake, ice cream was always a part of the fun.

My friend Karen’s lake house was always a fun gathering spot for those of us growing up in Benton. Skiing and tubing on the lake were a blast, but it might have been her mom’s Peanut Ice Cream dessert that kept us coming back time and again.

The recipe is below, but trust me when I say, it’s basically crack in the form of an ice cream treat.

And as I’m known to many bloggers as the “Yarnell’s Ice Cream Gal” (the 80+ year-old company is a beloved client of mine), I would be falling down on the job if I didn’t remind you that Yarnell’s Homemade Vanilla ice cream should be the ONLY ice cream you consider using when you try this recipe. And, yes, I’m plugging a client, but I also don’t want you to mess with a perfectly yummy Peanut Ice Cream dessert. That would be just wrong.

Evidence that #AWBU bloggers love their Yarnell’s Ice Cream.

I hope to see many of you at the upcoming #AWBU conference. Yarnell’s will again be sponsoring one of your breaks, and I look forward to gabbing over a bowl of yummy Yarnell’s. I will be sure to bring loads of our newest flavor hitting shelves this week. Yes, people, Lemon Ice Box Pie is back!

It’s back by popular demand – Summer’s best treat!

Since Yarnell’s return to the market last year, Lemon Ice Box Pie has, by far, been the most requested flavor. And there’s a reason. The stuff is pure summer. Look for us all over the local morning shows next week. If you’re a Farmer’s Market fan, we’ll be out at the River Market Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, July 23 with the KATV Good Morning Arkansas crew hosting a good ol’ fashioned ice cream social with Melinda, Chris and our very own Scoop. Hope to see you there!

Enjoy the Peanut Ice Cream recipe. And special thanks to Mrs. Bragg for always keeping Peanut Ice Cream in her freezer and feeding hungry teenagers by the droves. Now go make some summer memories while you still can.

Peanut Ice Cream

Recipe by Linda Ann Bragg

1 qt vanilla ice cream

¼ c. brown sugar

½ c. crushed peanuts

1 c. cornflakes

2 T. butter

Melt butter and brown sugar. Toss in peanuts and cornflakes. Stir into softened ice cream. Refreeze. This recipe doubled makes a 9×13-inch pan.

 

Natalie Ghidotti is owner of Ghidotti Communications and a strategic partner with Eric Rob & Isaac in Little Rock. Along with Yarnell’s, she works with many clients on public relations, social media and strategic planning, including partnering with Arkansas bloggers to help build brand alliances. She is mom to two young kiddos and wife to an awesome husband. If she ever finds the time, she has big plans to join the blogging world where she’ll be blogging about family travel, which she tries to do often.

Do you have favorite ice cream recipe blog post sharing the yummaliciouness to the blog world ? Please link up that post below, we want to try it.