Foodie Fridays: Ice Cream Hot Chocolate

Last week on New Year's Eve, my husband and I decided to support local food establishments by dining at our nearby Chinese restaurant and then visiting the adjacent ice cream parlor for dessert.  The ice cream place was empty because no one wants to eat cold foods in the winter, so we felt sorry for them and decided to order something.  My husband had a chocolate ice cream cone while I had hot chocolate, which got me to thinking about somehow combining the two.

At our house, we always seem to have ice cream, but we do not always have milk in the fridge.  However, during the winter months our ice cream languishes in the freezer until it is ruined by the buildup of ice crystals.  I decided that if I made hot chocolate with water instead of milk and then stirred in some of that neglected ice cream, I could solve the problems of no milk in the house, uneaten winter ice cream, and getting hot chocolate to cool more quickly to a drinkable temperature.  The procedure is so simple it is embarrassing to even call it a recipe, but it really makes a delicious cup of hot chocolate.  Give it a try if you need to use up some ice cream this winter, and you may never make hot chocolate with milk again.  I might even suggest this idea to the people at the ice cream parlor, and perhaps they will get more business at this time of year!

Ice Cream Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate mix, preferably good quality
1 C. boiling water
2 heaping tablespoonfuls of ice cream (whatever flavor you prefer)
Preferred topping(s)

Prepare your hot chocolate mix with 1 C. boiling water using the proportions indicated for one serving.  Stir until the mix is dissolved completely.  Add the ice cream and stir until dissolved.  Finish with your favorite topping(s) and serve.  Serves 1.

Notes: I used Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate, which is normally made with milk, but any mix will work.  I like to top mine with whipped cream, but marshmallows or marshmallow fluff are good choices as well, as are crushed candies, sprinkles, chocolate shavings, chocolate or caramel sauce, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, or whatever you can dream up!  I used French vanilla ice cream because that is what we had, but use whatever flavor ice cream will complement your hot chocolate mix.  Get creative here!