Great Summer Idea: Make Chocolate Ice Cream Cups!

I am taking a bit of a blog-cation this week so that I can really enjoy some time with my family before this summer slips away! So I thought I would use this opportunity to share with you some of my favorite ideas from Momof6 for having fun with your kids this summer…..

We eat more than our fair share of ice cream here at Camp Rowley during the summer. Family favorites include mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, as well as the standards- plain ‘ole vanilla and chocolate! And once in a while I’ll even mix up some of the homemade variety in our ice cream maker. Several weeks ago I featured this recipe for Dreamy Creamy Strawberry Ice Cream from Annies Eats and let me tell you….  I think it is the most delicious batch of ice cream that I have ever made! So how about a fun way to serve the ice cream? The kids and I made these yummy chocolate ice cream cups this week…  and they were such a hit that I will probably make them with the kids at my daughter’s 6th birthday party next month! To begin, inflate 10-12 water balloons. These darn things are so tiny that it is almost impossible to inflate them with your mouth, so I used one of our soccer ball pumps and just held the neck of the balloon tightly around the pump.

Next I prepared the chocolate…. I prefer to use Wilton’s candy melts (which can often be found at party supply and craft stores). I poured about half the bag of candy melts into a microwave safe bowl, and then heated them in the microwave for 1 minute on high. At this point they will not look melted, but do not heat again! Instead, take the bowl out and stir, stir, stir… and in about 1 minute you will have a bowl full of melted chocolate.

Take one of the water balloons and lightly spray the end with some cooking spray (and if you find that you have too much spray pooled at the end of the balloon, then wipe some off with a paper towel). Dip the end of the balloon into the melted chocolate and turn it a bit to make sure that you have a nice coating all around. You especially want to make sure that you have a good base on the bottom of the balloon. You can also try dipping a balloon into a second color of chocolate, dripping a second color of chocolate over a balloon after it has been dipped, or swirling two colors together in a bowl before dipping.

Place the dipped balloon onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with non-stick foil or parchment paper.

Allow them to sit in a cool dry spot for about an hour to harden. Then very carefully snip the teeniest, tiniest of holes into the top of the balloon to allow the air to escape slowly.

And voila- you’ll have a tray full of these adorable ice cream cups! Don’t be overly concerned if you have a tiny hole in the bottom of your cup… you’ll need to serve these on top of plates anyway…  the cups are thin and will melt pretty quickly if held by warm hands.

Serve with a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream!

I made mine using some of that homemade strawberry ice cream!

Looking for some more fun things to do this summer? Check out these Momof6 ideas:

Cooking with the Kids: Homemade Pop Tarts

Fun Summer Craft:  Giant Bubbles!

Fun Thing to Do- Bring a “Friend” to Dinner

Great Summer Craft Activity- Melty Beads

Homemade Donuts

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