A few weeks ago I mentioned that Smucker's sent me seven of their new ice cream toppings in the mail to try, and that I would be having a giveaway on my blog so that one of my readers could receive a "Top It Your Way" prize pack full of Smucker's goods for themselves. Well, today is the day!

I'm not one to even post recipes I don't like, so endorsing a product I don't personally like (regardless of whether I get it for free) is a big no in my book. That said, I love these Smucker's products, and I am SO excited that one of you gets this awesome prize pack. I've been using them in ice cream, on brownies, in blondies, etc.

The prize pack comes with all of the Smucker's products pictured here, AND you get the West Elm tray, Smucker's freezer bag, Smucker's ice cream scoop and chalkboard sign (you're on your own for the Anthropologie bowls and ice cream). The only thing missing is the Salted Caramel flavor. I looked high and low for where I put it with no luck. That's my favorite of all of the products, so I'm guessing I brought it with me somewhere and left it--let's just pretend that traveling with salted caramel in your purse is completely normal. The good news is that Smucker's will send you your own bag of products, and the Salted Caramel will be included. Here's the full list of what you will get in the "Top It Your Way" prize pack:

·     West Elm Outdoor Metal Serving Tray

·   Scallop Edge Hanging Chalkboard

·     Branded Ice Cream Topping Bowls + Scoops

·     All seven NEW Smucker’s toppings flavors including:

o   Smucker’s®  Simple Delight Salted Caramel Topping

o   Smucker’s® Simple Delight Chocolate Coconut Flavored Topping

o   Smucker’s® Simple Delight Dark Chocolate Topping

o   Smucker’s® Simple Delight Hot Fudge Topping

o   Smucker’s® Magic Shell® Chocolate Pretzel Flavored Topping

o   Smucker’s® Magic Shell® Rainbow Sherbet Flavored Topping

o   Smucker’s® Microwavable Hot Dark Chocolate Topping

You can do as little as comment on this post to enter, or you can earn extra entries by doing the other items in the Rafflecopter. A winner will be selected randomly from the entries on Sunday. Labor Day may be this weekend, but that doesn't mean the end of ice cream season!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
A few ways I've used the toppings:

What makes brownies better? Salted Caramel and Hot Fudge. 

...and the same thing goes for adding Salted Caramel and Hot Fudge into this Double Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream.

Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream with Chocolate Pretzel Magic Shell. There are no words. 

Now for the Golden Oreo Funfetti Ice Cream. I photographed it with the Smucker's items, but there was so much going on with it that I actually didn't even feel the need to add to it with toppings (though I'm sure the results couldn't be anything but good). So, my apologies the picture is slightly misleading!

This is for all those people who love homemade ice cream, but weren't convinced buying an ice cream maker was worth the investment (despite my case for it): homemade ice cream WITHOUT an ice cream machine.

Even better - homemade funfetti cake batter ice cream with Golden Oreos that you can make WITHOUT an ice cream machine. *Happy dance*

It's very sweet (as with all cake batter ice cream), but it is incredible. The consistency is also great. I gave it a few minutes to soften after pulling it from the freezer, but even when it's straight out it's not remotely icy. I had to give the rest of the batch to my bf because I was sneaking in huge spoonfuls every time I passed the freezer, and we haven't quite gotten to the point of the year where I justify eating more desserts than usual because it's "sweater-weather"...

But if you've been upset with me for posting so many ice cream recipes all summer when you don't have a machine, now is your chance to get in on it too! Also, a word to the wise, don't use the standard nonpareils because they will start bleeding into the ice cream almost immediately. I knew it would happen, and for some reason I did it anyways. Stick with the other kinds of jimmies so that you don't end up with some weird brown and green shade of ice cream.

Make this ice cream stat! And enter the giveaway above so that you can score yourself all sorts of delicious toppings to throw an ice cream party (or to keep to yourself).

No-Ice Cream Maker Funfetti Cake Batter Golden Oreo Ice Cream
Recipe from Averie Cooks

Ingredients:

24 Golden Oreos or vanilla-flavored sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped
One 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream - for the No-Ice-Cream-Maker version (if using an ice cream maker, use 4 cups/1 quart)
3/4 cup+ sprinkles

Directions:

1. These directions (through number 7) reflect the No-Ice-Cream-Maker method.
2. Chop the Oreo cookies and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and almond extract to combine; set aside.
4. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or large mixing bowl and hand mixer), whip 2 cups heavy cream to very stiff peaks, the time this takes will vary based on your mixer.
5. Gently add about half the whipped cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and fold the cream in gently. As Averie points out, fold means turn the mixture over with a spatula from the bottom of the bowl up, rotate the bowl, repeat until the mixture is homogenous. The goal is to keep all that fluffy cream you just made as fluffy as possible. Take your time and be gentle. When you get the first half of the cream folded in and combined, add the remaining cream, and fold it until until mixture is smooth. Be patient with this part!
6. Add the cookies, sprinkles, and gently fold them in to distribute evenly, being careful to stop if you start noticing that the sprinkle colors are bleeding into the base. If you see this happening it's ok, but you should take that as a sign to go ahead and transfer it to the container. If you are folding them in correctly, it won't take much to fully incorporate all of this into the base.
7. Transfer ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe 2-quart container with a lid or freezer-safe bowl that can be covered with plasticwrap. Cover and freeze for at least 6 hours, or until solid. Ice cream takes about 5 minutes to come up to room temperature. Ice cream will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 3 months.
8. If you are Using an Ice Cream Maker - Steps 1, 2, 3 are the same. Skip steps 4 and 5. Instead, add 4 cups heavy cream to the sweetened condensed milk mixture, and stir to combine. Step 6 is the same. For step 7, follow processing directions on your ice cream maker, noting to chill the mixture if necessary before churning.

As I've said before, I'm not ashamed to make a recipe that uses a boxed mix.  Sure, you can't call something truly homemade if there's a boxed mix or premade cookie dough in it, but sometimes a little shortcut can be a great thing. I especially love finding a good boxed mix recipe on days where I'm baking multiple things. Having one item that only takes a few minutes to assemble feels like a blessing when it's thrown in with more time consuming desserts. 

If you're one of those people who has never uttered the words "too sweet" this recipe is for you. It's sugar overload. I mean, just look at the ingredients. You know what you're getting yourself into when you make these. The best part is that they are ready to go in the oven in a matter of minutes. I also love that this recipe is extremely versatile. Just check out the Crazy for Crust blog and you'll see what I mean. She has made at least 10 variations of these. I've been drooling over these Caramel Apple Gooey Bars for the past week. It's probably next on my list. Next time you're pressed for time but feel a sweets craving coming on..this is your solution!

Enjoy!
 
Funfetti Gooey Bars
Recipe from Crazy for Crust

Ingredients

• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 2/3 cup sprinkles, divided
• 1/2 cup (from a 14 ounce can) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9” pan with foil and spray liberally with cooking spray.
2. Add cake mix, butter, and egg to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix until a thick dough forms. Add 1/3 cup sprinkles and stir until incorporated.
3. Press about 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with white chocolate chips and remaining 1/3 cup sprinkles. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top. Separate remaining dough into small balls and evenly space over the top of the bars. Press down to flatten.
4. Bake bars for about 30 minutes, or until they just begin to brown. Cool completely before slicing, otherwise the mixture will be too gooey to cut. Optional: eat straight from pan with a fork.

I feel like there are certain foods people expect you to grow out of at some point. In this category I'd place things like Iced Animal Crackers, Fruity Pebbles, Pop Tarts, Totino's Pizza Rolls, all things Little Debbie...you get the picture. What's so wrong with preferring your frozen chicken nuggets be shaped into something somewhat resembling a stegosaurus? (If you're sitting there thinking to yourself that the initial issue is that I'm 23 eating frozen chicken nuggets, that's beside the point.)  I don't buy into that logic.

I'd also say anything with an excessive amount of sprinkles somehow gets placed in that category. Thankfully I have no plans to ever outgrow sprinkles. They remind me of birthday parties. 

So, it's no surprise that when it comes to funfetti I always turn to the funfetti queen, Sally, over at Sally's Baking Addiction. She does funfetti Friday's. That's a girl after my own heart right there. These cookies are a breeze to make. I made mine a bit smaller so I could do my usual 'justify eating four cookies because they're not quite as big' thing. I also like mini desserts. These are perfect. They're slightly crisp around the edges (crisp, not crunch), but chewy in the middles. I'm sure if you make them in regular sized portions you can get even more of the gooey sugar cookie type thing going on. Amazing.

Funfetti away!

 

Soft Baked Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature*

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 and 1/2 cups spoon & leveled all-purpose flour*

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar (can not be omitted)

1/2 cup sprinkles, plus more for sprinkle on top before baking

Instructions

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Get it nice and smooth, then add the sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed. Set aside.

In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 different parts. The dough is quite thick and you may have to stir the rest by hand. Once combined, fold in 1/2 cup sprinkles.

Scoop a large sections of dough (about 2 Tablespoons of dough each) and roll into balls. Make sure the balls are taller, rather than wide. Add a few more sprinkles on top of each ball dough.

Chill the balls of dough on the cookie sheet for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours in the refrigerator. This step will prevent spreading in the oven.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

Bake chilled cookie dough for 8 minutes, no more. The cookies will appear undone and very soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheets for 3 minutes and move to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes from Sally:

If you're in a pinch and need to soften your butter quickly, cut 1 stick of butter into 5 different sections. Microwave for 10 seconds. 

*Room temperature egg is required. To bring the egg to room temperature quickly, place in a warm glass of water for about 10 minutes as you get the other ingredients ready.

 *Recipe retested on 4/29/13 to add 1/4 cup more flour to resolve spreading issues. Use 1 and 1/2 cups total flour, which will aid in the spreading issues.

Cake pops have to be one of the most brilliant food creations of the 21st century. Cake pops, Chick-fil-a sauce and those milkshake machines they have at Sheetz and WaWa...all acts of pure genius. I make cake pops every once in awhile when I have an occasion. They're super easy, but I'd never make them just for fun because they take quite a bit of time (especially when you want to make them into shapes). For those that somehow still have not hopped on the cake pop train, here's the 'recipe' again. It's not as much of a recipe as it is steps for assembly.

I made this batch for my roommates birthday, but gave them a little Valentine's Day flair. The round ones were red velvet with cream cheese icing and the heart shaped ones are funfetti with rainbow chip icing (note that using anything other than those two types of icing with their cake counterparts is forbidden). The cake pop stand is one of my typical weird, impulsive Amazon purchases, but I LOVE it. I think it was well worth the money. It also packs up into a cute little bag. As you can see, I've already justified the purchase. I set it up at a party we had for her Saturday night, and we've been eating the leftovers with breakfast and dinner since then. Cake for breakfast. That's the way to go.

Cake Pops
Recipe from Bakerella

1 box cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can frosting (16 oz.)
1 package white chocolate bark
wax paper

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with one can frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)
I also only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It’s easier to work with when it’s hot.

I like to store things in giant ziplock bags. It's not what I would call entirely organized, but it's as organized as I can get. As long as I confine my ziplock bag use to baking goods it's not a problem. Things got a little crazy when I decided it was a brilliant storage device when moving. The next thing you know I had jewelry bags, junk bags, paper bags, pen bags..etc. Those ziplocks have yet to be unzipped. Anywho, in my kitchen I have a sprinkles bag. I don't know why at 22 years old I still gravitate towards sprinkles and bright colors, but I've accepted it. I'm a seven year old at heart.

Of course, for these I decided I wanted to use my favorites, the dinosaur sprinkles. So I guess I'm a seven year old boy at heart. Aside from opening a bag of cake mix all over my kitchen, these are a breeze to make. I bought a tube of crescent dough at the grocery store, but everything else I had on hand. My only advice would be to make sure the icing is a bit runny. I didn't measure (whoops) and proceeded to use the thicker icing instead of adding more milk (read: I was lazy). It covered up the cute little swirled tops. Lesson: don't be lazy, use your better judgment.

Enjoy!

Mini (no yeast) Cake Batter Cinnamon Buns
Recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction

• 1-8oz tube crescent roll dough
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup Betty Crocker Supermoist white or yellow cake mix (or any brand white or yellow cake mix)
• 1/4 cup sprinkles
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• cake batter icing (recipe below)
• sprinkles for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350F (or whatever your tube of crescent roll instructs). Spray 16 tins of a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Roll out half of the dough (4 triangles) and close the seams together by pinching. Flip over and pinch those seams together as well.
3. Sprinkle the dough with half of your sprinkles and smooth out with a rolling pin. You want the dough to be totally seamless and the sprinkles to be pressed into the dough as much as possible. I do not have a rolling pin in my tiny apartment, so I covered the dough with parchment paper and rolled over it with a glass cup. The dough needs to be completely smooth and 1/4″ thick.
4. Brush dough with 1 Tbsp melted butter and cover with 2 Tbsp of the cake mix. Brush 1 Tbsp melted butter over the cake mix and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
5. Roll into a log and cut into 8 equal buns.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 with the other half of the crescent roll dough.
7. Place 16 buns into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the buns are lightly browned.
8. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes and spoon icing (recipe below) over top each bun. Top with sprinkles.

Cake Batter Icing

• 3/4 cup SIFTED Betty Crocker Supermoist white or yellow cake mix (or any brand white or yellow cake mix)*
• 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp half-and-half (or milk)

Whisk together sifted cake mix and half-and-half until fully combined.  Add more or less half-and-half depending on how thick you want the icing.  Spoon over warm cinnamon buns and top with sprinkles. Store cinnamon buns in fridge.

This is one of those desserts I feel guilty just looking at. It's got everything you could ever want in a cookie (minus chocolate), and on top of that you get two for one because it's a whoopie pie! I've had the recipe bookmarked for a month or two now, but I was contemplating whether I wanted to make the filling. Not surprisingly, I opted to add the buttercream. Why I ever thought I'd be able to resist is beyond me.

I found this mini cake stand while browsing through the plates/cookware section of TJ Maxx the other day. It was sitting right next to a shelf of Kate Spade kitchenware (our TJ Maxx is a goldmine). I'm sure it's meant for a six-year-old girl's birthday party or something of the sort, but it was the last nudge I needed to finally make the whoopie pies. I gave myself a little pat on the back for resisting the Kate Spade items, and off I went with my pink polka-dotted stand.

I'll admit that these took me the better part of an afternoon to make. I made them in mini cookie sizes, so it took forever to get through all the dough. The cookies on their own are amazing. If you don't feel like making frosting, just stick with the cookies. No one will complain. That being said, if you're ok with using a total of four sticks of butter and spending a little more time on these, fill 'em up. My brother, who is not really a sweets person, said these were one of the best things I've made yet. My mom, not one to ever have more than one cookie in a sitting, had three over the course of a roadtrip drive (I chose not to mention to her that is basically six cookies).

Point is: funfetti never disappoints and these are amazing. Bring on the sprinkles. And the butter.

Funfetti Whoopie Pies
Recipe from Yammie's Noshery

Cookies:
2 sticks softened butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon imitation butter flavor
1 egg
2 cups cake flour
2/3 all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup colored sprinkles
More sprinkles for rolling (I used the little round kind)

Beat the butter and sugar on high speed for about 5 minutes or until fluffy. Add the vanilla, butter flavor, and egg. Beat until well combined. Sift in the flours, soda, and salt. Mix to combine. Stir in the sprinkles. Chill the dough. If you're in a hurry, throw in in the freezer. I put it in a gallon ziploc bag and pounded it down flat so it would get cold faster. Preheat the oven to 375º. Take a small piece of the dough, dip in the sprinkles and roll into a ball and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until the sheet is filled. Bake about 7 minutes. Keep the remaining dough in the freezer while the other are baking. They will flatten out as the bake and puff up a little when they're done. Sandwich cooled cookies together with filling if desired (recipe below).

Filling:

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks cold butter, chopped into small cubes
2 tablespoons sprinkles (I used the little round ones)

Beat the cream and vanilla until slightly thickened. Beat in the powdered sugar until thick and smooth. Beat in about one fourth of the cold butter cubes at a time on high speed. Beat for about 10 minutes on high speed in your stand mixer until smooth. Don't be afraid if it looks weird at first. Just keep beating! Fold in the sprinkles. Use to fill cooled cookies.

 

From my experience I've found that there are few desserts more universally liked than Funfetti Cake. Regardless of how many homemade desserts I make, anything with funfetti is guaranteed to win the crowd's vote every time. My roommate saw this recipe and immediately passed it along to me to put on my must-bake list. It combines funfetti cake mix with a few homemade touches. Easy. Brilliant. Perfect.

This is one of those recipes I think I'll make time and time again because of how quick and easy it is.  I, of course, used dinosaur sprinkles, but I'm sure you could theme the extra sprinkles inside to various occasions. Maybe even throw some icing on top if you're feeling like a sugar overload. Hope you enjoy them as much as everyone in my life did!

Funfetti Cake Bars
Recipe from: Lovin' From the Oven

1 1/4 cup funfetti cake mix
3/4 cup AP flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 heaping tablespoons sprinkles of your choice (I used stars)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan.
2. Cream both sugars, butter, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. 
3. Gradually mix in flour, cake mix, and baking soda until just mixed. Stir in sprinkles.
4. Spread batter evenly into greased pan.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned and middle still jiggles slightly. Cool completely before cutting.