Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Fudge Rounds Ice Cream: Count on Me

 

Fudge Rounds Ice Cream, a no churn creamy ice cream studded with chunks of fudge rounds. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert
 
You've heard that old saying "if you want something done right, do it yourself," of course. Well, I have a little modification to make. Seems sometimes if you want something done at all, you need to it yourself. There are instances, many of them, when this is simply a matter of preference. But sometimes it's a matter of necessity.

Which is what I was faced with when Little Debbie and Hudsonville made their rather exciting (I know, get a life) announcement about their collaboration. Hudsonville would be making ice cream using Little Debbie snacks. 

My mouth watered. It's an involuntary function. Like breathing. 
 
Let me take a step back for a minute and tell you that I had never heard of Little Debbie until I was in my 20s. I was a full-on Hostess girl, as was everyone I knew. I lived in a town in Massachusetts where there was a Hostess/Wonder Bread factory right on the town line. Believe me when I tell you that when that bread was baking, mouths watered and stomachs rumbled, you could smell it from miles away.
 
Each elementary school class, every year, went on a field trip to the Wonder Bread factory. We took the tour (by 5th grade we could have given the tour), and then the piece-de-resistance, we all got to eat some of that warm bread. It tasted just as good as it smelled.
 
So we were all Hostess lovers, there was even a Hostess outlet store where the locals could get their fix. Everyone had favorites, I was a Devil Dog girl.
 
It was when I was married and moved to the Midwest that I was introduced to Little Debbie. I was reticent at first, both because I didn't want to be a Hostess traitor, and because I couldn't find any Little Debbie Devil Dog type snack (what's with that?). But as "snack parent" at my kids' soccer games, I ended up buying a few boxes. They were inexpensive, kids loved them, so I started keeping them around the house. Everyone has their favorite, most of the ones I tried were meh, Zebra Cakes were good, don't kill me but I'm not a Cosmic Brownie lover, but those Fudge Rounds? So good.
 
I have to admit that I haven't bought anything Little Debbie in years, since the kids went off to college. But my ears perked up when I heard about the impending release of the ice cream flavors. I'm a planner, so I immediately did the logical thing, got right on buying clothes a few sizes larger. 

A few months ago, a friend posted on FB a link to the roll out of Little Debbie ice cream, with a list of the flavors. I clicked right on over and read the list:

Oatmeal Creme Pies
Cosmic Brownies
Zebra Cakes
Honey Buns
Strawberry Shortcake Rolls

. . . OK, keep going . . .

Swiss Rolls
Nutty Bars

. . . So . . . where's the rest?

There is no rest?

Wait. Where are the Fudge Rounds? {{Read it again, you must have skipped a line}}.

No.

No??? 

I posted my outrage right on her FB thread. When a few people agreed that the Fudge Rounds snub was an outrage, I declared my intentions right then and there: "you just wait, by this summer I'll be making my own Fudge Rounds ice cream." Count on me.
 
 
Fudge Rounds Ice Cream: Count on Me | graphic designed by, featured on, and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

 
 
Hudsonville and Little Debbie may have missed the boat, but it was smooth sailing for me.
 
Well, semi-smooth. In this Covid haphazard food chain environment, I actually had a hard time finding my muse, the first few stores had no Fudge Rounds. I did find them and the other ramification of Covid was clear. No, I hadn't bought them in a while but they went up 250%. When did they start making those things out of gold?

Fortunately, most of the rest of the ingredients I had in my fridge and pantry. Time to play.

I knew I didn't want the ice cream to be too one-note chocolatey, and I have to admit, once I knew how I was going to replicate the silky chocolate filling flavor in the base, the recipe came together quickly and easily.

The hardest part? Waiting for it to set in the freezer. It would take about 6 hours for soft, more melty ice cream (which is my favorite), or overnight if you like a more firm ice cream. 

Somewhere around the 3 hour mark, Hubs tried to talk me off the ledge. Just so you know (I should probably add this hint to the recipe), standing in the kitchen staring at the freezer door does nothing to quicken the process {{sigh}}.
 
 
Fudge Rounds Ice Cream, a no churn creamy ice cream studded with chunks of fudge rounds. | recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dessert

Fudge Rounds Ice Cream (no churn)
 
But a mere 6 hours (or possibly somewhere around 5 hours and 50 minutes, but don't tell) later, I grabbed a spoon and dug right in. 

It was worth the wait. And the 250% price increase (don't tell Little Debbie I said that, though). 
 
Which Little Debbie Ice Cream is the best? Fudge Rounds for the win. {{she says confidently, having never even tried the others}}.


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Fudge Rounds Ice Cream (no churn)       
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe
 
NOTE: This recipe calls for a partial can of milk chocolate frosting. Look for my Chocolate Caramel Frosted Caramel Cake recipe, which uses the rest of the can.

Ingredients: 
5 Little Debbie Fudge Rounds
1 TBSP instant coffee
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup canned milk chocolate frosting
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups heavy cream
 
1 TBSP canned milk chocolate frosting
1 TBSP heavy cream

Directions:
*Coarsely chop the fudge rounds into about 8 pieces each. Place on a pan, in a single layer, and freeze for 1/2 hour.
*Grind the instant coffee granules to a powder.
*Line a 9 X 5 loaf pan with a piece of plastic wrap long enough that the wrap hangs well over the sides. Place in the freezer.
*Whisk together the coffee, powder, sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup frosting, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
*Beat 2 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks hold, then fold into the sweetened condensed milk and frosting.
*Remove the cookie pieces from the freezer. Set aside about 10 pieces and fold the rest into the ice cream mixture.
*Remove the pan from the freezer. Pour the ice cream mixture evenly into the pan. Place the reserved 10 cookie pieces on top and press them gently, just into the top of the ice cream mixture.
*Freeze for 3 hours. Whisk together the remaining 1 TBSP frosting and the remaining 1 TBSP heavy cream. Drizzle over the ice cream and return to the freezer for at least another 3 hours (I like to leave it overnight).
*Once fully set, cover with the long ends of the plastic wrap.
*To serve, scoop the ice cream out of the pan, or remove using the long pieces of plastic wrap and slice. Store in the freezer.

16 comments:

  1. Once again another winner! (Which, for the sake of my waist and hips I will forget I ever saw :-)

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    Replies
    1. Save this recipe for a splurge occasion. I don't know about your waist and hips, but your taste buds will thank me.

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  2. Oh, my word. Why did you have to tell me that ice cream doesn't have to be churned? Not owning an ice cream maker has been the only reason i'm not heftier than i already am. Oh, well, might as well check for some Litte Debbies next time i'm at the store.

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  3. It's funny we always had both, but I grew up going to the Hostess discount store every Saturday. The highlight of our week! Hubby is more of a Little Debbie man and my grandson is crazy for Oatmeal Cream. If I were to eat one it would have to be a Zebra cake as well but soooo sweet! I'm more of a salty snacker so they don't appeal much for me.

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    Replies
    1. I'm an everything snacker, if it's sweet or salty or crunchy, I'm in.

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  4. I'm not sure I've ever eaten (gasp!) a Little Debbie cake. I was Hostess all the way when young, with an occasional detour into a Philadelphia specialty, Tastykake. I haven't had any of these in years, even when my son was young. The recipe did sound interesting, though. I've never run into canned frosting in a ice cream recipe. Speaking of pandemic, I was in the NYC area recently (brief visit) and decided to buy a loaf of my favorite bread, Levi's Jewish Rye. Not only did the package weigh less but the pieces of bread had shrunk in width. And the price. YIKES. I still bought a loaf, and I'm glad I did. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PurDude was just in NYC, wish I had known to send him to check out that bread.

      Delete
  5. I add a fudge round to the bottom of every bowl of ice cream I eat.

    ReplyDelete

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