Trust me, you and your kids will love this recipe. Now, we can all (even the lactose-intolerant) enjoy vanilla frozen "treats" in our beverages!
Three simple ingredients make up a heady, frozen vanilla mini-bomb. Depending where you put it, it can turn root beer into a float, coffee into a fragrant iced surprise and iced tea into (almost) chai!
We used low-calorie root beer, which is caffeine-free, to make great floats, though some of the kids just wanted the ice, nothing else.
The fun of using a real vanilla bean, which packs SO much flavor, was not lost on the kids! They enjoyed knowing that it comes from a very specific type of orchid that grows in tropical climes, in Mexico, Madagascar, and a few other locales. The only drawback is that the beans are expensive -- we got them on sale at Safeway. I am investigating ordering online... but meanwhile, the real thing makes a huge difference in flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 whole vanilla bean
Instructions
- Pour the almond milk and the sugar into a large saucepan.
- Lay the vanilla bean on a cutting board. Slice it lengthwise (a parent’s job) and open the bean to expose the sticky, granular brown substance inside. Using a knife or small spoon, scrape out the insides and add to the milk mixture. Drop in the empty vanilla shell as well for more flavor.
- Bring just to a boil, stirring to mix the vanilla bits into the mixture. Reduce heat and cook 8-10 more minutes.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl to help it cool faster. When it is cooled to room temperature, strain it to remove the large pieces of bean. (If you really love vanilla, you can add a few drops of liquid vanilla extract here.) Pour the mixture into ice cube trays, mini-muffin cups, or other molds and freeze.
- Add to a glass of your favorite beverage.
That’s it! Enjoy this fun summer treat.
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