Ice Cream Insanity

A record 35 people made ice cream at our last teen outdoor craft of the summer! Last year, we prepared for 30 and only got 18. This year, I decided not to buy as much ice. Yeah. I had to go to Wawa at 11:45 and buy 10 more bags!! Then, I ran out of rock salt and had to close up shop at about 1:20. Craziness! But lots of fun, especially when all the Summer Stagers and friends showed up after their morning performance.

If you want to do this again at home, here's the recipe. We doubled the amounts and used freezer bags to help prevent leaks. Thanks to Laurel, Arig, Anas, Amani, and Judy for the help setting up, and to everyone who pitched in and helped clean up. See you outside next summer!!

Getting ice from the cooler.

Turning the bags end over end is the best way to freeze the ice cream without freezing your hands!

Delicious!

A great group shot!

The indoor after party

How many teens can fit in the teen corner? (I did not pose this, by the way.)

We Made Ice Cream!

Today was our last and most delicious outdoor craft...we made ice cream! Genni and I prepared for 30, but only 18 people dropped by to do it. It worked out, though, because everyone who stayed until the end was able to make another batch if they wanted to! We did it like the classic school science experiment: ice/rock salt in a big bag, whole milk/sugar/vanilla in a small bag, place small bag in big bag, roll/squeeze for a few minutes, and voila! We had toppings like sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and M&Ms to make it taste extra good.

Here are a few tips if you decide to do this at home:

• Use freezer bags instead of regular bags. The added thickness helps prevent either bag springing a leak. Alternately, you could place the bag of ice cream mixture inside a can with a lid.
• Wipe off the inner bag, especially around the closure. Eat the ice cream out of the bag. Both of these things help keep salt out of the ice cream.
• Double the recipe provided in the link. More ice cream is better!

Getting ice from the coolers. (Thanks for bringing the coolers, Genni!)

Squishing and rolling are the best techniques for making the ice cream.

Some creative mixing!

Adding toppings to the finished product.

Enjoying the ice cream!

The speaker penguin provided us with some musical ambiance.