Avocado Sorbet

Yummy note: It is time to return the favor this month with the Secret Recipe Club. One of the things I love about participating in the Secret Recipe Club is how each month a different secret blogger reveals one of your recipes. Last month, Chris from Mele Cotte featured my breakfast pizza and did it with a slight twist making it a deep dish version-- hello, what a great idea! Fast forward a month to the assignments for our SRC post in May, and hey, I know that name on my assignment... yes, I got Mele Cotte in return this month! I loved this, as I had been scoping out Mele Cotte's blog last month after she had posted my breakfast pizza remake. So I had a few recipes in mind that I had eyed. I really wanted to make one of these two- a 3 bean salad or this edamame corn salad  that just screamed summer, but instead I got sidetracked with sorbet.  I haven't made a good sorbet since last summer. My poor lonely ice cream maker was just collecting dust and ice crystals in the deep freeze. So why not kick off the ice cream maker season now!  This avocado sorbet was a more daring flavor combination recipe for me to try that's for sure. I don't think I would have tried this combination if it wasn't for the rave reviews from Chris at Mele Cotte. I wasn't so sure on this recipe, at first, but I kept coming back to how interesting it seemed. I was afraid it was going to be like a margarita that accidentally spilled into my side of guacamole. Seriously, I wasn't so sure, so when I started mixing up the slurry, I was happily surprised by the flavor profile. I made a 2 versions - one regular as noted below and a kids' version without tequila (and I used a non-alcoholic margarita lime mix instead of the tequila). I tasted the kid's version first and it was fruity, amazingly light and refreshing. In the other, I added the tequila to that batch and it was taking a tequila shot, minus the salt ;)  As mentioned in the recipe, let the sorbet soup I call it, chill overnight before churning it in the ice cream maker. I think the flavors really are much better.  I really didn't notice the avocado/guacamole profile that I was concerned with originally, whew. At the end, the avocados really made it a nice consistency and creamy for a non-dairy sorbet. 

Avocado Sorbet 

from Mele Cotte's avocado sorbet recipe

Ingredients:
3 ripe large avocados (roughly 2 cups)
1 ½ cups water
1 ¼ cups sugar
¼ cup fresh lime juice (roughly 2 limes)
1/3 cup tequila*
Lime zest/slices for garnish
*if wish to make the non-alcoholic kids version, omit the tequila and add some non-alcoholic margarita mix or lime juice/lemonade instead.


Directions:
Peel and pit 3 ripe large avocados. Pulse with either a stick hand blender or food processor until smooth. Place the avocado puree in a bowl and add the water, sugar, lime juice and tequila. Pulse until well combined. Next, refrigerate the slurry mixture for atleast 1 hour or overnight. Once chilled, transfer the avocado mixture into your chilled ice cream maker reservoir. Make sure to freeze your ice cream maker container according to the directions, mine takes atleast 6-8 hours for the container to initially freeze, so make sure it is ready when you go to process your sorbet. Process according to the directions on your maker, mine took about 20-25 minutes. Once the sorbet is done and to the desired thickness, transfer into an airtight container and place in the freezer to firm up, if desired, even more before serving. Garnish with a little lime zest, if desired, or next time I think I might even try a nice raspberry sauce drizzle to add some color and flavor too. Recipe makes about 8 servings at ½-cup servings each. Store in the freezer for up to 1 week. Note, the sorbet is softer if you use the alcohol, however if you omit it, the texture is a bit more icier and hard; so you may want to soften it a bit before serving.

Just a few ingredients make this easy sorbet. 

Avocado puree!

Add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until smooth. 

Churn, churn, churn.. Just look at that color! It is like ogre green!!

After about 20 minutes, the avocado sorbet is almost done. 

Here is the soft set avocado sorbet. 

Be sure to check out the other bloggers in this month's Secret Recipe Club group C for their recreations! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Snowball Divinity

Snowball Divinity 

Yummy note: My kids are obsessed with the Disney movie Frozen. I mean, the movie is pretty fantastic, so I'll feed into their obsession with it and play the music, sing-a-long with them, and all. The latest is they want to have lots of fun Frozen-themed things. So, we have here will be snowballs-aka Snowball Divinity. This recipe is actually and older recipe I have kept, as it was on the back on this fluffy white frosting mix box. Sometimes this frosting mix can be hard to find, so whenever I see it in stock or at the store I always grab a box to keep in my pantry. I enjoy making this divinity around the holidays too, as it is simple, yet it is an old-fashioned sweet treat. 


Ingredients:
1 (6.5 ounce) package of Betty Crocker homestyle fluffy white frosting mix
1/3 cup of light corn syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of boiling water
1 pound of powdered/confectioners sugar (about 4 cups)
Food color, nuts, or sprinkles - optional


Directions: 
In a stand mixer or using an electric mixer, combine frosting mix, corn syrup, vanilla, and boiling water. Beat on low speed until the ingredients are blended, and then turn the mixer to high speed. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes. Next, turn down the speed to low, (please do so or else it will look like there was a snow explosion of powdered sugar) and gradually add in the 4 cups of powdered sugar. Add food color, nuts, or sprinkles, if desired. Mix until all of the sugar is incorporated. Then drop by teaspoonfuls onto the aluminium foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 325 degree oven. Remove from the oven and let stand for atleast 4 hours or until divinity feels firm. Turn candies over and allow to dry for another 12 hours. Store in an airtight container or put in freezer and store for a few months. 

Mixing it up, watch out for the snowstorm! I got my poor mixer a tad messy :( 

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Once finished mixing it up, you can add in sprinkles, nuts, or even food coloring to customize the divinity. 

The little snowballs before they go into the oven- they are a bit scruffy looking here. 

It is amazing what just 5 quick minutes in the oven will do to these little divinity balls. The candies look much more fluffier and pillow-like.