Recipes for Snow Cream and Snow Slushies

I’m starting to think that there was a huge hole in my childhood: I never got to make snow ice cream! Well, with the amount of snow we’re forecast to get over the next few days, I figured it’s a great time rectify that slight and have some fun in the kitchen with my 2-year-old daughter as well.

Photo by Overduebook on Flickr.Actually, it was Go West reader Crystal Rutherford who got me thinking about snow ice cream yesterday when I asked on Facebook if any of you were doing anything special to prepare for the storm. Crystal said she’d be putting out a bowl to collect snow for ice cream and slushies. She was so nice to quickly type up her directions so that I could share it with you all here, but of course we'd love to hear about any variations you make in your house. -- Tara

Here are Crystal's notes and directions: 

When we were little, we mixed sweetened condensed milk and snow together, but I didn't have any on hand a few weeks ago.  I took this recipe from allrecipes.com, and modified it just a little by adding more milk.

Snow Ice Cream

Place a large bowl outside to collect fresh snow

Mix together with the snow ...

About 1 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

About 2 cups of milk (I used 2 1/2 cups; can use chocolate milk instead, if you want)

Stir together.  Add sprinkles or syrup (or both)

Note: Snow Ice Cream is not the same consistency as regular ice cream. It’s more like a shake, but still yummy and a great tradition during the winter.

Snow Slushy

1 cup of fresh snow

1/2 cup of favorite juice

add a straw