Root Beer Freezes with Root Beer Syrup

For Memorial Day Dessert

When I was a teenager, my little sister Heidi had a boy...friend. He wasn't a boyfriend. He was a boy...friend. But he wanted to be a boyfriend very badly. (Pretty Heidi always had boy...friends like that.) To prove his devotion, he would try to make himself useful by running errands. Once the rest of the rowdy siblings caught on to his advantageous affections, we moved quickly. We marched him out to "Ruby's Shake Shop" almost nightly to pick up our order of 10 Root Beer Freezes. (Did I mention I'm one of 10 children?) I'm not proud of myself, but I can't promise I wouldn't do it again for the love of a good Root Beer Freeze. What is so wonderful about a Root Beer Freeze?
Well, when it comes to ice cream and root beer, most people stick to root beer floats. While they are good and comforting, they can be problematic. A blob of ice cream floating around in soda is not the easiest thing to consume. Should you use a spoon or a straw? Half the time you break your plastic spoon trying to mix up the two, and the other half of the time, you slurp up your root beer, and eat the plain scoop of vanilla.

A better solution is the "Root Beer Freeze" which is closer to a shake than a float. The blender does the heavy labor of joining soda and ice cream. But, it can still have troubles. It's tough to get the consistency of a shake, which requires very little liquid, to have enough root beer flavor to pack a punch. The solution? A combination of root beer syrup, fizzy root beer and vanilla bean ice cream.

Remember yesterday when you boiled down Root Beer Syrup to make Root Beer Barbecue Sauce? (Scroll down, my friends.) I warned you to make extra Root Beer syrup. Remember? This is why. You might as well make a jar to keep in the fridge for the summer. I'll make extra extra. If Heidi's boy friend should come around 15 years later, I'd want to be ready to make him a freeze every night for payback.

Root Beer Freezes with Root Beer Syrup

Estimated Cost: $4.00 for four

Notes: Root Beer Syrup is an excellent use for flat root beer.

If you can't wait for the Root Beer Syrup to cool down, try making a hot Root Beer Sundae.

3 cans of root beer

vanilla bean ice cream-use any brand that's on sale

In a medium saucepan, boil down two cans of root beer for about 30 minutes, or until thickened and somewhat syruppy. Cool completely. In the bowl of a blender, combine some root beer syrup, some fizzy root beer, and vanilla ice cream. (I used about 1/4 cup root beer, 1 and 1/2 cups ice cream, and 3 tablespoons syrup for each freeze. Please don't measure-you can't go wrong!) Blend. Transfer to pretty glass. Drizzle with additional root beer syrup.

Coming Tomorrow: Old Fashioned Walnut Cookies

A perfect cookie to accompany a Root Beer Freeze