These Chilly Cheeseburger Ice Cream Sandwich Sliders are a perfect addition to summer fun and will be great desserts to serve this Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Labor Day. Each slider has a chocolate ice cream burger sandwiched in between two cookie buns which have been garnished with modeling chocolate lettuce and cheese, as well as, bright red icing ketchup. They can be made well in advance of your party, so what are you wating for, go grill, er, assemble some ice cream sandwich sliders.

Pour Betty Crocker Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix into a mixing bowl. Add softened butter, and stir until well blended. Add 3 tablespoons milk and 2 eggs and stir just to combine. The dough will be very sticky and thick.

Scoop out dough by the tablespoonful onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Sprinkle sesame seeds over half of the dough scoops.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes until slightly golden brown around the bottom edge. As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, press down on the cookies without sesame seeds using a spatula in order to flatten them out. They will become the bottom buns of your burgers and will look much better with a flat bottom. Allow your cookie buns to cool completely.

Scoop out about 1/4 cup ice cream onto a piece of plastic wrap. Cover and press on the ice cream, forming it into a patty that is just slightly larger than the cookie buns. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. Create a total of 16 ice cream burgers. Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, make the modeling chocolate to use for the cheese and lettuce. Place finely chopped pure white chocolate or white confectionery coating wafers in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 40 seconds, then stir, heat 30 more seconds then let sit for 1 minute. Stir vigorously. If needed, heat for 10 second increments, stirring after each, until melted. Allow chocolate to cool to between 88 and 91 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring often while it cools. Pour in corn syrup.

Stir quickly fully incorporating the corn syrup into the melted chocolate. If it seems dry, add more corn syrup a small amount at a time until it is smooth and pliable. If it’s greasy, allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes, then knead until smooth, preferably on a marble or granite counter.

Knead the modeling chocolate until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap and set at room temperature for an hour.

Divide and color half of the modeling chocolate using orange food coloring and the other half with green. I suggest you wear food handling gloves and knead in paste or gel food coloring until you get the desired shade for cheese and lettuce.

Cut slits on three sides of a gallon sized zip top bag. Set orange modeling chocolate in between plastic. Roll out to about 1/16th of an inch thickness. Do the same with the green modeling chocolate. Remove from the bag and set on a cutting board or counter top.

Use a 2 1/2 inch round cutter to cut 16 circles of green modeling chocolate. Use your fingers to flatten and crimp all around the edge of the circle creating the appearance of lettuce. Use a 2 1/2 inch square cutter to cut out 16 pieces of orange cheese. Pipe some Betty Crocker Red Cookie Icing on the underside of each bun. Set a piece of lettuce on each of the flattened bottom buns and a piece of cheese on the sesame seed speckled top buns.

Pipe a dab of red frosting in the center of the lettuce. Unwrap and set one frozen chocolate ice cream burger on top of the lettuce. Add a dab of red frosting to the center of the cheese and turn it upside down on to the burger. Freeze the ice cream sandwiches for at least an hour. If keeping longer, wrap each Chilly Cheeseburger in plastic wrap and store for up to several weeks in the freezer.

Serve the Chilly Cheeseburgers frozen, allowing them to warm up just a minute or two before biting into them.

[recipe]

Team Tablespoon was super excited to find Beth’s amazing creations on her blog, Hungryhappenings.com. So, as you can imagine, we are geeked out to have her as a guest blogger. Check out these awesome noms that she made just for us!

So this year while you’re chillin’ on the patio, grilling some grub, and enjoying frosty beverages, instead of serving up the same old hot dogs and chips, try these 10 must have Memorial Day noms for your big weekend barbecue!

1. Grilled Ham and Cheese Pull Apart Sandwich Loaf

Feed a hungry crowd with just one loaf by making this ooey, gooey, melty ham and cheese sammie right on the grill!

2. Pasta Salad Everyone Will Eat

Soggy pasta salad full of stinky raw onions, or gloppy mayo not your cup of tea? Then serve this refreshing salad that incorporates sweet grapes, crunchy cucumber, and tender chicken in a light poppy seed dressing. Bonus points for adding fun shaped noodles and making it ahead of time!

3. White Wine & Elderflower Sangria

Sweet elderflower liquor mixes perfectly with fresh berries, grapes, and pear in this perfect hot weather cocktail.

4. Tortellini Kabobs

Try this clever twist on the kabob by stacking tortellini with your veggies! Cool Italian dressing will add a nice zing!

5. Pink Lemonade Jello Shots

Save those lemon rinds for super cute pink lemonade gelatin shots!

6. Stuffed Burgers

Burgers are classic barbecue fare. That smell, the sizzle…there’s nothing better than a juicy, meaty grilled burger, unless of course it’s been stuffed with a surprise! Cheese, mushrooms, corn… try any of these special ingredients to stuff your next burger, or use them as inspiration to come up with your own creations!

7. Beergarita

Drink up the fabulous flavors of the classic margarita with tequila, lime, and salt but with a special beer twist!

8. Jalapeno Poppers

Spicy, creamy, and wrapped in bacon? These grilled poppers will be gobbled up in no time!

9. Raspberry Beer Hard Lemonade

Raspberry beer + lemonade = an incredibly easy and delicious summer drink. Add a few fresh raspberries for an extra tasty garnish!

10. Ultimate Summer Picnic Punch

Lemonade is the picnic beverage of choice, but what if it was fresh watermelon-strawberry lemonade? For a touch of flair serve it up in the leftover watermelon rinds!

So grab a lawn chair, a beergarita or two, and enjoy the long weekend!

There’s no better way to enjoy the sunny, warm weather than throwing a fantastic party with good friends, great food, and of course an impressive dessert. Roll out summertime with Lemon Basil Shortbread Cookies –  fabulous, flower-studded stunners at your next barbecue or garden party!

Here’s how to make these yummy, buttery cookies:

Gather up all your ingredients, but don’t worry, you don’t have to hit your local nursery for the pansies. Check your grocery store’s produce department for a packaged herb section first. Many grocers sell pansies and other edible flowers in plastic clamshells.

And if you can’t find them at the grocery store then forage around the yard! Just make sure any pansies you use are homegrown or at the very least, pesticide-free and away from the street or where any dogs hang out. You don’t want any unwanted surprises in your cookies!

Stir together cookie mix, butter, lemon peel, and basil until a soft dough forms. If you fancy more of a savory, Scarborough Fair feel to the cookie, swap out rosemary for the basil.

Lightly flour your clean countertop and roll dough about 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a 2 1/2-inch scalloped edge round cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with sugar and bake at 400 for 6 to 8 minutes, until edges are light golden brown.

Cool 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then move to a rack to cool completely (about 15 minutes longer) before topping with flowers. Brush the backs of each pansy with honey. Top each cookie with a flower, honey-side down. If desired, you can tuck a tiny piece of mint or basil underneath the bloom to give the pansy back its leaf.

Voila! Three dozen gorgeous, colorful, perfectly scalloped shortbread cookies that are the perfect summery dessert!

[recipe]

Get this: half peanut butter cookie dough, half double chocolate chunk cookie dough, with pretzels and gooey caramel mixed in. Yep, we’ve got everything but the kitchen sink in these Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Swirl Cookies.

Making two different kinds of dough can usually be a time intensive process, but not when you start with these babies. Betty Crocker cookie mixes provide a perfect base to add all kinds of goodies to.

Prepare the peanut butter cookie dough and add some crushed pretzels to the dough for some extra saltiness and crunch. Yum!

Then to dress up our chocolate chunk dough a bit we’re going to add some chunks of caramel to set these cookies into complete overdrive.

The secret to getting those beautifully swirled cookies is in the process. Roll a ball of peanut butter dough, then roll a separate ball of chocolate dough, and finally gently roll them both together.

The result is an oversized cookie full of crunch and gooeyness.

The key to getting the chewy caramel just right is to not overbake these. Bake these for 8-10 minutes and the cookies may not look done, but if you let them cool on the pan they will be perfect.

Enjoy!

[recipe]

Christy joined the Tablespoon team to share her recipes and inspire family food fun. Watch her Tablespoon member profile for great new recipes!

Seriously – sweet, sassy, sippy sangrias are what summers are made of. And I’m super psyched for this one, because I’ve got this swell White Wine-Elderflower Sangria recipe to use all season long. Yesssss.

I know you’re excited for summer too, so I thought I’d share the recipe because, ya know, no one wants to drink alone – at least not when sangria is involved. So pull up a chair, slather on some sunscreen and let’s make sangrias together!

First, make sure you have all the ingredients you need. The basic necessities include white wine and elderflower liqueur (which is oh-so-tasty, let me tell you). The club soda is also fairly necessary, and so is the fruit, but you can substitute lemon-lime soda or sparkling water for the club soda if you want. And, you can use pretty much whatever fruits float your boat – blackberries, blueberries, grapes and pear and green apple slices are my fruits of choice for both their flavors and colors.

Place all the fruit in the bottom of a very large, chilled pitcher. Pour the white wine and elderflower liqueur on top, then refrigerate the whole thing for at least 30 minutes (or until your guests arrive) to chill and settle.

Top the mixture with a few good handfuls of ice and enough club soda to fill the pitcher (or to taste… up to one liter works). Give it a good stir, then serve it up!

Mmmm, fruity, elderflowery, cocktaily bliss. Cheers, friends! What’s your favorite way to celebrate summer?

[recipe]

Stephanie (aka Girl Versus Dough) is going for seconds. Check out Stephanie’s Tablespoon member profile and keep checking back for her own personal recipes on Tablespoon!

Moms and mimosas together? Well, that’s just a great way to cheers to the woman who put you on this planet. We all know you’re her favorite anyway.

Check our seven ways to mimosa it up on Mother’s Day.

1. Blood Orange Mimosa

Blood orange ice cubes keep the champagne chilled and slowly turn it a fruity red in this tres chic mimosa from Domestic Fits.

2. Strawberry Mimosa Cupcakes

Maybe cocktails aren’t your thing, but cupcakes… I mean, cupcakes are everyone’s thing. These ones in particular by Oh My Veggies bring a little strawberry, a little orange and some champagne sparkle.

3. Mimosa Fudge

According to Mom’s Test Kitchen, this treat tastes like a “creamsicle with booze.” An edible fudgy creamsicle with BOOZE, guys!

4. Mimosa Jelly Shots

Did your mom take you to your first bar, help pick out Spring Break destinations and hang out just like one of the girls? This is probably the mimosa for her.

5. Pineapple Flowers and Mimosas

DIY your way to a totz adorable brunch drink with these pineapple flowers. Mimosas are cute, but mimosas decorated with homemade cuteness are awesome.

6. Mini Mimosa Pancake Stacks

What’s brunch without pancakes? Lame. Make mom these super cute little mimosa inspired pancake stacks for Mother’s Day.

7. Peachy Mimosas

Half Bellini and half mimosa, these peachy cocktails will happily go down the ol’ hatch. Put on your best brunch face and get to it!

Let’s raise our glasses to mimosas and most of all, moms!

I mean, why not sandwich a fabulous cookie in between a layer of brownies and – well – another cookie? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. 

If you’re feeling like going the extra mile and making these really indulgent, you can even add an extra layer of ice cream on top.  I mean, why not?

Here’s the how to!

Start out by whipping up a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookie dough.

Then make some fudgy brownie batter.  (Good luck resisting TWO delicious beaters to lick!)

Press about a tablespoon of cookie dough into the bottom of 24 prepared baking cups.

Then add a chocolate sandwich cookie on top of the dough.

Then add about a tablespoon of brownie batter on top until the cupcake liners are nearly full.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees until the cupcakes are cooked through. Remove and let cool.

Then take a peek at the deliciousness you have created!

Serve them up warm.

Or if you want an extra gold star, top a warm cupcake with a scoop of ice cream on top.

And… drizzle with some chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Because, you know, why not.   Enjoy!!

[recipe]

Ali loves music and fun food! Check out her great stuff at her blog site, Gimme Some Oven, and her Tablespoon profile — and keep watching to see what colorful, nommy recipes she dreams up next!

I know. I had a weak moment. I saw this Crazy Pizza on the TVs. And then my heart climbed into my throat and shouted up to my brain to please, please, please, replicate this as soon as possible, even if it looks seriously hilarious and kind of off.

Once my brain was on board, there was really nothing left to do but obey.

And I will say, in making this Crazy Cheese Crust Copy Cat Pizza, I made a few oopsies through the process, but I’ll tell you what they were so you can do it right! Aren’t I so nice?

You don’t have to answer that.

Let’s get CRAY-ZAY. (I have my hands in the air, like I just don’t care.)

Grab a couple of Pillsbury thin crusties. You can also use the Artisan crust, if you want it a little thicker. Also, grab a block of mozzarella, some pepperoni, and pizza sauce.

On a floured work surface, roll out one of the pizza crusts. Go ahead and slice off the corners, making it a circle. You can save the edges though!

Roll out the other crust, and cut out a few circles with a cookie cutter. Grab those saved edges and get another circle or two out of them.

I saved all the remaining dough and threw it into the freezer for quick breadsticks later in the week. Biggidy boom!

Cut each circle in half, making, well, semicircles.

Press all the little semicircles into the edge of the round pizza. Then using your fingers, pinch the edges of the semicircles to create little bowls. Does that make sense?

OKAY, now. I just kept going at this point and forgot to stick it in the oven to par-bake a few minutes because my hair was on fire. So you’ll stick it in the oven because it will give the cuppies a chance to puff up a little, before adding the cheese.

Once you’ve par-baked it, now you can add the toppings! Spread the pizza sauce over the middle of the pizza. Not the cuppies. Do you hate me for calling them cuppies?

Then add the sprinkled cheese and the pepperoni. Oh man, I was so excited. Stick her back in the oven for a few more minutes to finish out the magic.

Okay, I know it looks hilarious. And WAY different than what the TV commercial shows, but it made my soul crumble and my face giddy. Also, I blot the pepperoni to remove a little extra grease!

Just look at those cheesy pockets of euphoria.

Why is life so awesome?

[recipe]

Bev isn’t going to tell you how much of this pizza she inhaled within the first 10 minutes. For more musings, visit her blog Bev Cooks and her Tablespoon profile.

Well, this ridiculously easy Caramel Pretzel Popcorn is my new favorite treat because you get EVERYTHING!  Sweet and chewy marshmallow caramel corn topped with crunchy pretzels, semi-sweet chocolate and a sprinkling of sea salt.  Heaven!

I usually love sharing yummy food but I’m not gonna lie… after I took photos of this batch, my husband and I quickly sent the kids off to bed and devoured the whole thing by ourselves.  And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.  Sorry kids, you’ll have to make your own.

The good news is that recipe is so easy that my 8-year old can do it herself.  Often when you make caramel corn it involves using a stovetop, then baking it in the oven for an hour or so.  This recipe only uses the microwave and start to finish is 20 minutes or less!

Throw the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a bowl and microwave.

Add some marshmallows, stir, and microwave to melt. Mix in some vanilla and pour it onto popped corn. Sprinkle chopped pretzels on top.

To finish, drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate and a dusting of coarse sea salt. Pop it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate (or leave it on the counter for 15 minutes or so but we don’t like to wait that long) and it’s snack time!

What snacks have you been craving lately?  We want to hear your favorites!

[recipe]

Mandy Heaston is a busy mom, gourmet cook — and opera singer! Look for Mandy’s posts on Tablespoon, and check her member profile often to see what she’s cooking up!

Here are more of our favorite snacks!

Top Snacks1 of 10

Previous

Why spend a bundle on theater treats when you can make your own at home? These sweet-and-salty snacks beat anything at the theater, including Indoor S’mores and Chocolate Chip Popcorn Balls.

Next

Previous | Next

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Ok, that’s a tall order, so how about this: start with a standard margarita and then move on to a more interesting Cinco de Mayo drink recipes that still capture the day’s South-of-the-border spirit.

The Mangorita

If you are hesitant to move away from the mix of tequila, lime and triple sec, start small with this take on the classic Mexican cocktail. All you need to do is throw some mango nectar into the mix. It’s a nice, sweet tropical twist and goes great with that salt on the rim.

Tropical Fiesta Cocktail

If tequila is not your cup of tea (maybe after a little too much of the agave-spirit during the college years) the bloggers over at The Hungry Couple came up with a festive frozen drink that is perfect for the fifth of May. The base is rum and the mix makes use of fruits like banana, coconut, pineapple and lime.

The Mint Julep Margarita

It’s a busy weekend for cocktails this year, as the Kentucky Derby is on Saturday and Cinco is on Sunday. So why not combine the two festive days with this mash-up – a traditional julep spiked with tequila? If you have access to stainless steel cups and crushed ice, all the better.

La Flama Blanca

Mezcal is like tequila’s smokier cousin. The Mexican spirit is made with agave, but unlike tequila the ingredient is roasted over a fire to add some complex smoke notes. Blogger TastyTrix scores a recipe dubbed the La Flama Blanca, which balances the smokiness with some basil and lime and adds some haberno for spice. This memorable drink is a cool breeze and a hot smoky fire all in one.

The Will You Mari-achi Me

This tequila cocktail is like a margarita turned up to 11. The bloggers at A Round Or Two have a recipe that lays on the intense flavors. There’s tamarind, allspice, tart grapefruit and vanilla bitters – it’s a complex and tasty mix that will surely leave you reaching for a second round.

nybarfly knows his drinks and also where to get the best sauce in Manhattan. Check out his blog site, NYBarfly and his Tablespoon profile — be sure to continue to check Rock UR Party for more tips and suggestions for discovering new bevvies.