Making Frozen Yogurt at Home

Summer and ice cream just seem to go together. We have several places within walking distance or a short drive to get both ice cream and frozen yogurt. I realized that it's the end of July, and we haven't done it nearly as much as we did last summer, so I vowed to change that. Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a frozen tasty treat after all.

So when Stonyfield asked me if I was interested in trying out an ice cream ball from YayLabs with some Stonyfield yogurt, and try making frozen yogurt myself, I said yes! I admit to being a little intimidated. I know it seems easy - but it's FroYo! (there's a full recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt at the end of the post)
The ice cream ball from YayLabs is not only adorable to look at, but it's pretty easy to use. I looked at their recipe ideas, did a quick Pinterest search, and decided that we would try Mint Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt. We had everything on-hand except Rock Salt. It took me four tries before I found a box of Morton's Ice Cream Salt in the spice aisle of one of our local Target stores. A four-pound box costs less than $2, so it's a bargain and will last a long time.

The kids and I gathered up our ingredients and supplies and headed out to the backyard. To make the frozen yogurt in the YayLabs ball, you need to roll it around. I thought we'd have better luck on the grass, than the hard floors in the house.

First we added some Peppermint Essential Oil to our Vanilla Yogurt. We also added 2-3 drops of green food coloring just for fun. After we mixed it together, I threw in a handful of chocolate chunks. I didn't add any additional sweetener, but when we make it again, I'm going to add a few Tablespoons of Honey.

Once it's all mixed up, you pour it into the chamber in the YayLabs Ball.

Put the lid on and tighten it up. Then you turn the ball over, and add your ice and rock salt to the other chamber.

 

Tighten up that lid and roll the ball around for 10 minutes to start eh process. I told the kids we were incorporating a little math and a little science into our fun.

After 10 minutes, the instructions advise you to check the consistency and add ice and rock salt if needed. We added some, but I don't think we needed to. Then roll it for 10 more minutes.

Gently scoop it out into a bowl and enjoy! It was really creamy and had a nice minty taste. As I mentioned, I would add a bit more sweetener next time, although this was pretty darn good for our very first try!

Mint Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

What You Need

• 1 pint of Vanilla Yogurt
• 1-3 Tbs of Honey or other sweetener
• Chocolate Chunks
• Peppermint Oil (you can substitute extract)
• Optional - Green Food Coloring
• Ice
• Rock Salt

What You Do (we followed the instruction on the YayLabs Ice Cream Ball)

• Mix the Yogurt, sweetener and chocolate chunks together.
• If you wish, add 1-3 drops of green food coloring.
• Pour the mixture in the correct portion of the frozen yogurt maker.
• Close tightly.
• Fill the other chamber with ice, and add 1/2 cup of Rock Salt.
• Close tightly.
• Roll the ball around for 10 minutes.
• Check consistency. If it looks good and the ice isn't all melted, continue for 10 more minutes.
• If ice is very melted, add additional ice and rock salt.
• Scoop out and enjoy!

Have you made homemade ice cream or frozen yogurt? How did it turn out?

catch you soon -
I received coupons for Stonyfield Yogurt as part of their Stonyfield Blogger program. In addition, I was sent an ice cream ball from YayLabs to facilitate this post. As always, all opinions are my very own.