| FamilyTable Feature |

TJ Vanilla Ice Cream, Many Ways

By Seventh Grade of Hillel Academy of Denver | June 1, 2021

As I listened to the school announcements one day back in November, my heart began to sink. “First grade boys, kindergarten, and eighth grade boys are out.” “Oh my, now middle school girls are too….”

By the time Sunday rolled around, the whole school was quarantined at home again! Déjà vu from last year! How were we teachers going to entertain our students? They definitely weren’t interested in a regular schedule.

Then i had an idea: How about we have the girls share ideas for easy Shabbos prep? The girls loved it! Every girl came up with a way to make Shabbos prep easy. Some brought in recipes, some suggested games to involve children in cleanup, and some had table-setting ideas.

One idea was particularly interesting: Take Trader Joe’s Vanilla Ice Cream and add in some other ingredients, and voila, you have a new flavor.

I thought to myself: What if everyone brings in a different way to mix up plain old TJ vanilla? Living out of town, many of us serve this humble ice cream as dessert on Shabbos. Yes, we do have other options, but they are more expensive and less flavorful.

The girls rose to the occasion and brought in some amazing mix-ins. We’d love to share them with you and hope you all (in-towners and out-of-towners alike) enjoy!!

—Sara Halpern, seventh grade morah

Choco-PB Ice Cream

Recipe by Chaya Laya S.

1 cup Karo syrup
1 cup chocolate syrup
1 cup peanut butter
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream

Melt Karo syrup, chocolate syrup, and peanut butter in a saucepan. Swirl together and fold sauce into softened ice cream, then refreeze.

Fruity Milkshake

Recipe by Brachi S.

1 cup frozen mangoes, defrosted
¼ cup frozen peaches, defrosted
½ cup TJ vanilla ice cream
½ cup milk

Blend frozen fruit together. Add ice cream and milk and blend again. Pour into cups and enjoy!

Very Vanilla Shake

Recipe by Shoham S., adapted from Kids Cooking Made Easy by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek

2 cups ice
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
3 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp sugar
1–1½ cups TJ vanilla ice cream

Blend all ingredients together. Pour into cups and enjoy!

Choco PB Shake

Recipe by Maryasha L., whose idea this challenge was!

1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
¾ cup melted chocolate chips
¾ cup peanut butter

Blend together and serve as a milkshake, or blend and place in a plastic container and refreeze.

Coffee Ice Cream Pie

Recipe by Leah Z.

1 Tbsp coffee granules, dissolved in some hot water
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
1 graham cracker pie crust
toppings (chocolate syrup, crushed sandwich cookies, etc.)

Mix dissolved coffee into softened ice cream. Pour mixture in pie crust. Top with toppings and freeze.

Lotus Ice Cream or Ice Cream Pie

Recipe by Chaya Rochel H.

Lotus butter
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
1 graham cracker pie crust (optional)

Warm Lotus butter and mix into softened ice cream. Put mixture into a pie crust if desired. Freeze and enjoy!

Chocolate Bonbons

Recipe by Aleeza W.

1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
1 package Oreos
chocolate chips, melted

Place 1 scoop of ice cream onto each Oreo and pour melted chocolate over it. Freeze and enjoy!

Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce

Recipe by Elky S.

1½ cups chocolate chips (or other chopped chocolate)
¾ cup coconut oil
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream

In a saucepan, melt chocolate and coconut oil over a low flame. Stir until combined. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve. Drizzle over ice cream and enjoy!

Crushed Royal Icing Ice Cream

Recipe by Rina M.

royal icing (your choice of colors)
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream

Pipe stripes of royal icing on a sheet of parchment paper. Wait 3–5 minutes for it to dry. Crack stripes into smaller pieces and place over scoops of ice cream.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Recipe by Bracha F.

strawberries
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
chocolate chips or any other toppings (optional)

Blend strawberries together with softened ice cream until it reaches a smoothie texture. Top with the topping of your choice.

Ice Cream Popsicles — 2 Ways

Recipe by Naomie Z.

Fruit Flavor

1 cup TJ vanilla ice cream
1 cup frozen strawberries
½ cup blueberries
1 frozen banana
¾ cup orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
¾ cup frozen mango

Chocolate Peanut Butter Flavor

1 cup TJ vanilla ice cream
1 cup ice cubes
½ cup peanut butter
6 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1 frozen banana
¾ cup milk (regular or pareve)
chocolate chips (optional)

Choose the flavor you want and blend all ingredients together until they reach a smoothie texture. Divide the mixture among a few plastic cups. Cover each cup with a square of foil and stick a spoon through it into the smoothie. Freeze for 2½ to 5 hours. Remove foil and pull spoon to release from cup. Enjoy!

Hazelnut Ice Cream Pie

Recipe by Chevy Z.

1 box Duncan Hines brownie mix
1 graham cracker pie crust
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
hazelnut spread

Make brownie batter and pour into the graham cracker pie crust. Bake until ready (according to box instructions). Mix hazelnut spread into ice cream and spread on top of cooled brownies. Freeze and enjoy!!

Coffee Ice Cream Brownie Delight

Recipe by Nena B.

1 box Duncan Hines brownie mix, prepared according to instructions on the box
1 container TJ vanilla ice cream
1 Tbsp coffee, dissolved in ⅓ cup hot water (or more if you like a stronger coffee flavor)
1 package tea biscuits

Mix coffee into softened ice cream. Spread ice cream on brownies. Arrange tea biscuits in a layer on top of the ice cream. Refreeze and enjoy!

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 745)

Oops! We could not locate your form.